BATON ROUGE — In another example of LSU student-athletes making a positive impression on local youth, football and track standout Trindon Holliday spent time speaking to students at Our Lady of Mercy School on Thursday.
In support of the Ms. Miller’s third-grade class motto of “Hard Work”, Holliday spoke with the elementary school students about how his hard work has paid off. He touched on the obstacles he has had to overcome to get to where he is today. He also answered questions from the students about a range of subjects including football, track and academics.
Holliday is a sophomore on the No. 3-ranked LSU football team and will be a junior on the nationally ranked men’s track and field team. One of the fastest athletes in collegiate sports, Holliday was the national runner-up in the 100-meter dash at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships helping lead the Tigers to a second-place finish. The Zachary native also anchored LSU’s 4×100-meter relay team that finished second at the national meet.
The school record holder in the 100 meters, he earned the right to represent the United States at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, by finishing second at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Holliday sacrificed his spot on the U.S. National Team, however, in order to prepare for this football season.
That decision has paid off for him this season as Holliday has made a tremendous impact on the football field. Despite standing only 5-foot-5-inches tall, he is averaging over six yards per touch. Against nationally ranked South Carolina, Holliday rushed for 73 yards on six carries, including a 33-yard touchdown run. In the game, he totaled 93 all-purpose yards and averaged 13.3 yards every time he touched the ball.
The school visits are sponsored by the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills program. The CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success)/Life Skills Program was designed by the NCAA to help student-athletes realize higher academic achievement, increase likelihood of graduation and enter a chosen profession with a higher level of vision, knowledge, motivation, self-responsibility and greater overall success. In Spring 2003, the CHAMPS/ Life Skills Program at LSU honored one of the Tigers’ most memorable graduates, Shaquille O’Neal, by naming the program after him.