University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Rachey's Return to Minnesota
3/25/2020 9:23:00 AM | Men's Golf
By Shelby Kieffer, Athletic Communications Assistant
When newly-named head coach Justin Smith was looking for someone to help build Minnesota's golf program this past summer, he looked no further than one of his former players: Matt Rachey.
During his time as a Gopher, Rachey was a presence on and off the course. As a player, he worked his way into the lineup and finished second at the St. John's Invitational his junior season in 2015-16. In the classroom, he was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He also received the program's "Louis Lick" Hardest Worker Award twice in his playing career.
After graduation, he went into teaching. Rachey served as the assistant golf professional at three different courses and opened his own teaching practice for local golfers in his hometown of Waconia, Minn.
But when the opportunity arose to return to his alma mater, the choice was clear for Rachey.
"Minnesota has always been my home and it's a dream to work and coach here," he said.
For Rachey, he felt his coaching style seemed like a natural fit with that of Coach Smith.
"He's the guy that will get you out there, help you get the ball in the hole, teach you mental toughness; for him the short game is everything," Rachey stated. "I work with the technical parts of the golf swing. If I see something I'll help the guys in with the right way to implement it without making it a super big transition swing."
With both coaches in new roles, one of their first steps was defining what the new era of Minnesota Men's Golf would look like.
"It took a couple of months to develop all the details on it, a couple brainstorming sessions on what do we call this punchline or slogan," Rachey explained.
Rachey defined the new era as 'Commit North,' of which the defining aspects are 'committed,' 'compete,' and 'connect.'
"We want to do all three of those things and successfully improve upon those every single day," he elaborated. "Those three areas are not only going to help these guys have great professional golf lives but also professional job life in general."
One of the biggest challenges for the program is the Minnesota winters. However, Rachey described that as an opportunity.
"You can hit a ball in 20 degrees with a lot of layers on then go out to 85 degrees and think 'I've done this for the last three months in the snow, I can do it here in the sun when I feel good, warm, and loose,'" said Rachey. "A lot of the things we do to prepare them is to practice tough so when they get out in the tournament it's a lot easier."
The players have already bought into the 'Commit North' mantra. Despite the winter in Minnesota, players are working hard to improve their games.
"This is just one example but our freshman, Harrison Arnold, he's great at it," Rachey said. "He goes in with an 'I don't care if there is snow on the ground' mentality. He came back after winter break ready to get better.
"Our top guys are really starting to become some of our hardest workers and so I think that trickle-down effect it's almost like the players become a part of the coaching staff, as well."
That air of competitiveness has made picking tournament lineups difficult for both coaches, but Rachey described it as a perfect scenario.
"It's a great problem to have. You can make decisions with guys that are getting better and working super hard; we'll live with these kinds of decisions, it's what we're here for," he said.
The 'connect' extends to his own job as an assistant coach. Coach Smith has challenged him to continue learning from their coaching peers.
"I've told him 'I want you to push. I want you to talk to other people in the department, learn about college athletics, learn about coaching, learn about golf,'" Smith said. "I think it's been amazing; you see the environment around this team and the positivity he brings around this team, that's priceless stuff. It's so hard to find and this program is very lucky to have him in the position he's in."
Rachey has been working on additional goals for himself as the spring season approached.
"I'd like to continue to learn when's the time to be buddies and help these guys and also when to be 'now's the time for a learning lesson,'" Rachey said.
He also described his emphasis on optimism in his teaching to the guys.
"I'm big on optimism and attitude and choice of how we think. So when you start hearing negative comments it's nipping it in the bud," he said. "It helps with that mental toughness and what we can control and being positive can directly relate to that."
The 'Commit North' effort has already started to pay off. The Gophers earned their first win in five years last September at the Macdonald Cup. They then competed at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate alongside other ranked powerhouses and placed fifth.
"You've got to be able to win at any level to do it at the NCAA finals," Rachey said. "Also, Jerry Pate was great because of the field, they get a little bit tougher for that event. A top-five finish there and a lot of great individual performances, that's stuff you just keep building on as we come closer to the postseason."
Looking beyond this spring, Rachey explained that Coach Smith and he are looking to recruit players that are willing to commit to the unique program to advance their games, like Harrison Arnold.
Getting the kind of golfers that will commit and buy in will go a long way towards building a program in a way that Smith and Rachey envision.
Or as Rachey details it: "Minnesota Golf is a mentally tough golf culture that loves to do it differently. But in the same token, it's a very close-knit community. Since we are the only division one program here [in Minnesota], being proud to represent and wear the 'M.'"