[August 09, 2011] Prep golfers doing leg work in college searches Tweet LIMA, Aug 09, 2011 (The Lima News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Golfer meets coach. Coach wants golfer to come to his college. Golfer chooses his school, and they live happily ever after. If only it were that simple. Football fans this season are sure to see a few college scouts and coaches in the stands, watching prospects and making their presence known; it's easy for a coach to check a schedule and head over a stadium, splitting up a staff on Friday nights. The Lima area has sent plenty of talented golfers to Division I colleges and even more to Division II and III locations, but unless the golfer is winning name-brand national tournaments, it's up to him to make sure college coaches and programs know he's alive and swinging. "My sister played volleyball, so we didn't know what we were doing with golf. We thought it was the same thing," Shawnee senior Emily Crow said. "We realized after talking to some other people that you have to sell yourself, you have to ask the coach to come and watch you. ... You have to tell them this is your schedule and you want them to come and watch you. You have to do it yourself pretty much." To that end, a recruiter comes in handy. Basically, his role is to act as a middle man between athlete and college coach for fees ranging from moderate to absurd, depending on how much work the recruiter must do and how big a net the athlete wants to cast. According to former Lima Central Catholic boys coach Tom Bader, many big-time college programs won't look at a golfer unless his name comes through a recruiter. Brandon French, a LCC graduate, used two different websites to help shop his abilities to coaches around the country. French ended up at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, where he made the starting varsity five as a freshman last season. "To the 345 Division I schools, I probably sent out to 300 of them just to see what they say," French said. "Who finds a school in New Jersey unless you email every school? "The site definitely made it easier," he said. Even the best recruiter can only do so much. The real test is how the golfer scores and what his swing looks like; on one of French's sites he used there was the ability to upload video of his swings, and Shawnee teammates Crow and Lesli Stolly have been advised to send videos of their swings to coaches. Sometimes a little reality is needed when searching for the right school. Realizing what level your abilities best fit and where you'd be the most comfortable and get the most playing time is critical early in the process. "Obviously I didn't message the Ohio State guy. I did ones that were smaller Division I schools and maybe some of the top D2 ones, places where I knew I could get scholarships," French said. "Come on, I'm decent at golf but I'm not going to play for Oklahoma State. You're wasting your time. You need to look in the mirror and say, 'Honestly, where do I think I could play golf?' I'm not going to email these coaches and waste my time. "I'm not going to waste my time and email Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, schools that I know the coach would open it, start laughing and turn the page." Even if the golfer's resume seems impressive enough, it might not be enough. Sidney Lehman golfer Ben Thieman won a sectional title last year and advanced to the state as an individual, he won the state Optimist qualifier, a prestigious national event, and this summer he won the Oscar Schuefler Award on the Lima Junior Golf Association circuit. Still, he's going into the process knowing not just any school is the right fit, and sometimes the biggest and best really isn't the right choice. "The level I'm looking at is the level I can compete at," Thieman said. "It's all about where you think you're going to improve the most, and sometimes if you're playing Division I golf you might not get to play a lot." LCC junior Josh Klaus is stepping into big shoes this season as the Thunderbirds No. 1 golfer, and he's arguably one of the best boys golfers in the area this season. Even then, he knows there's room for improvement if he wants to realize his dream destination. "I want to play at Ohio State, but I've got to get a lot better," Klaus said. "You have to send some emails, put your name out there and play well in tournaments. If you have the right hook-ups, hopefully you'll get looked at." While it's still about how you do, more than ever being recruited as a prep golfer is about who you know as well. To see more of The Lima News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.limanews.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Lima News, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]