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My 1st day as High School Golf Coach

Thanks for posting an update. That's great that you have them behaving so well, that in itself is a victory. Sorry to hear about the struggle to motivate. I wonder what drove them to tryout for the team if they don't want to work to improve? Maybe a question to pose to them? Good luck. Look forward to the next update.
 
Mercer85 said:
Today marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I began my new position as JV Boys Golf Coach at Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio.

Our home course is Weatherwax, a 36 hole public, city course that sees the road to the state tournament go through it every year in Southwest Ohio.

When I arrive to the course, I could not believe how many kids I saw in the parking lot, on the range, and on the putting green. St. Xavier, an all boys Catholic school from Cincinnati, brought 70 kids to their try outs. Since the road to state goes through Weatherwax, St. X and a number of other teams in the Cincinnati/Dayton area hold their tryouts at Weatherwax.

Unfortunately, we are in rebuild mode at Middletown. We only have 14 kids on the team this year. Kids in the area are not going out the golf course anymore. The best players in the area try to get into the parochial schools and other public schools like Mason, Centerville, and Springboro (all with stronger programs currently).

Shortly after meeting all the players, I headed to the first tee with some of the (thought to be) varsity players. I went out with the first group and I'll admit I was a little nervous. Afterall, I am the new JV coach and here I am in front of my players and fellow coach about to take my first swing in front of the team. After smoking my drive down the middle, the nerves were gone and then it was like any other round. I didn't want to step on anybody's toes on the first day so I did very little on course coaching. I pretty much just asked the players what was running through their mind before hitting the next shot. Try to see how they approach the game and execute the shots they envision.

I was really impressed with one of the freshman players I played with. He is very small and doesn't have a lot of power, but he hits the ball straight and putts lights out. He also eliminates the left side of the course. He is going to be a strong player on the varsity from day 1. He shot 43 on the side I played with him. By the time he is a senior, we hope to see in consistently in the mid to low 70s and an individual state qualifier. The "1 man" had a bad round with me and shot 51. He is usually in the mid to high 70s for 18. He is the only senior and I think he may be putting too much pressure on himself to begin the year. The other kid I played with really struggled and so I didn't have him make the turn. He went with me to the range. In case you were wondering, I bogied 8 and 9 to shoot a 39 on the front side (Woodside).

After 9, I took 6 kids (all thought to be JV) to the range after their rounds. Unfortunately, anybody who shot over 60 was required to go to the range after 9 and not make the turn. Yes, 6 kids shot over 60 on 9 holes. An uphill climb is ahead of us!

I wanted to take a moment and share my experience with the rest of THP. It's my goal to get these kids to take the game serious and work their butts off to get better. I think too many of them look at being on the golf team as a way to get free golf and have some fun outside. Not that I am opposed to having some fun, but the team needs to change their approach to practicing. I'm very excited about the future of the program because I think the head coach and unwilling to accept the current results. We need to get down to the middle school and start getting kids on the course early and taking the game serious.

Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to share the experiences of the first day on the job. Thanks for reading.
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That's really great. I'm looking to become a golf coach once I get all my teaching certificate stuff done. Keep at it and thanks for sharing :)
 
drp3434 said:
Thanks for posting an update. That's great that you have them behaving so well, that in itself is a victory. Sorry to hear about the struggle to motivate. I wonder what drove them to tryout for the team if they don't want to work to improve? Maybe a question to pose to them? Good luck. Look forward to the next update.
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I can answer that question. Easy PE credit. Simple as that. That's why most college coaches don't give high school golf a lot of credit. If you're the #1 kid or #2 you may get a little bit of a look, but if you're serious about golf you'll be playing tournaments and that's where you really get the heads to turn. The fact of the matter is that most school #1's will never even sniff a scholarship and a lot aren't interested. There are exceptions, but this is the rule.

So, that being said, the fact that the kids are being cognizant of the rules and etiquette is really good.

Keep up the good work, work with all of the kids, but really focus on the ones who have a desire to be there and improve and make sure that you are making them aware of tournament opportunities with the local junior or amateur golf organizations.
 
Texasbrons said:
I can answer that question. Easy PE credit. Simple as that. That's why most college coaches don't give high school golf a lot of credit. If you're the #1 kid or #2 you may get a little bit of a look, but if you're serious about golf you'll be playing tournaments and that's where you really get the heads to turn. The fact of the matter is that most school #1's will never even sniff a scholarship and a lot aren't interested. There are exceptions, but this is the rule.

So, that being said, the fact that the kids are being cognizant of the rules and etiquette is really good.

Keep up the good work, work with all of the kids, but really focus on the ones who have a desire to be there and improve and make sure that you are making them aware of tournament opportunities with the local junior or amateur golf organizations.
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I never thought of that. At our school, everybody from varsity football on down has to take Phys Ed, so that doesn't apply. I imagine this is the exception rather than the rule, though.
 
