Performance: Gaylord's Brendon Gouin
May 25, 2017
Brendon Gouin
Gaylord sophomore – Golf
Gouin strung together four straight individual first places over the last two weeks to lead his team on a similarly stunning streak of success. From May 11-18, Gouin finished first at four straight 18-hole events, going lowest with a 68 at the Gaylord Blue Devil Open on May 16 to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.” His team, meanwhile, had won nine straight events through Wednesday and surged to No. 3 in the Lower Peninsula Division 2 coaches poll – impressive especially since the team didn’t make it out of Regionals a year ago.
That first 18-hole event was the Ogemaw Heights Invitational at the Dream Golf Course, where he shot a 77 to finish as co-medalist. Next came Gaylord’s turn to host the Big North Conference at Treetops North’s Tradition course, where Gouin fired at even-par 70 to finish first. He then did something that almost defied explanation – he switched irons between events, didn’t tell his coach, and then shot a 68 to win the Blue Devil Open at Tradition. Gouin added a first-place 76 at the Big North event at River’s Edge in Alpena to cap the personal run.
Gouin has averaged 78.8 strokes this spring over 13 events, often through tough weather typical to the north this time of year. He also wrestles at 103 pounds during the winter for an annually ranked team in Division 2 – see below for how that’s paid off in his golf game – and played soccer in the fall. As noted above, Gaylord didn’t make the MHSAA Finals last season, finishing only ninth at its Regional while starting three freshmen and a sophomore. Those then-underclassmen are starters again, and Gaylord is the likely favorite at next Thursday’s Regional at Lincoln Hills in Ludington.
Coach Tom Johnson said: “The exciting thing about Brendon is he is just a sophomore. He has no fear on the course. He always seems to work his way out of trouble no matter the circumstances. One bad shot does not lead to another. And he always wants to be the medalist in every tournament we play, knowing that his success is the best way to help out his team’s goal of trying to win every tournament they play in. What I really like about him is that he is never satisfied and works extremely hard to be successful. … The beauty of this team is that Brendon is surrounded by some really good young players that push him to excel to his best. We have sophomore Kyle Putnam that averages 80.3, sophomore Joe Kowatch averages 84.0 and junior Nick Rowley averages 82.1. The best for this team, hopefully, is yet to come. Their potential is unlimited.”
Performance Point: “The day before I ended up shooting a 70, my grandpa (Jim Gilbert, a former tour pro) asked, ‘What’s the number today?’ And I said 68,” Gouin recalled of the Blue Devil Open round. “I went out and shot 68, and it was the lowest round (303) we’ve had as a group, as a team. Last year at our first tournament, we had three freshmen and (shot) our best team score. It was a 315, and we never beat that all year, so to go out this year and beat it more than once was just great for us. … Everything (for me) clicked for a while. I was striking the ball great, my putting was very good, and I had confidence on the course. I was playing aggressively, going right at the pin and trying to do that every time.”
Pressure player: “For some of us, there might be more pressure. I’m different from all the other players; I like pressure. I like the feeling of knowing I have to do good.”
Attack mode: “The way I look at it, if I’m in trouble I don’t look anywhere. My mental (outlook) is I’m not making a par, I’m making a birdie. I’m very aggressive; my grandpa said he’s never seen anyone play so aggressively. It’s very different, my style of playing. A lot of it came from wrestling. I’m not very fearful. When I used to do snocross racing, I’d do anything.”
Grappling with golf: “(Wrestling) got me physically prepared, and mentally. Coach (Jerry) LaJoie is such a great coach. He got me mentally prepared for golf; if you’re not there to win, you shouldn’t be there at all. He’s helped me out so much in every possible way. Even if he knows it or not, he still did.”
On the rise: “We’re really a young team still. Our top four are all below juniors; we have a junior as our oldest. We’re still growing, and we’re all clicking. We have a lot of talent, and we’re starting to get better. We have two or three in the 70s; next year we’ll have three or four in the 70s. We’re going to have a good shot at getting to the top of state … but nine (wins) in a row doesn’t mean anything going into Regionals.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
May 18: Hannah Ducolon, Bay City All Saints softball – Read
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Gaylord's Brendon Gouin watches one of his drives at the Blue Devil Open. (Middle) Gouin follows an iron shot. (Photos courtesy of Gaylord Herald Times.)
Hockey Players Transferring Winter Puck Skills to Spring Golf Swings
By
Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com
May 26, 2023
When the Michigan seasons shift from winter to spring, some high school golf teams are a little more eager than others for the hockey season to officially end.
This is especially true for the school golf programs in Brighton, Hartland and Muskegon Mona Shores – examples of boys teams that love having hockey players transition from the indoor frozen ice to play golf outdoors on the lush green grass.
“I would take a golf team full of hockey players any day,” said Hartland golf coach Nathan Oake. “I love them.”
We can tell, because his program is full of them.
Hartland and Brighton each have eight hockey players on their 16-golfer varsity and JV rosters.
