HHS Golf Team Struggles Off Course

Most people think of golf as an individual sport. And why shouldn't they? When Tiger Woods ruled golf it was his face the world saw filling the television screen.

Every camera person followed Woods around the course. He spoke to nobody but competed against everyone. The public masses have been conditioned to think of golf as a sport where you go it alone. So, how can anyone argue golf is not an individual sport?

And that is exactly what Hornets head coach John Benkovic has struggled with all season with his players. "The hardest thing to do is teach players golf is a team sport," Benkovic said.

Midway through the regular season in a match against Oakton one of Herndon's golfers made a mistake that could have cost the team the match. It went unnoticed by officials but not by Benkovic.

"I'd almost been waiting for a moment like this to happen," Benkovic said.  "I know the team's not gelling together. I know they don't want to learn the rules."

Penalties had been a problem all season for the Hornets and Benkovic impressed the importance of knowing the rules of the game thoroughly to his team but the mistakes continued. He'd had it. He felt he had lost the team and if they were not going to respect him as their coach he was going to take drastic measures.  Benkovic gathered his players during the match and became brutally honest with them.

"'I'm done – I've tried to teach you the rules. I've tried to teach you to play and you all just want to go out there and do your own thing. I'm done. If you want a babysitter, I'm a babysitter. If you want a chaperone, I'm a chaperone. But I'm done.' and I walked away," Benkovic said.

Many people might say this the absolute wrong thing for a coach to do especially when he is trying to bring his team together. And that is exactly what the father of a Herndon player confronted Benkovic with that day. "The father was mad, understandably, but I couldn't explain my true intention in front of his son," Benkovic said.

The father and coach went off to the side where Benkovic explained that he was not really quitting but instead trying to get the team to come together on their own. "I needed something to get these kids together because I wasn't doing it," Benkovic said.

Herndon actually won the match against Oakton that day and their record stood at 2-1, the best start Herndon had since Benkovic took over as head coach in 2008. So, why now did everything seem to be falling apart?

Benkovic attributes the problems to a lack of chemistry between the players themselves as well as a lack of rapport between him and the team. "Camaraderie on the team, this year has been tough," he said. "There was a lot of 'I'm going to beat you today' or 'That was horrible. How could you even play,'" Benkovic said.

Benkovic does not believe in trash talking and does not allow it on the course but said it had been happening all season. "When I hear one of my players say 'I want to beat them,' I've got to say 'no. You don't want to beat him. You just play your game. You play the course,'" Benkovic said.

For the next week Benkovic attended every practice and match and followed his players but he left it up to them to decide who would play. He said he needed the team to come together on their own in order for them to understand the importance of teamwork.

A few days later, junior teammates Jessica Merrill and Patrick Miller called a players-only meeting. Merrill said, "We didn't treat him with respect. Nobody felt like a team." Benkovic thinks very highly of Miller and says she is his best player after struggling when she tried out for the team in 2008.

"My favorite success story is Jessica Merrill – she shot 105 the first day at try outs, 100 on second day but I looked at her and said she's got a good swing." "Now she shoots low 70s," Benkovic said.

According to Merrill, the meeting did not accomplish anything and it took two of the senior golfers, Sean Wheeler and Drew Miller, going to their coach to get the ball rolling again. The players told their coach that they needed him back in order to win and they now realized their mistakes. These were the two players Benkovic said he knew would bring the team back together.

The team told their coach they had agreed to stop putting each other down. They finally understood it was tearing them apart and in order for the team to succeed they needed to respect their coach and each other. Two strokes had separated them from a 5-1 record but they are at 3-3 now and must focus on districts next week.

Now, all is well in Hornet land, according to the coach. The team is happy and excited about districts. Benkovic has broken down practices into groups of four instead of the usual 12 players practicing together in order to focus one-on-one with each player.

Benkovic made an extremely risky move but it has paid off and he hopes that will show on the course next week at districts. He has arranged for two practice rounds on the course they will play – Twin Lakes. His star player likes how things have turned out and is ready.  "We need to make up some lost ground and get our feet wet at Twin Lakes," Merrill said.

Herndon begins competition at districts Sept. 28.