REEDLEY – Surprises and underdog stories can be a wonderful sight to behold, and right now, the Reedley boys are a potential diamond in the rough as they swing for success-and respect-on a course towards victory.
By all accounts, it’s been nearly a decade, maybe longer, since the Reedley golf team last stormed the greens en route to a postseason tournament. Now, after hovering in near anonymity for a long time, the Pirates have found a certain spark that lights a flame of interest and love on the golf course as a surprise contender in the Central Section.
Head coach Jeff Lusk, who’s at the helm of Reedley’s current resurgence, took over a program that’s traversed a long and winding path back to golf relevance. Lusk believes it’s been almost 15-20 years since the Pirates last sampled the taste of success.
“I believe it’s been about 10-15 years since the tenure of the previous coach, Ty Hanson. I talked to him and he said he had in his tenure – and I want to say it was about 15-20 years he was golf coach – had one team qualify for Division III (D-III),” said Lusk.
During that long period of time, interest in golf at Reedley was virtually nonexistent. Lusk stepped in six years ago and infused the program with his love of the game. If Lusk, who golfed for the Pirates from 1999-2001, could just get kids to have fun teeing it up on the course, then he knew success would eventually follow, he said.
“For me, it’s all about the love of the game – spreading the love of the game is the number one priority”, said Lusk. “Building a team atmosphere, where players support each other instead of tearing each other down – which is really hard to do in an individual sport sometimes – has always been paramount.”
Emerging from the rough
After all of this time, Lusk’s team-first attitude has finally resonated with his young golfers. And the love of the game has definitely rubbed off as his young Pirates team is just starting to scratch the surface of their potential.
In high school golf, the playoff format and structure are much different than in other team sports. There are only three main divisions, and Reedley competes in D-III competition. In order to make the playoffs, the Pirates have to score the required 475 points over the standard 18 holes of play.
With six players on the team, the five best scores count, and the lowest score is scratched from the scorecard. And right now, according to Lusk, Reedley has the potential to play that score on any given day.
“We have the potential to score the D-III score,” said Lusk. “We have two guys in the mid-to-low 90s, we have one guy in the low-to-mid 80s and then a couple of guys just over the south side of 100.”
Ivan Jalil is probably the best golfer on the Reedley team, said Lusk. Armed with a sweet swing and picturesque form, Jalil leads by example, in his play and his leadership.
“Ivan’s dad took him out and wanted him to have fun, and he just let him have fun,” said Lusk. “And then, when it became his true passion, he got serious.”
The best attribute of Lusk’s team is the different paths of experience each player took to find success on the green. Some, like Jalil, have been engrained to enjoy the game, while others are starting to develop a newfound love after every swing.
“They have been exposed to it from their parents, and a couple of the freshmen, they never swung a club before in their life,” said Lusk. “There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason in the amount of experience that players have when they get here.”
Regardless of their experience or backgrounds, Reedley’s love of the game and team camaraderie has produced a hard-working group of golfers who care more about having fun than sinking holes in one. In some ways, they’ve already won.
“When it comes down to it, they put the effort in as a team,” said Lusk. “If they give it their best, if they play to their potential and direct all of their focus to that, I’m going to be proud of them.”
