"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Stan Crawley

September 16, 2003

The idea for this installment of "If You Like Golf'' originated as a simple question from a friend.

"Did you see where the Soddy-Daisy High School boys golf team beat Baylor?'' the friend said. "Did that really happen?''

The answer is yes, and unbelievably the Trojans repeated the feat last week with another victory over the Red Raiders at Valleybrook.

And starting this week, the Trojans are unbeaten after nine matches, and also own a victory over McCallie.

The architect of the Soddy-Daisy surge to the top of the area golf world is veteran coach Jon George. He guided the Soddy-Daisy girls to the Class AAA state championship in 2000. Two of his former players, Ashley Harris and Amanda Harter, won state individual titles.

Still, George doesn't want to take credit for the Trojans' success. He is similar to former Notre Dame golf coach Jim Phifer, who led the Irish to so many state championships. Phifer always had the same answer when asked why his golf teams were so successful.

"All I do is drive the bus,'' Phifer would say.  "I'm not too far away from that,'' George said. "I like a real strong work ethic, and that is the impetus behind our success. I make sure they play in summer tournaments, go to their swing instructors and work hard. That leads to success.''

George also does something else that displays his love for the game of golf.  "We keep every kid that comes out,'' he said. "We have 21 boys on our team.  You never know when they might develop. We have a JV team, and we just keep working with them.''

Since George took over the Soddy-Daisy golf program three years ago, the girls have won three district championships, two region titles and one state title. The boys have also won three district titles and claimed the school's first region title two years ago.

Playing No. 1 this year for the Trojans is junior Tripp Harris, who has been playing the Valleybrook course since he was big enough to walk. He won the Chattanooga Junior this year and has been one of the city's top junior players since he started playing in the Vince Gill events at age 9.

Entering this week's matches and the District 6-AAA Tournament, Harris, No. 2 player Derek Rende and No. 3 player Kyle Cothran are undefeated. Rende is a sophomore, and Cothran is a freshman who has the lowest scoring average on the team.

Rounding out the lineup are senior Caleb Wimpee at No. 4, junior Austin Stanley at No. 5 and freshman Brett George, the son of coach George, at No. 6.  "Even though Tripp is our captain, Caleb has given us good senior leadership,'' coach George said. "Austin was second to Tripp last year in the district, and Brett won two Vince Gill tournaments last summer.

"This is clearly the strongest year we've had in school history,'' George added. "Soddy-Daisy beating Baylor twice is something you don't see every day. Both teams played exceptional golf each time. We just made a shot here and there and were fortunate to come out on top.''

What makes the Soddy-Daisy story even more interesting is that George uses golf to teach his players the lessons of life.  "We're a close family,'' he said. "We work all year long, we eat dinner together a lot and have different activities. We encourage one another. We have short prayers, we're like a family. I also send them little notes all the time.

"Golf extends to more than just playing. It teaches honesty, integrity and work ethic—things you can carry with you through life. Golf isn't just about winning and losing. You carry the intangibles with you throughout life. That is what is important to me. Life lessons. That is what this program is all about.''

No wonder the Trojans have been so successful.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)

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