The Lancer Way: John Hayes
1/7/2020 1:19:00 PM | Men's Golf, The Lancer Way
All of the words are their own.
The Lancer Way is a new platform provided by California Baptist University's Athletic Department that allows student-athletes to share their stories.
Written By: John Hayes, Men's Golf, Tampa, Florida
Growing up in Tampa, Florida, I played a few sports every day.
Bouncing from golf to soccer to baseball, I was always busy with something.
After years of cycling through these few, and a move to Seattle, I settled down to only golf. I enjoyed some other things growing up and saw golf as something I really just did once or twice a week.
However, as I grew older, I learned to love it and made it my goal to play in College. I set out with a mission in the winter of my junior year of high school; to play well and make a name for myself. I had a few good tournaments over that next summer, and somehow, someway, California Baptist University fell right into my lap, and I could not be happier with where I am now.
The thing that persuaded me the most to come to CBU was Coach Brown. I visited in the summer of 2017 and loved how our meeting with him. From our short conversation, when I came to campus, I could tell that he was the Coach for me.
He understands that we are all still just kids at school and recognizes our lives outside of golf.
The term "student-athlete" to me comes with a lot of duties and expectations. As student-athletes, we all represent our school, which means our actions should reflect our mission as a University both on and off-campus.
Being a student-athlete is an honor to me, and I am sure it is for my teammates as well. We are all loved and supported by our coaches, trainers, professors, and other students around us who try and serve our needs when we are busy every second of the day.
Even though most of us have come to CBU for our respective sports, at the end of the day, we are mainly students.
The word "student" comes before "athlete" for a reason.
Our team grade-point-average is something that we as a group try and improve year in and year out, trying to be the top in the department, as well as the nation, for the highest GPA.
There's a reason culture on a team is so influential and plays a significant role in sports.
We have new faces coming in and old ones leaving, yet our culture has not changed.
We all play for each other, and even though qualifying can get competitive, we all want the best for each other when we are competing.
I love this year that our team can casually hang out whenever we have free time or go out to team dinners after practice. We as a group all have fun with each other both at practice and in our spare time.
Even though I am only a sophomore, my experience at CBU has already been amazing. Coach Brown has helped all of the new guys as well as myself get integrated with the team, and every day he challenges us to improve and get better at something.
From planning our practice to giving 100% effort in our practice rounds at tournaments, Coach knows how to get it done.
We are off and running now in our season, and I cannot wait to see what my sophomore season has in store for me.
Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Players Mentioned
