Coaches Corner

Joining us on coaches corner KWB G get a chance to put a wrap on the DMACC golf season and just what a fantastic year I was giving coach a little bit of grief because I tried to call him beforehand and apparently my number was blocked and I said coach did you get that much success you got an entourage and stuff those little radio peeps not good enough but in all seriousness Chris what what a fantastic year and just congratulations as we get started here yeah thank you Ryan I really appreciate all that just we what a fantastic year for both teams to finish in the top 10 very young teams both of them with a lot of freshman on both and you just never know where you're gonna end up the end of the year so really proud of both teams I know we talked in the fall we're gonna start with the ladies and I know you said to me I want to get them out a little bit more obviously this winter it's tough to get outside but I want to make sure that they're using you know all the technology that they can to get some swings in I don't want to just show up in the spring and away we go and let's just see what happens coach one the spring wasn't very kind weather wise but two man they must have really taken to heart what you asked them to do last winter it was a it was a tough spring that's for sure from just trying to find time to get outside the practice to not playing me I mean if it was above 45 degrees then at a 20 mile an hour win right and if it wasn't windy it was below 45 and it just we never really got one or the other until baby districts in the national championships so just really I'm really proud of how tough the girls were this year and how they just they didn't make excuses they didn't complain about the weather they just went out and you know did the best they could well I'm trying I was trying to figure out Chris because I was looking back to the schedule and you always kind of circle things on you know positives going into postseason what were some things that might have propelled you there Chris I got so many of them I feel like we could sit here and talk about the ladies for about 20 minutes I'll let you come up with a couple maybe you got some that you felt like hey maybe this is a team that can do some damage in the postseason but give me a couple of things what did you see before we even talk about you know the North Plains and then obviously the the national championships yeah we were young last year right like we had six girls on our roster which is a little smaller than we would have liked but that's we only had two returning sophomores and four freshmen so you just never really know how freshmen are gonna come in and handle the you know huge changes in their life of all of a sudden moving and living on their own and taking care of themselves and meeting the academic rigors and you know even the social aspect of living on your own and all those things yet it's a tough change for young kids for sure and an important part of their life so besides all those other things they also want to try to hit the ball where they want to go right which isn't an easy task either so throw that on top but I was really proud of ours of our fall season we saw a lot of great things we got some great experience our freshmen played really well our sophomores you know we're working hard and playing well too and you know providing some good leadership to our to our freshmen and we had a good fall and and that led to a good winter the girls worked so hard in the winter time you know they're just in there all the time working and inquisitive about questions and what they can do you know differently and better and we'd had a great a great winter and then you're still never really sure how you're gonna come out in the spring because you've been inside for three months and it is beneficial and helpful no doubt but you can't replicate being outside and that type of stuff indoors yet so for us to come out and just we just got better each week during the spring right a little bit better each week and then that led us to a good end of the season well and I'm looking at the North Plains district championship and my goodness I mean anytime I see tied for medalist honors I can tell you that that phrase always says okay they had to have had a chance but what did the rest of the girls do and you know what the rest of the ladies did they shot lights out coach take me back to to that a little bit at Otter Creek and obviously a golf course that is close ish so it's not like one of those courses you got to drive hours and hours and hours to try to go you know play a practice round I mean this was kind of in your backyard but boy the ladies shot well that day they sure did yeah for sure they were ready they were prepared and we'd finally gotten some decent weather too so I think that right there lifted everybody's spirits but you know we've got tough competition I mean you just know every year Iowa Central is going to be good NIAC is going to be good you know Iowa Lakes can can be good here and there too and you just you got to work so hard to beat those teams for sure they're so well-coached and the girls they've got great players so for our girls to come out to you know I think we played those teams some you know throughout the year and one day they might beat us the other day we might beat them and NIAC was was down to their top two players for half the meets because they're in a nursing program that's really demanding so they're actually better than their rankings were were letting you on to believe so we knew it was going to be a tough task but our girls really did come out and respond and and for have one tied for medalist honors and another one just to stroke behind and they all really did a great job well and then we look at the national championships which were down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and I guess what I look at is I know you would have liked to shoot a little bit better early but to wrap up the round like like the ladies did shows me that they were thinking okay listen we might not win this thing but we're gonna put ourselves in position to be in the top 10 and gosh darn it if you didn't finish 10th in that national championship coach they had to really walk out of there sure thinking about okay what could