The Pratt Institute Department of Athletics announced the hiring of Monica Holmes as Head Men's and Women's Volleyball Coach and Athletic Alumni Engagement Officer in August 2022.
Holmes came to Pratt from the United States Merchant Marine Academy where she was an assistant coach for the women's program since 2020. While with the Mariners, Holmes was responsible for assisting the head coach in recruiting, scouting, and statistical analysis. She also was responsible for position-specific player development, team travel arrangements, and coordinating with academic advisors and team community service activities.
"I want to welcome Monica to Pratt. I am very excited to have her join our Pratt team as we continue to build upon the foundation that has been set," said Director of Athletics Walter Rickard. "She has a demonstrated ability to coach, but I really appreciate her mindset when it comes to the physical and mental aspects of the college student-athlete experience on and off the court."
Prior to her time at USMMA, Holmes was the head women's volleyball coach at Columbia University for four seasons. Holmes was responsible for all areas of the Division I program including coaching, practice planning and execution, skill and player development, compliance, scheduling, travel, and budget management. She also monitored student-athlete academic progress, organized and managed camps, and planned fundraising and community service programs. Along with her coaching responsibilities, Holmes was also an associate professor for Physical Education.
Holmes served two stints as an assistant coach at Santa Monica College in 1993-94 and 1996-97 before jumping to Hofstra University as assistant coach from 1997-2000. After her almost three year stint with the Pride, she moved to University of Illinois and served as an assistant coach from 2000-2002 before becoming the Head Women's Volleyball coach at Columbia.
In between her time at Columbia and USMMA, Holmes started her own consulting firm focusing on youth fitness and development. She also worked at several charter schools in physical education.
Aside from her head coaching duties, Holmes will also serve as the department's Athletic Alumni Engagement Officer. In this role she will assist the department and Institution with outreach to athletic alumni, reconnecting and re-engaging with them.
Holmes attended and played for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she starred at middle blocker and was an All-Sun Belt Conference pick in 1990 and an All-Metro Conference selection in 1991 and 1992. As a senior, Holmes ranked second in the nation in NCAA Division I in attack percentage at .427.
