Some kids embellish injuries, Johnson noted. Holmgren did the opposite. He hid aches and pains from his coach so that he wouldn’t have to stop playing.
His toughness was revealed that day, as a 4-year-old, when he hopped on his bike and stared down his steep driveway. He took a spill that sent him to the ER for stitches, but he conquered the hill when he got home. The first block of many to come.