INNISFAIL – Ryan Coleman had plenty to digest when he walked into Innisfail High School last month to start the new semester.
He was set to begin his first teaching job, specializing in social studies and English.
But then came another task for the 25-year-old newly minted teacher. He would be offered the coaching duties for the high school golfing team.
“This was the first time I have ever coached. It was really exciting to actually be able to take on the golf team,” said Coleman, who did have prior experience giving golf lessons during the summer to young children. “It was great. I loved it. It was just to be able to see kids get passionate about a sport that I am passionate about, and golf in the last few years has been popular with kids. They are wanting to play golf and wanting to go to tournaments.”
His new extracurricular task would also prove especially challenging as the players assigned to him had never been on a golf team before. Like him, they were rookies as well.
“It was nice to be there with them. Golf is always exciting for me, so I jumped at the opportunity to get to coach them,” said Coleman.
His team was all male, students from grades 10 to 12.
However, the learning curve to get to know each other and to prepare for the first tournament was short. But his sudden unexpected indoctrination into the art of coaching went well.
“I got along with the kids pretty early. I went golfing with them prior to the tournament to kind of see how they were doing,” said Coleman.
And then just a week later, after meeting for the first time and getting to know each other a little bit, it was off to their first tournament as a team. The new Innisfail High School squad would play in Camrose for a Central Zone provincial qualifier tournament. The event had 133 players from about 20 other teams in schools across the region.
“They all golfed pretty well. We had one in the top 10,” said Coleman, of Grade 10 student Quinn Clark who had a round of 88 to finish in the top 10. “It was a bit of an eyeopener for them because I don’t think they golfed in a serious golf tournament before. The whole atmosphere they were not used to. I think they learned that this is tough, and there were some good golfers out there.”
Unfortunately, the Innisfail team did not get a good enough score to advance but Coleman knew there was much to be pleased about from his new coaching experience, and the admirable chemistry emerging from the players.
“I found it to be really strong. Most of them are friends on the course and at school. They got along really well,” noting team dynamics are different in golf as each member is playing individual games. “But at the zone tournament they were actually able to golf with each other due to COVID restrictions.
“So having them all golf together was probably nice because they got to size each other up.”
The season would prove to be a short one for the Innisfail High School golf team. There would only be one other tournament. That would be in Carstairs on Sept. 23. It was, according to Coleman, more of a “fun” tournament for players at all skill levels that was hosted by the Chinook’s Edge School Division.
Coleman is hoping to coach again next year, perhaps with some of the kids he had in his rookie coaching year.
“I know in the past I’ve known some golf coaches that just dropped kids off at the course, and kind of just left the kids to golf,” he said. “It’s all about that positivity, helping each other along because golf can be a pretty frustrating game, so if anyone gets down in the dumps it helps to have everyone stay positive.
“It was nice to be there with them.”