Mona Shores has three hockey players this year, but usually has more. In 2023 it’s Oliver MacDonald (all-state honorable mention in hockey), Nathan McNarland and Nicholas Taylor, who was voted Division 1 all-state golf last spring, then leading his team to fifth place at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
Brighton golfer Winston Lerch was also Division 1 all-state last year in golf and an assistant captain on the hockey team this winter that finished Division 1 runner-up to Detroit Catholic Central. Here in 2023, he shot a 65 to open the season at Oakland University for medalist and has committed to Grand Valley State for golf with his 72-stroke average.
Joining Lerch in the Bulldogs boys golf program are hockey players like Levi Pennala, winner of hockey’s Wall Award sponsored by State Champs as the top high school goalie. Pennala – who recently shot 72 at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship tournament, his career low for high school golf – finished in the top 30 last year at the LPD1 Final. Then early this spring when he was away at a high-level junior hockey tournament, freshman hockey player Adam Forcier stepped in and shot a school record 18-hole round for a freshman at 73. Jacob Daavetilla also works into the starting lineup at times.
Forcier tied the record of Davis Codd – who, as a pro hockey player on leave from the Saginaw Spirit OHL hockey team when COVID-19 shut down the league, won the LPD1 Final in 2021 for Brighton.
Brighton golf coach Jimmy Dewling said Codd was one of the earliest to prove to others you can play both hockey and golf and excel. In fact, that June in 2021, Codd went to an NHL scouting camp in Pennsylvania before the Golf Finals, drove overnight back to Forest Akers to play the two championship rounds, won the title, then immediately returned to Pennsylvania to resume the hockey camp.
“On our team, we believe, and TBone (Codd) was a perfect example of it, if there’s any time you have the opportunity to be competitive, it is going to make you a more well-rounded competitor and therefore better at your particular sport,” Dewling said.
“We like hockey players. In the winter, they have to think to where the puck is going, be smart enough to react, and understand how that emotion is going to carry over from one play to the next. When it’s your shift you have to forget about the last shift, or take something from the last shift and put it into the next shift, to have consistent play.
“It’s the same on the golf course,” Dewling continued. “It’s one hole to the next, one shot at a time, being tough, and that’s only going to come from competition reps. We love the athletic ability more so than anything; the toughness and competitiveness all year.”
In addition to Lerch and Pennala starting on varsity golf, they are joined by traditional golfers Matt Doyle, Riley Morton and Andrew Daily, who is committed to Wayne State and finished LPD1 runner-up last spring.
Going into the 2023 golf postseason, Brighton is ranked No. 2 in Division 1. The Bulldogs have won the Next Tee Invite at Oakland Hills, the North Star Invite at Plum Hollow and the KLAA Conference Championship – earning Brighton’s first conference title since 2007. The Bulldogs also were runners-up at The Meadows Invite at Grand Valley State University. The team is averaging 297 for 18 holes.
Oake admitted this is a rebuilding year for Hartland’s golf program. The varsity lineup has only two returning players with varsity golf experience – Keller King and Brady Betteley.
“So, we opted to keep a group of tough competitors with a solid combination of speed and strength – and who are not concerned about the cold conditions that we play in,” Oake quipped.
Five others rotate into the Eagles’ golf starting lineup with King and Betteley: Isaac Frantti is an all-state hockey defensemen playing his first season of golf but shot a career-low 79 at American Dunes recently. He just signed a United State Premier Hockey League tender to play in Connecticut next year. Ian Kastamo scored the winning goal in Hartland’s Division 2 hockey championship victory in 2022, and LJ Sabala is a varsity hockey player as well.
Then there are two non-hockey freshmen getting shots to start occasionally – Dallas Korponic, who finished third at his weight at the Individual Wrestling Finals, and Michael Maurin. Five more sophomores and juniors are hockey players on the JV golf team.
“We hope to be competitive with (Brighton) again soon, but they have the talent to make a big splash this year,” Oake said. “I also play golf at the same club as many Brighton players, so I see them quite a bit and we are friendly. When the Brighton team walked by our team on a recent Monday and all said hello to me and our guys, one of my players looked at me and said that this was the biggest difference between hockey and golf. In hockey, the small talk would be (traded) for the ice, and it would not be very nice out there.
“Either way, I believe both sports are filled with fierce competitors and respect, but when the game is over a handshake and a golf hat tip are offered to the victor.”
This story was updated and reposted with permission of MIGolfJournal.com.
PHOTOS (Top) Brighton takes a team photo after finishing third at last season’s LPD1 Final, and all five golfers are back this season including hockey players Levi Pennala (second from left) and Winston Lerch (second from right.) (Middle) Hartland’s Ian Kastamo (16) takes a faceoff against Brighton this winter. (Below) Mona Shores’ Nicholas Taylor fires an iron shot. (Photos courtesy of High School Sports Scene, Sapshots Photography and Mona Shores’ athletic department, respectively.)