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PREP BOYS GOLF PREVIEW
Big Five is down to Big Three, but goals still high at Shawnee
The Braves still have plenty of talent and will try to earn a second straight trip to the state tourney.
More boys golf: Schedules | Team capsules
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Shawnee won just one match in his first season as coach. Three seasons later, Steve Tincher's Braves were owners of a 28-match win streak and had finished sixth at the Division II state tournament.
It was a season to remember for a talented Shawnee squad in 2006. But now they want to write the script for a sequel.
Jacob Schakat competes in the first round of the Men's City Amateur Championship last month at Reid Park. Schakat averaged an impressive 38.8 strokes per nine holes last year.
Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic"I'd like to think it is going to be an encore," said Tincher, in his fifth season at the Braves' helm. "I'm not sure we'll reach the same level as last year, but we'll be a good team. You don't have a team that is that deep (as the 2006 squad) very often. On that team, my No. 5 man on most days was as good as my No. 1 man.
"Twelve months later when you look back on it, you realize how fortunate you are as a coach to have a group like that."
Two of those Big Five have graduated. Kyle Sine is playing golf these days for Malone College, while Jason Juric is at Wittenberg. But the cupboard isn't bare.
Senior threesome Doug Bodey, Jacob Schakat and Mitch Justice will supply the star power for the Braves' 2007 sequel. Bodey averaged 38.6 strokes per nine holes and Schakat 38.8 last season. Justice was the area's best No.4/No. 5 swing man, posting a 41.7 average that would have made him the star on most area teams.
"Those other guys don't have to score in the 30s for us to be successful," said Tincher of his new No. 4 and 5 golfers.
But there is a bit more pressure on the Big Three this season.
"Last year, they knew that Sine and Juric were going to turn in solid scores. They had a lot more leeway last year," said Tincher. "This year, they know if they are going to do well, they are going to have to score low consistently."
But Tincher isn't worried.
"They are coming on at the right time," he said. "They are hitting the ball as well as I've ever seen them hit it. I think they are focused on continuing what they've built on through the years and making their senior year as memorable as it was for Kyle and Jason last year."
And they don't want to leave anyone behind.
"I've got kids capable of getting to state as individuals," he said. "The top three are as good as any top three in the district. But they really want to go as a team."
Contact this reporter at
(937)
328-0364
or krowe@coxohio.com.
