1.      How long have you been working at Chapman / how did you get here?

This fall is my 7th official year. I had voluntarily assisted previously with Coach Wheatley for 3 years while I was a PGA Teaching Professional at Tustin Ranch Golf Course.

2.       What’s your favorite story from working at Chapman?

My favorite story is about our strength and conditioning coach, Kevin Ashton. During one of our annual end of the season Golf Booster golf tournaments he made a hole in one! If any one has had the pleasure of meeting Kevin in person knows that he is very strong and can handle any weight on the bench press. This man hit a finesse shot with a hybrid club on a difficult par 3 into the cup. A legendary shot by a football guy at heart. Of course he took off before he could buy everyone a soda at the finish as tradition mandates! He definitely owes us one but we still got him a sweet trophy commemorating his rare feat.

3.      What’s the best part about working with student-athletes at Chapman?

I heard this interview on the radio a while back with a big time coach and his hiring at a major university. He was asked about the recent hire and he emphatically responded about how invigorated he was. This describes my exact sentiment when I think about what is the best part of working with student athletes at Chapman. Walking on campus, interacting with our student-athletes, and representing an absolutely wonderful institution are all reasons my experience here at Chapman has been life changing.

4.       What was the best moment of your seven years coaching at Chapman?

Needless to say I have many special moments in Coaching while here at Chapman.  But I have to give you three.

#1) Qualifying for the National Championships with Emily Lewis in 2019. She worked so hard to put herself into that position and to do it in just the program’s 3rd year of existence made it more remarkable. There are many teams in our conference as well as in the nation that have never been. I feel lucky and honored to have her represent us in Houston, Texas that year.

#2) Bryan Wise winning the Jesse Clark Sportsmanship award for his senior year 2017.  So well loved by the entire conference and was selected by the coaches after an intersquad vote. He was a freshman my first year hired and I watched for 4 years how a student athlete could mature in every way possible. From golf skill to socializing to leading (was my captain for 2+ years) he was a coach’s dream.

#3) Griffin Tso winning the Jesse Clark Sportsmanship award for his senior year 2019.  This was a tear-jerker, not a dry eye in the house as he was selected the winner of this award in 2019. My first real recruit that I watched play and had family meetings with. He was a protege of Bryan Wise and really looked up to him while he was an underclassman. A unanimous choice for this honor, he was not only an All-SCIAC selection for his play but made some sincere friends with our competitors in the conference. Truly a fine example of Chapman family and a home run future.

5.        Anything else you want to say to alumni?

Thanks for your current support Alumni, I truly believe golf is an all age sport.  We can play from the single digit years to nearly the triple digit ones and have fun the whole way.