Personal Narrative Report

Calaveras Enterprise sports reporter Guy Dossi spoke with Bret Harte’s golf coach Rich Cathcart. They spoke about the midseason league tournament, the difference between coaching girls and boys and what it’s like coaching golf on game day. Bret Harte will host undefeated Sonora at 3 p.m. Thursday at Greenhorn Creek Resort in Angels Camp.

CE: The midseason Mother Lode League tournament took place a few weeks ago and your team finished first with a score of 447. You must have been pretty pleased with the way your boys played.

RC: Absolutely. With our top three, we know what they are going to do. With our the three, earlier in the season we are not as sure with what we might get, but they are really improving and they made the difference in that tournament.

CE: Who are some of the players that have impressed you so far this year?

RC: Nick Kristoff has played very well. He’s been pretty consistent and he shot an even the other day and that’s the first time he has done that. He’s put a lot more practice in and he’s doing really well. I’m happy with his play. Kallen Dente is a sophomore and he’s really improved. He’s been playing almost every day and it makes a big difference.

CE: Your ace shooter is senior Mitchell Menzes. He tied for the best score at the midseason tournament, shooting a 6-over-par 78. He’s always been a strong gofer, so is there something little in his game that you’ve seen him improve?

RC: His putting has improved. But his overall practice has been a lot more serious this year. Yeah, he was MVP last year, but to repeat is quite a challenge. He’s been a lot more serious about practicing and preparing for each match.

CE: The Mother Lode League is really strong this year. There is undefeated Sonora and Calaveras has only one loss, but you guys and Linden are right there in the mix. What are your thoughts of the MLL in general this

year?

RC: There is not much separation between the four of us. Sonora has gone undefeated, but they beat us by five strokes at their place and Linden beat us by three strokes at their place. All the matches have been close between everybody and then we surprised everyone by winning the league tournament. It all comes down to who's playing well and it’ll probably come down to the end of the season tournament.

CE: You coach both girls and boys golf, so is there a difference between the two?

RC: No. I would say that the boys probably put a little more time in than the girls do, but our girls have also been really successful over the years. We’ve had some really good girls that have played. There are more boys that play in the offseason than girls, at least in the last five years or so. In the past we’ve had some really good girls who’ve put a lot of time in.

CE: At this point of the season, are you pleased with the way your team has played?

RC: I’m happy with our progress. We’ve improved with and we have five or six kids who have really gotten better as the season has gone along. We have Menzes, Kristoff and Mason Davis at the top, but I’ve got five or six other kids who are really putting the time in and they just keep improving and that’s what we are looking for. They are having fun and we’ve found a combination that seems to be working well.

CE: How has all this rain affect the progress of your team? I imagine it’s changed your practice schedule more than one.

RC: We’ve missed quite a bit of practice because of the weather. We haven't missed many matches. The only one we missed was last Thursday. But it does effect your consistency of practicing and working on things. It’s hard to work on your sand game because you have muddy or wet traps.

CE: You began coaching golf in 1986, so this is your 31st year. How have you changed as a coach in that time?

RC: I’m getting too old! I’ve coached everything from football, basketball and even some baseball. So I’ve coached a lot of things. When I was younger, I was pretty fiery and all-out. I’ve mellowed out as I’ve gotten older. Wins and losses used to mean a lot, but now I think improvement and having fun and enjoying the game seems to be more important.

CE: Because you have coached other sports, you know how stressful game day can be. You are having to coach the entire game, but that’s not the case with golf. You get to play a round with the other coaches, so you must really enjoy that?

RC: We have a great time. You always look forward to game day. You prepare before you get there because you can’t coach on game day for golf like you can for football or basketball. There are some great coaches and I’ve made a lot of good coaching friends throughout the years. We go out and we have fun when we get together.

CE: Is there a certain coach in the league that gives you the most competition out there on the links?

RC: We just go out and enjoy our time together. We always say that we play by coaches rules, so if we hit a bad shot, we have the right to hit another one. We have a good time and I enjoy all the coaches.