have been but boy they had to look and be pretty darn proud of what they pulled pulled off that day. For sure I know they were proud I know we were proud as coaches too because as I mentioned we had four freshmen in our top five right so you're taking four freshmen of the national championship and finishing in 10th place and those nerves those first couple days for everybody for sure but especially freshmen who haven't been there before I mean even our sophomore didn't make the national championship the year before I don't think and so we're taking all girls down that hadn't been to an environment like that before and then you know to boot it's a tough course right yeah it's wooded it was that was really a grass was thin kind of so it made that the shots around the greens really difficult and then also it's hot right we hadn't dealt with I don't think we'd played in anything above 65 or 70 degrees and we go down there and it's 87 88 and the girls got a walk for four days in that heat to and get used to it and was just I'm just really thankful for the experience we got and that we gained down there and how hard the girls work and I know they they want more this year right I know they're coming back they were happy with what they did but they're really excited for this next year too it's going to be on the same course so you know a bunch of our girls have already played it already I bet they're excited I bet they're excited to get here in the fall for sure all right Chris let's talk about the men's program now and I wanted boy I tell you what just watching from afar I know what the spring was like for everybody I know we've already talked about that a little bit boy once you guys actually got a chance to get out there and start playing though what a what a month of April number one for the guys you go into the district championship I thought that was a heck of a field too by the way you get to the national championships you finish seven Chris tell me about the guys a little bit maybe peaking at the perfect time is the best way to put this yeah yeah really similar situation to the girls too on our guy side we had I think two soft moors in our top six and so for freshmen in our top six as well too and our our sophomores not just the two that I spoke of but all five of our sophomores oh my gosh what a sophomore class we had just great great players but great young men okay and so if you're coming in as a freshman and you're hanging around all these sophomores who do all the right things great grades great off the course great teammates and what an example they set for our freshmen and you know our play throughout the year and even in districts was up and down we might go out the first day and it seemed like a lot of times the first day or the first round we wouldn't play very well right for whatever reason and then we might come back the next day and beat pants off everybody you know and that would usually lead to a second third or fourth place finish because we dug such a hole after the first day but everybody could see that we had it right we just had to build that consistency to get there and even the district tournament you know I I forget where we finish first of all our district has like five teams ranked in the top 15 amazing district and only two teams get to go out of that you know automatic qualify so you could play really good finished fifth place in our district and you would win a bunch of other districts with it so everybody knows you've got to get to districts and you know play well but we didn't play well I forget where we finished honestly but it wasn't first or second I know that but we had done enough work throughout the year that our ranking I think we were ranked maybe ninth or tenth so we were lucky enough to get the first or second auto bid because our resume you know showed that we do have that that but I that whistler Whispering Creek I think we showed up day one and just didn't play very well again right and what took us off took us out of maybe winning it or second place but played a little bit better each day again so throughout that district tournament kind of mirrored our season like we just couldn't put it all together right and then we got much closer to that the national championship yeah that that's I know maybe disappointing just that would turn if we could have just done it all at once but that that group of sophomores I know pretty special for you Chris I know we talked about them last fall just what what they've meant to the program you're looking forward to this spring now the question is that bar that they raised for this freshman group that's coming back I'm kind of excited to see what they do now hey we got to do it this sophomore group showed us what to do now we got to do some stuff yeah yeah and I think they will you know that the pressure is going to be on them right go out and perform well because we've got a returning all-american right now I'm over at finished 11th place at the national championship was just a great tournament it just got better every week I mean from day one in August we got a little bit better every week and was really consistent for us and you know we've got other guys too Grady Grady from Norwalk who showed he was think he was ranked eighth in the nation at one point in the fall and came back in the spring and got a little wild with his driver that cost him kind of some he'd have a great round and a rough round kind of right but we knew it was there and Archie Nelson was hurt in the fall a little bit so we didn't really have him and he really wasn't a hundred percent in the spring too so he could go a day two days but much more than that and and it kind of affected game a little bit too but yeah super excited they're great young men again just like the sophomores are I mean if you want to get better come be around these guys right and and the way they are off the course on the course you're gonna want to be a better human being in a lot of ways of your life that's a good compliment big compliment Chris thank you so much for some time looking back I'll give you a little bit of time off then I'll come find you again this fall how about that look forward to it and appreciate everything you do you bet Chrissy Bach again joining us DMACC golf here on coaches corner