Turning Things Around

The following is my final project for my J470 sportswriting class this spring quarter at Ohio University. I cannot thank Coach Brickner enough for allowing me to interview him this past weekend. I also cannot thank Nick Lay, Chris Hall, Brad Walliser, and Michael Grothaus for answering all of my questions. I owe you all. Anyways, here is the story. Enjoy.

The first line in Louis Armstrong’s, “What a Wonderful World,” is, “I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and for you, and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

Fitting that this song is Scott Brickner’s favorite. Or, as he is more commonly referred to in the plains of a small northwest Ohio community, Coach Brickner.

See, Brickner has been planting proverbial trees for the past twelve years as Tiffin Calvert’s Head Golf Coach. When he took over the program in 1996 he was not even given any seeds. He had to bring his own. It was a job tailor made for Brickner.

The Beginning

Brickner was a 1988 graduate of Calvert High School, and played on the golf team for four years. He was a junior when Calvert won their first, and to this day, only Midland Athletic League (MAL) title. However, Brickner has a more vivid recollection of what took place his senior year, when his team finished second by one shot. It is a big reason why he wanted to become a coach.

A teammate, one who did not practice the entire summer, four-putted the final green. A two-putt would have clinched the championship, while even a three-putt would have put them in a playoff. Instead the entire team was left wondering ‘what if.’

“Failures stick with you longer than successes,” Brickner said. “That entire situation reminds me of what laziness can do to you.”

Fast forward eight years later and Brickner was now calling the shots. He was given a program which in his words, “was pretty much in shambles.” It would take a total and complete overhaul. Calvert had three straight losing seasons, and went 5-11 the year prior on a tremendously weak schedule. Brickner had his hands full, but they were ready.

Change is Good

“Someone needed to take the time to do it the right way,” Brickner said.

While the “right way” may be debatable, it is difficult to argue with Brickner’s turnaround of the team. He has packaged an off-season weight lifting program, with a tougher schedule, along with tremendous upgrades to their facilities. The result has been a top three finish in the MAL for nearly a decade under Brickner.

“I had to change the mentality of the team,” Brickner said. “I had to find guys who really wanted to play golf or guys who liked golf and were really competitive.”

Nick Lay would be classified as the latter of those two choices. A three-sport varsity athlete, Lay found success not only on the links but on the basketball court and the pitching mound.

“Coach toughened up the schedule a fair amount, including several tournaments with pretty stiff competition,” Lay said. “That’s the reason we had as much individual and team success as we did.”

Lay was referring to fellow teammate Chris Hall, who was the MAL medalist in 2001. A performance, which for Hall, validated all the long nights his mom waited for him in the parking lot, validated all the time he had spent, and validated the commitment put in by Brickner.

“He [Brickner] turned the program philosophy into a culture of winning,” Hall said. “I felt as if we were always the most prepared team with the detailed course reports he always gave us. He also taught us to carry ourselves as a professional, in anything we did.”

Changes were in place, but the biggest was yet to occur. It was something neither Hall nor Lay were fortunate enough to benefit from.

Change of Scenery

Imagine a basketball team only being able to practice on half of a court. Or an entire tennis team practicing on one court at the same time. Or even a baseball team practicing with no outfield available.

This is what Brickner and the Calvert golf program had to deal with for nearly a decade. It all changed in 2003, a move which Brickner mentions as the “most important.”

Brickner not only inherited the Calvert golf team in 1996, he also inherited their home course, Clinton Heights.

Clinton is a public golf course, used regularly by hackers of all shapes, sizes and genders. They had no practice area, not even as much as a simple practice putting green.

A move had to be made.

Enter Mohawk Golf Course, a private club which has everything a high school coach could ask for. By consistently asking club and board members, Brickner finally received the okay prior to the start of the 2003 season.

Mohawk was equipped with a double-sided driving range (so the team would not get in the way of the club members), a practice bunker green, multiple chipping greens, and several putting greens. Not to mention a back nine designed by the legendary Donald Ross.

Comparing Mohawk to Clinton would be like comparing a nice ripe apple to the exact same apple, only if you let the second apple rot for two weeks and then threw it against an oncoming bus.

“We were never going to struggle again,” Brickner said. “The facilities were in place to instruct the way I wanted to.”

While several past team members have moaned to Brickner about not getting the chance to call Mohawk their home course, some like Lay, - the team‘s comedic relief - actually preferred the laid-back atmosphere of Clinton.

“We couldn’t have gotten away with most of the shit we did during practice, so I wasn’t mad,” Lay said. “I don’t think my motivation would have been higher either, it was always about beating the other guy.”

Michael Grothaus, who played his first two years at Clinton and his last two years at Mohawk, thought that Mohawk prepared him well for other difficult golf courses.

“Clinton does not get you ready to play at the tougher away sites,” Grothaus said. “It truly was an amazing difference.”

Hall, while upset about the move not happening sooner, understood the politics of the situation but still wishes he could have been born maybe a year or two later.

“It is just like Coach forcing you to get better, Mohawk does the same thing in a different respect,” Hall said. “Mohawk would make anyone that takes the game seriously better by default.”

What once was a nagging flaw in the Calvert golf program, Brickner had turned into a major advantage.

