Nelson inducted to coaches hall of fame
Despite the 23 state championship
banners he’s helped Whitefish High School earn, boys and girls golf
coach Terry Nelson says it’s never been about the wins or
trophies.
“As a coach, we never talk about wins
or losses,” Nelson recently told the Pilot. “It’s not about winning
championships. It’s about getting kids involved and becoming
life-long golfers.”
It’s that sentiment — along with an
absurd record for winning championships — that has propelled Nelson
into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of
Fame. Nelson traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., this past June to
accept the award.
He says the honor ranks up at the top
among the many coaching awards he’s earned because it considers his
career accomplishments, not just a singular season.
“It’s quite the honor, that’s for
sure,” Nelson said.
Nelson won National Coach of the Year
in 2006 and 2007, he has been Montana Coach of the Year 18 times
and is also in the Montana Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2007, Golf
Digest magazine recognized Nelson with an individual award.
He says the Hall of Fame honor is in
part due to the great players he’s worked with over his 25 year
career. Many of his students go on to play collegiate golf, some
dabble in minor tours and dozens have found careers in the golf
business as course supervisors, pros or golf shop managers.
He’s also proud that about 90 percent
of the players he’s coached go on to graduate from college.
Whether its an elite golfer, like
Whitefish senior Reed Platke who needs only minor grooming, or a
raw golfer with hidden potential, Nelson says he enjoys the
challenge of working with each of his players.
“This year, we’ll have a really young
girls team,” he said. “That will be a challenge. But the boys will
be pretty darn good — better than last year.”
It’s fun, Nelson says, to watch a
player like sophomore Erin Tabish go from scoring in the 120s to
shooting in the 80s.
With players like Platke, though, it’s
less about the mechanics of golf and more about the mental
game.
“I don’t have to spend a lot of time
working on his swing,” Nelson said. “It’s more about building
confidence and helping him be ready in the moment. Sometimes it’s
about helping kids understand how good they are. Players get ahead
of themselves and don’t get comfortable when they are shooting low
scores. I’ve helped him in that regard, but Platke’s always had a
great swing.”
He says much of Whitefish’s success has
come from their superior mental game.
“Coaching golf is different from other
sports in that we don’t want to get our kids fired up,” Nelson
said. “We want to keep them calm. I work pretty hard at trying to
keep them relaxed.”
Whitefish has always made a point to
schedule elite competition to build confidence.
“The tougher the competition, the more
I like it,” Nelson said. “When we get to state, the kids have been
there before and they’re not standing around with big eyes.”
Often time though, Whitefish is the
elite competition and Nelson’s teams have to get used to being
chased.
“Everybody likes to beat us,” he said.
“The kids pick up on that real quick.”
Luckily for Whitefish — and unluckily
for those chasing the Bulldogs — Nelson has no plans to retire
anytime soon.
“I still enjoy the challenge and the
new kids,” he said.