Once someone discovers I’m the College golf coach I quickly get asked two questions. “How good are your players?,” and then, “What kind of score does someone need to shoot in competition to make the team?”

Thankfully, last season, I could honestly answer the first one with, “Well, my team captain won an invitational tournament with a 2-under 69.” At which point I’m suddenly taken half-seriously. And secondly, I can answer that for Gordon to succeed as a team our male players need to be capable of tournament scores below 82 and our female players scores below 95. Now I sound very convincing. Which prompts an inevitable third question, “Can you make me a better player?” To which I respond, “How good do you want to be?”

In reality, the tournament 69 was Ian’s personal best in competition. This spring God has led him to propose to his high-school sweetheart and has this summer transferred to her college in Mississippi to start their future together. Oh, drat. Oh, I mean congratulations, Ian, and we’ll miss you.

What I will miss as Ian’s coach, was that his 69 was born from that moment when as an athlete he realized his coach had something to offer and he asked me, “Coach, what is it I need to do to get better?” One gentle tweak to his swing-plane and tempo one afternoon, and a gentler reminder to trust himself and his present ability, and in the next week’s event, “Boom!,” his personal best. This accomplishment also opened a door to a golf scholarship offer at that new school! As a coach, I’m happy to help in any way that I can--Really.

So the real question is not what score do I need to make the team, or win the event. It is not how good can this coach make you. The real question is, “How good do you want to be?” I would like to see, and your team needs, your personal best. The challenge of competitive golf, like any other collegiate varsity effort is this: “Is that the best you can do?”

Like every other varsity college athlete across the country, as a college golfer you should ask yourself:
Have I been preparing before my season with commitment and anticipation?
Have I faithfully rehearsed the skills I need to play competitively?
Have I tested myself in local competition or against challenging friends?
Do I love this game?

I hope all athletes can find inspiration in Ian’s small-college story. I believe Ian could honestly answer those four questions with a, “Yes, coach!” All he needed was a little reminder to be faithful to them and believe that those things matter as a competitive athlete.

Any coach in any sport is eager to find a player who is faithful, committed, eager for competition, technically sound (or eager to be), and who loves the game they chose to play. Collegiate competition is not a half-hearted enterprise. How good you want to be is directly related to how good you could be if you love your sport enough to put in the effort required. If you show up with that, you’ll not only find some personal success, and you’ll likely find an eager coach willing to help refine what you’ve been working so earnestly to master.

Play your game, and have fun being your best.