Texasbrons said:
I can answer that question. Easy PE credit. Simple as that. That's why most college coaches don't give high school golf a lot of credit. If you're the #1 kid or #2 you may get a little bit of a look, but if you're serious about golf you'll be playing tournaments and that's where you really get the heads to turn. The fact of the matter is that most school #1's will never even sniff a scholarship and a lot aren't interested. There are exceptions, but this is the rule.

So, that being said, the fact that the kids are being cognizant of the rules and etiquette is really good.

Keep up the good work, work with all of the kids, but really focus on the ones who have a desire to be there and improve and make sure that you are making them aware of tournament opportunities with the local junior or amateur golf organizations.
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PE credit? Man they do things differently everywhere. We got no credit of any kind for being on the golf team. Just got the golf. No reason to be there unless you truly enjoyed it.
 
Mercer 85, any updates on your team? Several of us on here were following this thread and I haven't seen any updates in quite a while. How's things?
 
Nice read! As a former (HS/College Wrestling) coach... I always enjoy reading these challenges. Wish your team the best and hope to watch you and the team grow.
 
Thanks for posting your progress! Hope the scores are dropping !
 
Mercer85 said:
I can't believe this is first time I am getting back to this thread. I have been swamped with work though. The golf season is going "okay". I am happy with how my kids are behaving on the course compared to the other schools we have been playing. However, the scores have been poor. My kids just aren't motivated to do better. I've been trying to motivate them and get them to take the game more serious, but they don't care. I have a kid, who at the beginning of the year was shooting in the high 50s, shooting in the high 40s now on my JV. He does this without a pre shot routine and without reading putts AT ALL!! He could save so many strokes, but every time I discuss this issue with him he just shrugs it off. I asked him if he wanted to be on varsity next year and he said "I don't know, I guess." It's so frustrating to see him not taking it serious.

Two of the kids are seeing great improvements in their game overall, it's just the mental part of the game and managing the course that they need to work on.

Our varsity is still struggling as well. I don't get to work with them very much (only Fridays) but I do know two of them actually "fear" or are "afraid" of clubs in their bag. I told them their mental toughness is pretty week when they are scared of a golf club. I cracked a few jokes at them when I heard about this and they seemed to get just how silly it is to fear a golf club or a shot in your bag.

Hopefully we can get a win under our belt on JV here soon. These kids deserve one just for how they carry themselves on the golf course. Hope the varsity turns itself around before the post season as well. Would love to see our young varsity team do something at Sectionals and make it to Districts.

Until next time...
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Good stuff "Coach"! Yea, motivation seems to be a problem for a lot of kids. My son is a junior, in his 1st year on the team and has been playing less than 2 years. He wants to play & practice all the time, and even paid for some of his own lessons! He already is the #1 player on his team. They aren't a private school team, and golf isn't a big sport there, but I am still really proud of him. I sometimes get to see him play at least a couple holes, and have watched the team practice, and like you said, it seems like motivation is a big issue for most of them. A couple of the kids on his team have been there 2-3 years, and haven't improved much, if any. It definitely seems like golf is the one sport where you have to find more motivation from inside compared to other sports. The coach is great, I can't put any fault on him... it just comes down to how bad do you want it in the end.
 
Good luck coach! It's awesome to have a goal to aim for. I'm sure if your kids can be as dedicated as it sounds you are then you will be very successful !
 
I wish my old high school had a golf team. Not many kids my age liked it but the ones that did played a lot.
 
Well golf season is over and it came to an end quickly. Unfortunately, the win and loss columns do not look good for the Middies. It was a fun season and a lot of change is coming to the program. I want to build the program back up and to start I am going to begin recruiting some 6-8th graders to play golf and encourage them to go to Weatherwax. We need to get kids interested in the game.
 
Mercer85 said:
Well golf season is over and it came to an end quickly. Unfortunately, the win and loss columns do not look good for the Middies. It was a fun season and a lot of change is coming to the program. I want to build the program back up and to start I am going to begin recruiting some 6-8th graders to play golf and encourage them to go to Weatherwax. We need to get kids interested in the game.
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Getting the younger kids involve is a great way to get the program on track!

Regardless of the win loss column I hope you enjoyed the season.
 
Mercer85 said:
Well golf season is over and it came to an end quickly. Unfortunately, the win and loss columns do not look good for the Middies. It was a fun season and a lot of change is coming to the program. I want to build the program back up and to start I am going to begin recruiting some 6-8th graders to play golf and encourage them to go to Weatherwax. We need to get kids interested in the game.
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Thanks for filling us in! Tough the way your season went, but that is awesome that you want to put in the work to build it back up. Great idea getting started with the younger kids. Your program will improve, and you'll be doing a great service to those kids. Good luck!
 
