Everyone who lives in Nebraska, or at least the Midwest, is very familiar with the constant fluctuating state of the weather. This is especially true this year, with our 80-degree days in February, alongside the more than 50-degree dips when it snows the very next day.
This unpredictability affects countless people. Especially the spring sports, that depend on the warmer weather in order to practice in playing conditions outside. The MN golf team is one of the affected, and to combat this disadvantage, Boys Golf coach Eric Welte decided to take the players down to Bella Vista, A.K. to escape the temperamental temperatures here.
“It’s the first time we’ve done anything like this since I’ve been involved [with golf],” Welte said, “[The trip] is mainly because the weather here in March is pretty iffy, and for practice and team-bonding.”
The last time the team did anything like this was ten years ago, on a trip to Kansas City to play on their ‘Top Golf’ ranges. This time, going double the distance for warmer weather and more playing time, opens up opportunities for bolstering group cohesion and strengthening team spirit.
The team went on the trip during the MN conferences break, leaving early on Mar. 13 and arriving back home on Mar. 16. For two seniors on the team, this trip serves as their final capstone achievement before they graduate.
Senior Kaden Sudds, who has been on the team since his freshman year, is committed to University of Nebraska-Lincoln for golf. His personal connection to golf has shaped his attitude and the way he views the sport.
“I used to play baseball, but then I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I had to find something else, and so I just fell in love [with golf] from there because it was the only sport I could play,” Sudds said. “It’s helped me handle adversity. It’s an outlet for when things get stressful; you’re just going out there to golf with your buddies at the end of the day, and there’s nothing better than that.”
After the 6.5 hour drive down, the team and chaperones stayed in an large AirBNB house on a lake, where many of the players brought their fishing poles and enjoyed themselves out on the water. The team received around five new members this season, and senior Max Goodwin believes that the trip served as an integration for them
“We’re all going to be in the same house, and so we will all be around each other, meeting the new players on the team and building connections on and off the course. Just spending more time together is the best thing we could do,” Goodwin said.
The quality time spent together taught the new players how to be on a team, and what it means to be a part of their family.
“I hope that [the new teammates] know what it means, and how special it is being a part of this team. You get the opportunity to go out there every single day with your brothers, and I think that’s just so special,” Sudds said. “I think more than the legacy I leave, I want them to be able to create a legacy of their own.”
After spending three days constantly together, whether it was on the ‘Top Golf’ courses, out back fishing, or playing cards in the game room of their house, Welte doesn’t doubt that new players will feel solidified and unified all together as a family. He offers a different perspective on students, being able to see them both inside and outside the classroom.
“It’s really something that we spend a lot of time just on the golf course, it’s a social interaction place. Guys that I thought were super quiet, they start to open up and really get talking when they get out on the course,” Welte said.
Goodwin even feels a sense of responsibility to the younger teammates to show them the ropes and lead them to success. As he is in his second year on the team, he felt like he was ready to step up into a leadership role. His hope for the team stretches far beyond the time he’ll spend with them over his last few months.
“I hope to be remembered as the guy that loved everybody. The kind that showed up and was a leader of the team in the right ways, pointing people in the right direction and who never brought the team down,” Goodwin said.