Listen here!
Coach Hezlet reflects on his journey, the experiences of his long and illustrious career, and his thoughts on his final golf season.
Garrett: Hello Hilltoppers, welcome to Game Time with Garrett French. Today, I’m here with Glenbard West golf coach, Coach Hezlet. I appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions today.
Coach Hezlet: Glad to.
Garrett: I’d like to start by congratulating you for the upcoming induction into the Illinois Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2025 in May. How does that feel?
Coach Hezlet: It’s a nice honor, to be respected by other coaches that I’ve worked with for a long time. It’ll be a nice way to say thanks to a lot of people and it’ll be a nice event. It’s a great organization.
Garrett: Totally. So, going back in time, what first interested you in coaching golf?
Coach Hezlet: Well, I played golf in high school, competitively. I did not play in college, but as I decided to get into teaching, when I figured that out, I also realized this would be a neat thing to do in addition to teaching — to get into coaching. That was part of the interest in teaching, was that also I could get involved with maybe golf and baseball, so I guess that’s kind of where the idea originally came from. Then it took a little time to get into those areas that wanted to, but it’s been really rewarding to have been a teacher and then also to connect with kids through sports.
Garrett: How would you best describe your coaching philosophy for golf over the years?
Coach Hezlet: I always come with this idea — I think we want to compete, we want to win, we want to do the best that we can.But then, at the end of the day, and in this season, it’s really about creating a positive experience, helping students and athletes get better. There’s a lot of ways to do that, so really it’s kind of driven through the want to win, but you also realize that it’s not the only thing that’s important. It’s really aboutdeveloping and having a positive experience.
Garrett: Talking about some of those experiences. What are some of your favorite parts of being the golf coach, whether it be on a year-to-year basis or any specific memories?
Coach Hezlet: Well, I think golf is an interesting sport. It gives a lot of life lessons. Golf is a sport that you can play your entire life. It’s unique in terms of high school athletics, there’s not many other sports that students are going to be able to do now,they’re going to be able to do for the rest of their lives. Golf has got a lot of high integrity and honesty behind it. There’s really a purpose of that, and so being able to use the game of golf to help young people learn— which is normal, adolescence and students, they’re going to struggle. But, to use the game of golf to help them mature and develop, that’s been really a neat thing to do.
Garrett: So on the flip side, what are some of the challenges that you’ve faced on a year-to-year basis coaching these kids,not only as golfers, but also students?
Coach Hezlet: I think the way I like to describe it is finding the right balance between setting high expectations, but also being able to be kind of flexible and understanding. Sometimes that’s not an easy thing to do because you want to expect things but it’s only natural that young people aren’t going to always reach those, but then how do you balance and what’s the right way to help students achieve those expectations in a way that is not harmful or a way that doesn’t make them feel good about themselves. That’s a challenge, because in today’s society, I think higher expectations seem to not be as popular and so you got to kind of manage that.
Garrett: I want to talk a little bit about this season. So, what have some of the younger guys brought to this team — with Connor Rowley, the state qualifier, and freshman Hank Case?
Coach Hezlet: It’s nice to see some young players doing well early and you want to help them get better. Connor had a great season and put a lot of work in and then was able to compete at the state championship and I think Connor gained a lot of lessons from that and we look forward to having him come back. Hank too, as a freshman, it’s nice to see young players competing early and you just hope that they will continue to improve.
Garrett: Totally. Last one for you. So as someone who’s been here for years, whether coaching golf or as a teacher in the classroom, what have the kids taught you?
Coach Hezlet: Good question. I think kids teach us, as I had my own children, I think you learn that as well that kids teach us that it’s okay to make mistakes. That it’s pretty natural to make mistakes and it takes some getting used to. I think students, they’re just trying to do the best they can and become better versions of themselves. Really being able to listen, understand the kind of the background, if you can get to know students or athletes more about them, it’ll help to make those bigger connections. Adolescents are great, and they are different every day.
Garrett: I think that just about wraps it up. Once again, I appreciate you taking the time and congratulations on all of your accomplishments.
Coach Hezlet: Thanks Garrett.
