New Trojans girls golf coach pat ward has big spring plans for the Fall sport

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

When Toby Gentry stepped down as Chesterton High school girls golf coach after last fall’s season, a few students in the program shifted into recruiting mode.
The girls, who had learned math from former boys golf coach Pat Ward in his classroom, let him know that they wanted to learn golf from him. They encouraged him to apply for the job.
Ward resigned as boys coach last spring after his team had made it to back-to-back state tournaments, citing the desire to spend more time with his family. He told the girls he would not apply for the job, and he meant it at the time.
Now he’s the new girls golf coach.
Chesterton athletic director Jeff Hamstra recommended Ward to the school board, he was approved, and he is eager to get started, even though the team doesn’t have its first tournament for another five months.
“I’ve told Jeff you’ve got me for a year, maybe a two-year rental. That’s about all I can give,” Ward said. “No one really put forth a strong showing for it, so I took it because we’ve got to get going for the preseason.”
In the end, Ward couldn’t say no to the girls who wanted him to say yes to the job.
“If it not for next year’s group of juniors and seniors, I probably wouldn’t have taken it,” Ward said. “They’re great kids. I can sacrifice a little bit more, and my wife and my family have been good with it. It’s a lot of time for me not to be around.”
Nothing about Ward’s plans for tackling the job smacks of interim. He’s treating it as a year-round commitment.
Ward said he plans to form a club like the one he had during his final year-and-a-half as boys coach, this time possibly opening the club to boys and girls.
“Once we set up the individual club team, then I can practice with them five days a week because golf is considered an individual sport, like swimming,” Ward said.
After the boys club was formed and the players were together on the course far more regularly in the offseason, Ward said he noticed an uptick in motivation.
“We golfed on Christmas Eve last year,” he said. “It was 50 degrees. We were out there at 10 in the morning. All during finals week, we were out there almost every day because it was nice and warm.”
For as long as he is the girls golf coach, Ward said he plans to be all-in, but he’ll also find time to try to find his own replacement.
“The preference is to get an assistant coach who could be a long-term solution for that position,” Hamstra said. “It’s always a preference to have a teacher, so that’s the hope.”
Hamstra tapped his own connections, those of assistant athletic director and former girls golf coach Tommy Berry, and Ward in search of a coach. He also posted the opening on various high school athletics job boards and still “hadn’t gotten any bites.”
Ward said he told Hamstra before the Christmas break that if he didn’t have anyone lined up by late January, he would be willing to fill the void.
Ward is aware that Kristin McCoy, who played out of the No. 1 spot all last season as a sophomore, is the lone returning full-time varsity player. He also knows that three seniors, sectional champion Maddie Soffin, No. 3 finisher Chris Driscoll, and Cori Schultz, will be gone.
Still, he sounds optimistic about the Trojans performing well in the fall.
Taylor Kisic and Elizabeth Dodds played in some varsity tournaments as freshmen.
“We have Caitlyn Robison coming back. She’ll be solid. Genevieve Driscoll, Chris’ sister, she’ll be solid,” Ward said. “Then my seniors (this coming fall) who have been doing this for three years: Ella Taylor, Ella Bolinger, and Emery McKiddy. Someone from that group should be able to do what needs to be done.”
Ward said he has plans to establish a Chesterton golf club, as he did for his final year-and-a-half as the boys coach. Details, such as whether it will be one club open to players from both the girls and boys players, still need to be worked out.
“Once we set up the individual club team, then I can practice with them five days a week because golf is considered an individual sport, like swimming,” Ward said.
After the boys club was formed and the players were together on the course far more often, Ward said he noticed an uptick in motivation.
“We golfed on Christmas Eve last year,” he said. “It was 50 degrees. We were out there at 10 in the morning. All during finals week we were out there almost every day because it was nice and warm.”
Ward said he expects that the girls who take advantage of the as-yet formed club by playing the most offseason rounds together will be the ones who improve the most.
“It is muscle memory. It is pattern. And it’s doing it over and over again,” he said. “That’s why we (the boys team) were good the last two years. They played every day. Don’t get me wrong, you have to be able to handle pressure.”
Ward came to Chesterton High School for the 2005-06 school year. He estimated he spent 14 years as assistant swim coach to Kevin Kinel, and coached boys golf for nine seasons, the final seven as the head coach.