University of Minnesota Athletics
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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Smith Previews 2021 Season, Part 1
2/3/2021 9:30:00 AM | Men's Golf
As the Minnesota men's golf team prepares to start the 2021 season this weekend at the Big Ten Match Play, head coach Justin Smith sat down with GopherSports.com to talk about the long journey it's taken for the team to return to the course for the first time in almost one year. Part one today focuses on what it will mean to be back out on a golf course as a program this weekend, what was like coaching his team during the early stages of the pandemic and more.
GS: First off, after everything that has transpired over the last year, how does it feel knowing the team will be competing this weekend?
Justin Smith: "(Big Ten Match Play) was the last tournament we played a year ago. We were down on Spring Break gearing up for an event that was coming up and we got pulled home. Our guys have done an incredible job of continuing their development and finding tournaments and competing in some of the top events dating back to last summer, last fall, even over the winter; in golf you have the luxury to do that individually. And with our athletic department supporting them in that, and obviously our support, in what helps them develop is at the forefront of just about everything we do. This isn't like we haven't played anything in a year; it's just taking a different and creative approach. But there's no question, on that Friday when we start playing matches and seeing Minnesota bags going around the course again, there's going to be so much satisfaction in how we've gotten to this point.
"There's also an appreciation we all have for our department, our administrators, the Big Ten Conference in finding a pathway to allow golf to continue. I think we all know golf is a pretty safe sport considering what's going on in the world so the safest place we can be is outdoors on a course competing. At the same time, there's a lot of work that has gone in to provide us this opportunity. I think the perspective doesn't change our desire to go out and compete at our best and come out on top, but there will be some more satisfaction than maybe what we used to take for granted. We'll enjoy it that much more."
GS: When the team had to shut down last March, were you able to give the guys workout plans for the offseason or was the onus on each golfer?
JS: "Coach (Matt) Rachey and I weren't in any position to say that they had to go play a certain event or a certain location, but we know the young men we have on our team are motivated like crazy to get better at golf, just like they want to get better at school and be a better person. So we knew that was just naturally going to happen. Where Matt and I really tried to support them was to keep providing them with as many opportunities as we could here and the resources that we have at Minnesota to help them improve and develop. Also just staying in contact with them and keep learning about their games and continuing their development, even if we couldn't do it in person until this past fall. Our relationship with the nine guys on our team, we try to make it a lot more than just about golf. So there is always constant communication and helping point them in the right direction to achieve their goals. It may have taken on a different form and may not have been as a team, but that didn't stop us from helping them develop."
GS: What did that look like, coaching someone from afar?
JS: "This is all on their terms, but whether it's swing videos or after every event we'd take a look at their stats, they would ask for time to talk about certain things through Zoom or FaceTime. It really wasn't any different than what we'd normally do if we'd meet in our office, instead we'd do it through phones and computers. It's still about staying the course. We're lucky to have a group that's very motivated; they want to compete and want to get out there. We talk about learning and getting feedback on their progress at the highest level, that's where you learn and grow the most by putting yourself in those uncomfortable positions and start making them comfortable. Our routines for a lot of it didn't change. We had an opportunity to keep doing that while they kept competing, which they had to organize on their own."
GS: How long has the team been back practicing together and what has been your impression of where everyone is at?
JS: "We practiced together for a month in November. For September and October they were out competing in individual events around the Midwest. We had about seven or eight of us in November working out and doing some team functions and practices and then individual work at our facility. And that was really the first time we were around our freshmen, Ben Warian and Alex Eickhoff. Normally you start fast and furious in the fall and you get around them and get to know their games and who they are as people to help get them started in the right direction. That had to wait until November. And then once the semester came to an end the team started playing a bunch of tournaments in December and it was mid-January before we started back up again. It's been a bit of starting and stopping, but November was a big month for us to make sure going into the winter break that we as coaches knew where everyone stood and what they needed to do over the next couple of months to best prepare them for our spring semester. We still do the one-off meetings with the guys virtually to follow the COVID guidelines, so there are some things we still can't do, but we're still fortunate to be able to practice every day and they can do the strength and conditioning as much as they need to. But obviously we're ready to start competing again."
GS: After the time together in November, were you encouraged with everyone's progress and what were your feelings on the team at that point?
JS: "There are a lot of times as a coach where we can do things within our 20-hour window when we're in season where we can expect them to be in a certain location and expect them to work hard. But during the fall, even with as much encouragement as we can offer, signing up for those events and tournaments is all on them. So to see them commit to that and make that important -- and that lasted from September/October and even into December – so the commitment is there and that's the culture we're really trying to impress upon and recruit to and have that be our identity for a long time: that commitment to excellence. The most satisfying thing is we knew we had a group that was all in with that. And some of them have bigger opportunities to play in than others, but at the end of the day it's about getting out there and competing. It doesn't matter what event it is, we try to get them into the biggest events we can and help them with that, but it's really just about getting out there. That's where you learn the most. And that's what we were most encouraged by was that we had an entire group that was out doing that this fall and over winter break, and in the past that wasn't always the case. You didn't really know how motivated they were to get out and compete. And that's what we're trying to build here; every day we're trying to compete, whether it's against themselves or against the best teams in the country. That's what we're getting really close to. We're excited about introducing that standard because that's what it is going to take for us to be really good, showing up every day to compete as hard as you can."
