One of the most difficult aspects of maintaining a competitive college sports program is dealing with the constant change in personnel; where professional sports careers can sometimes seemingly have no end (see: Brett Favre), collegiate athletes are allowed four years to compete and no more. That is why the importance of constantly bringing in new, young talent is so important to any team.In an effort to plan for the future, the golf team welcomed five freshmen to the squad this fall. Carl Schimenti, Max Koehler and Roy Glosser all hailing from upstate New York, Lukas Schuh from California and Zack Bosse, the younger brother of senior captain Dan Bosse, from Virginia. “So far I’ve been pretty impressed with the talent level,” the older Bosse said. “We expanded the roster this year; we normally carry 10 guys but this year we have 14 because a lot of the younger guys played well enough to make the team.”Both Zack Bosse and Koehler have cracked the traveling-squad’s roster, with Bosse traveling to St. Bonaventure and Koehler competing with the A-team this past weekend at the Red’s home tournament, where the Red placed fifth out of the 14 teams competing. “Zack can hit the ball a mile and [Koehler] just has a great swing and is very consistent,” Dan Bosse said. “Both of those guys bring a lot to the table and the other three are all playing well too and putting the pressure on the older guys to keep their level of play up.”The freshmen have been able to maintain a high level of play, but they do acknowledge the fact that there is definitely a transition from high school to the collegiate level.“It feels different, there is a little bit of a transition,” Koehler said. “Being on the A-team last weekend was quite an experience; in high school matches are only 9 holes, where in college it’s 36 or 54 holes. So it’s much more of a grind, but all the upperclassmen have been really helpful and encouraging.” The transition is something every collegiate golfer endures. This year’s seniors were faced with a similar situation when they were freshmen on a senior-heavy team three years ago.“Constantly having a group of talented underclassmen is crucial,” Dan Bosse said. “When the older guys who have been traveling and carrying the load graduate, it leaves a big hole. We have five seniors and four juniors this year, so over the next two years nine guys will be graduating. Finding new talent isn’t always easy, but we got some great guys this year that will hopefully be the core of this team for the next four years. I really feel comfortable with these guys filling in for us moving forward.”
Original Author: Ware Cady