Van Buren Boys Golf Head Coach Beth DeLong inherited the position two years ago having never played a hole of competitive golf.
DeLong gained control of the position after seeing her son play the sport for two years. Despite never coaching any golf or competing in the sport, DeLong stepped up and accepted the position.
“I took it on and just tried to keep a positive attitude, learning things as I went,” DeLong said. “The first year it was a big learning curve for me to be the coach and try to help these kids perfect their craft and be there to support them.”
DeLong said she felt more confident going into this season after realizing what she needed to work on. DeLong realized after her first season the sport of golf is a mental game.
“I think they just kind of needed a little bit of the confidence that they can do it,” DeLong said. “In golf, if you have a bad hole, you just got to learn to leave it behind you, move forward to the next one, and that’s sometimes hard to do.”
DeLong started with a very young and inexperienced group of Eagles. DeLong said she could feel the nerves among her 12 total golfers as she began practicing and working on helping the kids drive off the tees. DeLong said about half of the dozen students needed to round up and buy golf clubs before the season began. But the determination never wavered.
“They just wanted to be a part of everything that our school had to offer,” DeLong said. “When the students get closer to being a senior, they realize their days of participating in school events are kind of numbered.”
Of the 12 golfers that made up both teams last season, more than half were seniors.
DeLong enters her second year coaching golf at Van Buren. Van Buren High School sported solely a boys golf team this season.