GS: First off, after everything that has transpired over the last year, how does it feel knowing the team will be competing this weekend?
Justin Smith: "(Big Ten Match Play) was the last tournament we played a year ago. We were down on Spring Break gearing up for an event that was coming up and we got pulled home. Our guys have done an incredible job of continuing their development and finding tournaments and competing in some of the top events dating back to last summer, last fall, even over the winter; in golf you have the luxury to do that individually. And with our athletic department supporting them in that, and obviously our support, in what helps them develop is at the forefront of just about everything we do. This isn't like we haven't played anything in a year; it's just taking a different and creative approach. But there's no question, on that Friday when we start playing matches and seeing Minnesota bags going around the course again, there's going to be so much satisfaction in how we've gotten to this point.
"There's also an appreciation we all have for our department, our administrators, the Big Ten Conference in finding a pathway to allow golf to continue. I think we all know golf is a pretty safe sport considering what's going on in the world so the safest place we can be is outdoors on a course competing. At the same time, there's a lot of work that has gone in to provide us this opportunity. I think the perspective doesn't change our desire to go out and compete at our best and come out on top, but there will be some more satisfaction than maybe what we used to take for granted. We'll enjoy it that much more."
GS: When the team had to shut down last March, were you able to give the guys workout plans for the offseason or was the onus on each golfer?
JS: "Coach (Matt) Rachey and I weren't in any position to say that they had to go play a certain event or a certain location, but we know the young men we have on our team are motivated like crazy to get better at golf, just like they want to get better at school and be a better person. So we knew that was just naturally going to happen. Where Matt and I really tried to support them was to keep providing them with as many opportunities as we could here and the resources that we have at Minnesota to help them improve and develop. Also just staying in contact with them and keep learning about their games and continuing their development, even if we couldn't do it in person until this past fall. Our relationship with the nine guys on our team, we try to make it a lot more than just about golf. So there is always constant communication and helping point them in the right direction to achieve their goals. It may have taken on a different form and may not have been as a team, but that didn't stop us from helping them develop."
GS: What did that look like, coaching someone from afar?
JS: "This is all on their terms, but whether it's swing videos or after every event we'd take a look at their stats, they would ask for time to talk about certain things through Zoom or FaceTime. It really wasn't any different than what we'd normally do if we'd meet in our office, instead we'd do it through phones and computers. It's still about staying the course. We're lucky to have a group that's very motivated; they want to compete and want to get out there. We talk about learning and getting feedback on their progress at the highest level, that's where you learn and grow the most by putting yourself in those uncomfortable positions and start making them comfortable. Our routines for a lot of it didn't change. We had an opportunity to keep doing that while they kept competing, which they had to organize on their own."
GS: How long has the team been back practicing together and what has been your impression of where everyone is at?
JS: "We practiced together for a month in November. For September and October they were out competing in individual events around the Midwest. We had about seven or eight of us in November working out and doing some team functions and practices and then individual work at our facility. And that was really the first time we were around our freshmen, Ben Warian and Alex Eickhoff. Normally you start fast and furious in the fall and you get around them and get to know their games and who they are as people to help get them started in the right direction. That had to wait until November. And then once the semester came to an end the team started playing a bunch of tournaments in December and it was mid-January before we started back up again. It's been a bit of starting and stopping, but November was a big month for us to make sure going into the winter break that we as coaches knew where everyone stood and what they needed to do over the next couple of months to best prepare them for our spring semester. We still do the one-off meetings with the guys virtually to follow the COVID guidelines, so there are some things we still can't do, but we're still fortunate to be able to practice every day and they can do the strength and conditioning as much as they need to. But obviously we're ready to start competing again."
GS: After the time together in November, were you encouraged with everyone's progress and what were your feelings on the team at that point?
JS: "There are a lot of times as a coach where we can do things within our 20-hour window when we're in season where we can expect them to be in a certain location and expect them to work hard. But during the fall, even with as much encouragement as we can offer, signing up for those events and tournaments is all on them. So to see them commit to that and make that important -- and that lasted from September/October and even into December – so the commitment is there and that's the culture we're really trying to impress upon and recruit to and have that be our identity for a long time: that commitment to excellence. The most satisfying thing is we knew we had a group that was all in with that. And some of them have bigger opportunities to play in than others, but at the end of the day it's about getting out there and competing. It doesn't matter what event it is, we try to get them into the biggest events we can and help them with that, but it's really just about getting out there. That's where you learn the most. And that's what we were most encouraged by was that we had an entire group that was out doing that this fall and over winter break, and in the past that wasn't always the case. You didn't really know how motivated they were to get out and compete. And that's what we're trying to build here; every day we're trying to compete, whether it's against themselves or against the best teams in the country. That's what we're getting really close to. We're excited about introducing that standard because that's what it is going to take for us to be really good, showing up every day to compete as hard as you can."
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