“Get better everyday,” was the season’s goal set by head coach Mike Nedelcoff, and that’s exactly what the Pleasant Valley Boys Golf team has done.
After a dominating season this fall, the team competed in the MAC tournament at Midland Golf Club. The tournament is scored across two days. Each individual plays two rounds of golf (one each day). At the end of each day, the team takes their top 4 scorers and adds the scores together for a team score. After both days, the two scores are added together and the team with the lowest score is the winner.
At the end of the final round on Saturday, the Spartans stood alone and won the conference title, for the 6th year in a row, led by senior Sam Johnson. Johnson won the tournament shooting a 1395 under parfor the weekend. “It was a really cool experience, keeping the tradition alive of 6 straight team titles and 4 straight individual titles,” Johnson said.
Johnson wasn’t the only PV golfer to do well at the tournament. The Spartans went one, two and three at the tournament with two PV golfers tying for 7th as well. “What really helped was having 4 of the 6 competitors returning from last year’s tournament,” Nedelcoff said. He was particularly impressed with the improvement and confidence the boys have shown throughout the season and as they headed into the tournament.
For those who don’t play golf it may appear as an easy sport, however head coach Nedelcoff says otherwise, “Golf’s most challenging aspect is both the mental and physical skill. In so many different situations along with every time you play the conditions are different from previous rounds,” it’s hard to be prepared for everything in the game of golf. However, the Spartans have excelled at that this year.
Throughout the season, the team has focused on getting better day in and day out. “They’ve utilized learning opportunities to continue to improve,” Nedelcofff explained. It takes a lot to be good at golf and tenacity and attention to details are the utmost importance to the game. However, the team isn’t only focused on the game. Johnson’s favorite part about the team is the friends he made during his time on the team,knowing they all have his back.
With the season wrapping up the golf team will go into the championship stretch, relying on each other as they compete for this year’s state title. With only a few weeks left, the team will continue competition in Cedar Rapids, home of the 2022 Boys’ Golf State Championship, on Oct. 7.
