What I Learned from 15 Years as a College Golf Coach
When I look back on my 15 years coaching college golf as the assistant coach for UBC’s Women’s Golf Team, I don’t just think about wins, trophies, or national championships. I think about people. I think about growth. And I think about how coaching at the collegiate level shaped not only the players I worked with but who I am today.
College golf is not just a sport; it’s a place where young athletes learn who they are. And being part of that process is one of the greatest privileges of my life. Here are some of the most powerful lessons I learned over the years:
1. Adversity Is a Gift—If You Let It Be
College athletes face a mountain of challenges: homesickness, injuries, academic stress, slumps, and pressure to perform. But what I learned is that adversity is where the most growth happens… if you lean into it rather than avoid it. I often said, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.” The most resilient athletes weren’t the ones with perfect swings; they were the ones who could walk into tough situations and find a way to stay grounded.
2. Resilience Can Be Trained
Resilience isn’t something you’re born with, it’s built. It starts with habits: showing up when you don’t feel like it, asking for help when you need it, staying in the fight when your scorecard says quit. We trained it every day, on the course, in our conversations, and in how we reacted to setbacks. My job as a coach wasn’t to protect players from the storm, but to teach them how to carry an umbrella and walk through it.
3. Intrinsic Motivation Outlasts Everything
You can’t want it for them. The most successful players were always driven by something deeper than rankings or scholarships. They had something inside them, a standard, a curiosity, a hunger. We talked a lot about the difference between “I have to” and “I get to.” It’s amazing what shifts when you’re playing from a place of gratitude and internal purpose.
4. Relational Skills Will Always Win
I entered coaching thinking it was all about drills, data, and detail. But the longer I coached, the more I realized: it’s the relationship that matters. Can your athletes trust you? Do they feel seen, heard, and valued? Can you have a hard conversation and still maintain connection? Coaching is human work. If you don’t understand people, all the golf knowledge in the world won’t matter.
5. Leadership Means Being Steady When Others Aren’t
A college team is a swirling storm of personalities, emotions, and expectations. And as a coach, your energy sets the tone. If you lose it, they will too. I learned to be a steady presence, to calm in the chaos, to be optimistic in the losses, to be consistent in the message. That doesn’t mean being emotionless. It means anchoring yourself in what matters most: growth over results, people over performance.
Final Thoughts
Fifteen years in college coaching taught me more than I could’ve imagined, not just about golf, but about life. It taught me that your legacy isn’t in your record; it’s in how you helped people become more of who they’re meant to be.
And if I could say one thing to every athlete I’ve coached, it would be this: