By Coach Jerry Wright

There are several new challenges on the horizon for the 2010 Kalamazoo Valley Cougars Golf Team, as follows: 1) Dick Shilts has given up the position of head golf coach after leading them for more than 30 years. I am honored to have been hired by KVCC after assisting Coach Shilts for the past 3 years. 2) I am an old rookie in the first year as head mentor. 3) The Western Division has accepted Jackson Community College into the conference making a total of 7 teams vying for the title, creating more competition. 4) The added team into the mix increases the number of conference ‘invitationals’ (matches) to an already short six week spring season. 5) Or-ganized practices adds pressure to the student/athletes’ tight schedules to juggle the demands on classroom and academic performance and attendance; early golf schedule practice demands to help prepare them for early spring season weather challenges; and work schedule conflicts.

There are several reasons why we are ready to scale the horizon with a winning trend. We had 14 golfers at the fall tryouts, following a six-week practice schedule to help prepare them. They responded by shooting record-breaking individual scores and team total scores with their best 4 of 5, 18-hole qualifying rounds.

Ten players qualified with scores below 320, meaning they averaged shooting in the seventies with their 4 best rounds. Team totals for the low 4 scores of each of those rounds were 304, 290, 304, and 294 for a total of 1192 strokes!

After the academic eligibility list was posted at year end the team ended up with 8 eligible play-ers, as follows: Jacob Rykse with 290; Keegan White-292; Scott Kugler-306; Jack Early-309; Andrew Bliss-310; Zach Dzuiban-311; Daniel Simmons-314; and Tyler Warren-329.

Other indications that the Cougars will meet the new challenges are as follows: The low six ‘A’ team members will be spending a week in spring training at Destin, Florida playing the Kelly Plantation Golf Course, as well as several other top-rated Florida golf courses, plus two Alabama courses. Our number two and three players are returning from the 2009 team; White and Kugler were elected by the team as captains for the season. Jacob Rykse, low qualifier, was graduated from Kalamazoo Christian High School in 2009 as an all-state golfer.

We go into the season with our eyes set on the horizon and will be playing one match at a time. I am looking forward to a successful season with the help of my assistant coach, Rick Temple, and volunteer coach, Dan Gregart. Our home courses are Gull Lake East and West, Bedford Valley, and Stonehedge North and South. Stonehedge North and Bedford Valley are the selected course sites of the KVCC Invitational the MCCAA tournament and the NJCAA Region XII tournament.

We expect to do great things this season.  The girls have worked very hard and are determined to be successful.  We have alot of speed to go along with some very good power.  This team has great chemistry, the best I have seen.  We will play hard and compete every game. 

Awards have been a pretty regular occurrence in the career of Cougar all star Jeannie Closson , but this one was very special.  She has been named a Distinguished Academic All American by the National Junior College Athletic Association by virtue of her perfect 4.0 performance in the  classroom over the past two years.  "We have had twelve Distinguished Academic All Americans over our 14 years, but Jeannie is the first with a perfect 4.0 for two years of work." stated a proud Cougar Coach, Ron Welch. "It's very special to accomplish this award, but the way Jeannie did it sort of puts her at another level and she did it in one of the toughest courses of study here at KVCC; pre-nursing.  Obviously we're very proud of her."  Student athletes must have at least a 3.8 GPA after two years to qualify for the award.

     Closson's 4.0 GPA was a catalyst for the rest of the Lady Cougars who were no slouches in the academic area themselves.  The 2008-09 team garnered a solid 3.21 team GPA for the academic year and was named as one of the NJCAA's Academic Teams of the Year.  "Academic excellence has become part of the tradition here in our women's basketball program." said Welch.  "It's a point of emphasis for us every year.  The reality is that they are here to get an education.  If we happen to win some games along the way all the better!  We couldn't be prouder."

     Joining the women's basketball team as an Academic Team of the Year was the Cougar softball team.  Led by Kalamazoo Valley 2008-09 Dale B Lake award winner for female student athletes, Katelyn Bryce, the diamond gems achieved an equally outstanding 3.15 team GPA.  Bryce was near perfect with a 3.95 GPA and had strong support from Parchment's Jennifer Chiechi who ended her valley career with a sparkling 3.75 GPA.

     Congratulations to both teams and their respective coaches for a job well done, both on the field and in the classroom!