Thanks for sharing enjoyed the read. Took me back to my beginning on the HS golf team. Been one heck of a journey.
 
Great thread here. Fun read. It is definitely tough to make someone care about something that you have a passion for, especially golf, it's not easy. I would encourage you to make games for them to compete in while in practice, helps to give them a reason to do better. There needs to be something to fight for in practice so that they can keep the mental game on point but also gives them something to focus on rather than just walking and hitting a golf ball. It could be least number of putts on the round, most fairways or GIR. The reward needs to be something that everyone wants, maybe leaving practice a 1/2 hour early on Friday based on totals from Monday through Thursday? Just my 2 cents for whatever that's worth.

Best of luck with what's left of the golf season and I look forward to hearing about the improvement in the future!
 
Sorry the thread kind of died out guys and gals. It was a frustrating season with upper-classmen on a JV team that were not motivated what so ever to play the game of golf. They didn't have any appreciation for the game and it showed in the way they practiced and competed. Being a first year teacher, my work schedule was so crazy that I really got away from updating this thread. I am hoping to do another thread next year and I'll tapatalk live practice rounds and competition rounds full with pictures and videos. I am hoping to get more freshmen and sophomores out for the team next season and begin building them for the varsity level.

I am also the JV baseball coach at Middletown right now and unfortunately it appears it's going to be a struggle to get a win. The varsity will compete and has D1 talent-level players, but we do not have the numbers to field a freshman team so my JV will be majority freshmen and sophomores playing against other schools JV teams with only sophomores and juniors. Imagine that, a school of nearly 2,000 students and we can't field 3 baseball team. Football, Basketball, and track are definitely the dominant sports at Middletown. Football program went through a down year, but they're young, athletic, and have a new head coach that seems to be exactly what the kids need. Basketball program may make a run at state with their size (EVERY STARTER OVER 6'3") and nationally ranked small forward. However, they've been playing down to their competition recently rather than running them out of the gym like they should.

Anyways, next golf season, I am going to try to keep this updated and be much more involved like I planned on being this year. I'll begin a thread in early August.
 
Thanks for the update dude. It sucks when kids don't care but it sounds like you have the attitude to get things on track.


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Mercer85 said:
Sorry the thread kind of died out guys and gals. It was a frustrating season with upper-classmen on a JV team that were not motivated what so ever to play the game of golf. They didn't have any appreciation for the game and it showed in the way they practiced and competed. Being a first year teacher, my work schedule was so crazy that I really got away from updating this thread. I am hoping to do another thread next year and I'll tapatalk live practice rounds and competition rounds full with pictures and videos. I am hoping to get more freshmen and sophomores out for the team next season and begin building them for the varsity level.

I am also the JV baseball coach at Middletown right now and unfortunately it appears it's going to be a struggle to get a win. The varsity will compete and has D1 talent-level players, but we do not have the numbers to field a freshman team so my JV will be majority freshmen and sophomores playing against other schools JV teams with only sophomores and juniors. Imagine that, a school of nearly 2,000 students and we can't field 3 baseball team. Football, Basketball, and track are definitely the dominant sports at Middletown. Football program went through a down year, but they're young, athletic, and have a new head coach that seems to be exactly what the kids need. Basketball program may make a run at state with their size (EVERY STARTER OVER 6'3") and nationally ranked small forward. However, they've been playing down to their competition recently rather than running them out of the gym like they should.

Anyways, next golf season, I am going to try to keep this updated and be much more involved like I planned on being this year. I'll begin a thread in early August.
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My old boss from down there tells me stories of when Jerry lucas played for the Middies and how packed the gyms used to be
 
mikedean441 said:
My old boss from down there tells me stories of when Jerry lucas played for the Middies and how packed the gyms used to be
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I've heard the same. He was the Lebron James of 1950s high school basketball in Ohio. A lot of popular athletes have gone through the school. Cris Carter, Bruce Carter, and soon to be 2014 MLB 1st round pick Kyle Schwarber.
 
Not gonna lie I was beyond excited to see this thread, thank you for sharing the game like this I am sure it will be immeasurably rewarding, and challenging at times!
 
Glad to see you update this one after we talked the other day.
 
Mini Update: We may be able to get a Taylormade/Adidas Staff Deal for the coming season. This would outfit our kids with Adidas/Ashworth Polos and open up our kids to some great discounts on TMAG equipment and threads.

If we can do this it will go a long with getting some excitement around the program. It's hard to compete with Mason which is just south of us and decked out in Nike gear.
 
Man that would be great for your program.

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