Every good coach looks for that extra something that will give the team an added edge and boost the players to heights beyond even what they expected.
Great coaches find it.
Santa Clara women's golf coach Krystal Kelly is in search of that something as she leads her team into the spring season needing one tournament victory to become the all-time leader among head coaches in program history.
The Broncos ended their fall season with a come-from-behind tournament win at the Firestone Grill Cal Poly Invitational on Oct. 26, the sixth team victory since Kelly took over as head coach in spring 2011. The team scored a tournament-low and season-low tying 294 in the final round to overcome a six-stroke deficit.
Showing off their depth, the Broncos had six players finish among the top 20 in the 71-player field. "It was a great way to finish our fall season," Kelly said.
The Broncos have a loaded roster entering the spring season, led by sophomore Annie Freman and juniors Monique Riley and Meghan Shain, who improved their games during a fall season that saw Santa Clara post three runner-up finishes among its five events.
The fall season started with the first of three second-place performances at the rain-shortened Hobble Creek Fall Classic. The Broncos finished 13 shots off the pace after the final round was cancelled. Santa Clara also came in second at the Fresno State Classic and its own Colby Invitational before finally breaking through for the win at Cal Poly.
Freman is the unquestionable leader of the squad having played every round in her brief career with 13 top 10 finishes in her 16 events. She also has three individual tournament wins and trails Miki Ueoka by one for the most in program history. Freman was the top individual finisher three times for the Broncos in five fall events.
Riley and Shain also played as members of the Broncos' top team in every fall event and each recorded a career-best round.
Riley placed in the top 20 in all five events with a top 10 finish in each of the last two. She scored a career low 73 in the second round of the Fresno State Classic and had the best finish of her career with a seventh place tie at the Colby Invitational. She was the team's top individual finisher at the Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate Sept. 28.
With a final round 73 at the Firestone Grill Cal Poly Invitational, Shain matched her career low score en route to a third-place finish, which was her best ever. She also tied for ninth at the Fresno State Classic and tied for 12th at the Colby Invitational.
But heading into the spring the slate is wiped clean and it's up to the players to decide who plays come tournament time. "Right now it's hard to say who will be traveling and playing since we have such tremendous depth on our squad," Kelly said. "All I know is that any of the 10 players on any given day could be in the number one position."
Freshmen Isabella Salant, Kristin Le, Kyleigh Moreno and Taylor Gentzkow all performed well in the fall adding to an already deep roster. The four continue to push the upperclassmen for playing time and the right to represent the University at the various events.
The team worked just as hard off the course as they did on it during the break. Kelly implemented a program to help players stay focused and motivated on both parts of being a student-athlete. Always searching for that something to give her team an edge, Kelly had her players read The Energy Bus, which takes readers on an enlightening and inspiring ride revealing 10 secrets for approaching life and work with the kind of positive, forward thinking that leads to true accomplishment.
"They all have a renewed sense of self-worth and motivation after reading the book," Kelly noted. "I want the team to grow in mind, body and soul — to turn negative energy into positive achievement."
In an attempt to forge a stronger bond with University scholars and her student-athletes, Kelly also started 'Practice with Professors,' where each player invites one of her professors to a team practice session. The arrangement has been hugely successful, according to Kelly, and she plans to continue the program every quarter.
That something you're searching for is found off the course more times than it's found on the course. Maybe Kelly has found it.
The spring schedule gets under way on Feb. 9 when the Broncos travel south to compete in the Cal State Northridge Matador Invitational, a new event added to the lineup by Kelly. Also new on the schedule is the Northern Arizona University Red Rocks Invitational Feb. 28 - March 1 at the Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona, Ariz.
Once again the team will travel to Hawai'i for the Anuenue Spring Break Classic hosted by the University of Hawai'i at the Kapalua Bay Course Mar. 23-25.
The annual San Jose State Juli Inkster Invitational will be competed at the Almaden Country Club Feb. 23-24, and the Anuenue Spring Break Classic will be the final event before the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic on April 6-7 at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Course in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The WCC Championship will take place at the Saticoy Country Club in Saticoy, Calif. April 13-15. The Broncos have never finished better than third at the conference tournament, but that something will play a big part in how the team fares come April.
"We have a real competitive schedule this season with the two new events added," Kelly pointed out. "The team has put in a lot of time and effort to prepare for our spring season and we are very much looking forward to getting started."
