challenge (much like Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup captains), trying to form a team—a cohesive, all-in-this- together group—in an inherently individual game.
That might count as the most difficult quest for Walker and other college coaches. Accomplished junior golfers are accustomed to playing for themselves, doing everything in their solitary power (range, practice green, gym) to post a lower number. Then, in college, they find themselves wedged into a sometimes awkward alliance with teammates. San Jose State men’s coach John
Kennaday knows it can be an uncom- fortable transition—especially amid fierce competition for playing time, with only five spots available in each tournament—but he tries to promote togetherness. His Spartans won the program’s first Western Athletic Conference Championship in 2012. “We do everything as a team:
We work out as a team, we practice as a team, we eat as a team,” Kenna- day said. Walker takes a similar approach.
It’s tricky on some levels, because golf is different than other sports in a fundamental way: The coaches aren’t drawing up plays or schemes to fit the group. They’re usually doling out dif- ferent strategy to different players. “The only way to make it a team
sport is to create a culture of family,” Walker said. “Get kids to buy in: This is your family for four years, and make sure there’s a genuine love for one another. They dig so much deeper, try so much harder and play so much better when they’re playing for the kid standing next to them.”
al men’s coach Steve Desimone, in his 37th year on the job, tries to address the team dynamic in
recruiting. This is not always easy in today’s era of athletes specializing at an early age, but Desimone embraces golfers who also played other sports in high school. Brandon Hagy played basket-
ball before he came to Berkeley and helped the Bears compile a record-
setting 11 tournament victories in 2013. Or flash back to Cal’s national championship team in 2004; the captain, Peter Tomasulo, was a stand- out soccer player at Long Beach Poly High. “Those kids usually understand
what it’s like to be part of a team,” Desimone said. Still, there’s no scientific formula
for recruiting in college sports, and especially not in golf. As Desimone pointed out, none of the players on that ’04 title team was ranked in the top 500 in the nation coming out of high school.
Or put another way: Not every kid
is Tiger Woods or Jordan Spieth. Kennaday understands all too well,
because he’s recruiting for a mid-level school in San Jose State, without the cachet and resources of, say, neigh- boring Stanford. This makes it daunting for Kennaday to build great depth.
Like most coaches, he
consults the rankings and analyzes a prospect’s perfor- mance in high-level junior tournaments. Kennaday also realizes those metrics are not foolproof, as illustrated by the success of senior Cody Blick, from San Ramon Valley High in Danville. “I think the leading indica-
tor is previous success, but I’ve had highly ranked players come in and wash out,” Kennaday said. “Cody was off everybody’s radar—and he comes here and beats everybody. It’s an odd sport. It’s been called a crapshoot, and some days I agree with that.” Stanford offers its own ex-
amples. Woods is the program’s signature alum of the past 20 years, naturally, and Patrick Rodgers also was a heralded recruit who lived up to his advance billing. But then how to explain Maverick McNealy? McNealy was not highly re-
garded coming out of high school, partly because he played as much hockey as golf and seldom entered national junior tourna-
Stanford Coach
Anne Walker found a four-year star in Mariah Stackhouse, who helped her team win its first national championship.
FALL 2015 /
NCGA.ORG / 25
PHOTO:
STANFORDPHOTO.COM
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