Negatives

The old saying is true in this case, “it is impossible for everyone to like you.” Brickner’s attitude towards golf may not be appealing to some. The off-season training, the tough and demanding schedule, and the long practices have resulted in several golfers quitting.

Think about it. One gets to play all the free golf they can handle and it is one of those sports that does not involve running. Some adults even look to coach golf for those very same reasons.

Not for Brickner. Not at Calvert. One better think again.

Brickner has his team run hills after each match and tournament they fail to win. The idea is to instill the notion of golf not being easy, and that team success is the most important aspect.

“The coach sets the tone for the team,” Brickner said. “Team success is the most important, regardless of individual success.”

Brickner compares it to Michael Jordan, citing that Jordan never won any championships until he realized he had to make his teammates better. Similarly with Brickner, Jordan was not liked all the time by everyone.

“Some kids will quit and not be happy,” Brickner said. “But, everyone knows they have to raise their preparation because the schedule is not going to change.”

Passion can be a fickle beast.

The Future

Perhaps a MAL championship. Possibly a sectional crown. Maybe even a berth in the state championships. Brickner sees all of the above as a possibility, and even admits it is time for one of those to happen. However, he also knows that it will not be the records that end up defining him, but rather the players he has coached.

Brad Walliser is one of those players, a two-year varsity member. He saw Brickner as more than just a golf coach, but a mentor as well.

“It wasn’t just always about golf,” Walliser said. “He was always throwing in life lessons as well.”

That is a classic example of how Brickner operates. Golf is not the end all, be all. Even if that is how he is seen by some.

“I always tell the kids to focus on their morality, academics, athletics, in that order,” Brickner said. “I want the kids to accomplish things and have success.”

The intrinsic beauty of what Brickner has accomplished is that no one was crying out for a consistent and contending golf team. In the state of Ohio, football is king, with basketball being a close second. However, he has single-handedly raised expectations, raised the proverbial bar. Slowly and steadily he has put the Calvert golf team on the map. While he has not added to the golf banner yet, which remains unaltered since the 1986 MAL Championship, he has rebuilt the program on a rock solid foundation of hard work, integrity, and honesty.

For Calvert golf, it truly is a wonderful world.

All Aboard the Crazy Train

Game Five of the Stanley Cup goes into triple overtime. The Kimbo Slice fight goes into the third round. LOST goes into an eight month hibernation after their season four finale last Thursday.

All that in one week. Crazy. Let’s start with the Penguins.

PENGUINS

I knew it was over. I had seen this movie before. The Penguins were done. After surrendering a two goal lead, the Pens were trailing 3-2 with under one minute to go. The goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled. The season was over. Almost.

With 35 seconds remaining, the Penguins were somehow able to knock it past Red Wings goalie, Chris Osgood to tie the game and send it to overtime.



NHL playoff overtime games are nail biting. It is the golden goal concept. One goal and the game is immediately over. Usually it is not which team makes the big play, but rather, which team makes the small mistake.

The Red Wings made the mistake. Jiri Hudler was sent to the penalty box for a high stick (that’s what she said). The Penguins would score on the power play just one minute later. The Stanley Cup Finals continue.

The part that gives me chills has to be who scored the game-winning goal.

In the first overtime Petr Sykora told the on-ice reporter he would win the game. He did. Talk about calling your shot.



Game Six is tonight at Pittsburgh. Win or lose, I will always remember Game Five.

KIMBO SLICE

It doesn’t matter if you are a fan of Kimbo Slice or not, his fight against James Thompson on CBS last Saturday night was pretty damn entertaining. I was glad to see Kimbo survive it even though I thought the referee stopped the fight too soon.

My favorite part, besides the Kimbo win, was having Gus Johnson on the call. I am convinced that man can do it all. He was absolutely awesome, that’s the only way to describe it.

Fair warning. This video is not for the light of heart.



I honestly think Kimbo would be better suited to go the boxing route, and it will be interesting to see if he finally decides to do it. I am willing to bet it will take two losses in MMA for him to pull the trigger.

LOST SEASON FOUR FINALE

It is getting scary. Expectations are being met. The bar is continually being met, raised and then met once again. LOST continues to amaze me.

The Season Four finale was a great episode. Even though - I am going to come off a little bit cocky - I was able to predict just about everything that took place, it still left me in a state of wonder.

LOST finales need to take some time to sink in. Time to fully understand and grasp what just took place. LOST does not return until February of 2009, which is a long eight months from now. The finales are the last piece of thread we can hold onto during its’ hibernation.

What is in store for Season Five? Great question. I do know that every season premiere has introduced us to a new and important character. Season One - Jack. Season Two - Desmond. Season Three - Juliet. Season Four - The Freighter People. It is very possible that Season Five will follow suit. But who really knows??

This is a great video I found of alternate endings to Season Four. They were shot to throw off spoilers from possibly taking place. I thought they were pretty cool.



Recently I composed a list of my favorite television shows. LOST was number one. After that finale, the cementing process has begun.

FAVORITE VIDEO OF THE WEEK

I knew this had to be out there somewhere, and I found it. Enjoy.



What a great video. The last clip with Stanley, which just might be my favorite one, is actually a deleted scene.

I wish I could put up some longer posts, but with school winding down it is just not possible. Expect more of the same for next week.

Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”