Caitrin Coyle calmly knocked in her par putt on the ninth hole at Fox Den. It was her last hole of the day. She knew she had played well. She heard loud clapping and a yell from her coach. Dirk Hartman had not told her anything. The St. Vincent -St. Mary senior had missed out by one shot from advancing to Districts last year and this would be her last chance. The Fighting Irish only had two players at the Sectional Tournament, so advancing as a team was not an option.

As soon as the putt fell, Caitrin knew. There was not going to be any doubt this year. She had easily posted the lowest individual qualifying score this year. She jumped into Coach Hartman’s arms, knowing she had accomplished a huge goal. The pure emotion was tangible. But it was also just beginning. 

What seemed like an eternity passed, and Caitrin’s fellow senior teammate and great friend Rylee Hoover stood on the tee box of her final hole. Rylee had no idea of anything going on. She was completely unaware she needed a par on the short par three to take the last qualifying spot. “I’m not telling her,” Coach Hartman said to a random passerby. Caitrin agreed. “She would freak out if she knew.” It’s one of those no win, difficult decisions a coach must make when everything is coming down to the wire. Coach Hartman was adamant that he was making the right decision.

The tee shot was off. Just short of the green in the left rough. They decided to still not say anything. Rylee’s family was gathered not too far from where her ball came to rest. Her sister was one of the best players to ever play at SVSM. Rylee was trying to follow in her footsteps. “Get away from here!” Coach said to Caitrin. “Blend in. We don’t want her to know what’s going on.” That was a tough command, but Caitrin obeyed as she wandered over toward the clubhouse. It didn’t last long as she started inching her way back past the practice green, across the first tee box, eventually to at least a spot where she could see the upcoming chip shot.

It seemed like an eternity. A good crowd had gathered to watch this particular group finish. Several coaches and teams were lingering around. One team was the North Royalton Bears. They had played a great round of golf and missed qualifying as a team by two shots. They still had an individual with a chance to qualify. Ava Grugle would never root for an opponent to not succeed, but a bogey by Rylee would get her into a playoff for the final spot. Julie Paradise from Mayfield and Alaina Liem from Brecksville had taken the other two spots. They were long gone on their way back home to enjoy the rest of a beautiful Wednesday evening. Now it all came down to Rylee.

It was finally her turn to play. Coach said very little. She hit a low shot that landed right on the edge of the green and started rolling. And it rolled for what seemed like minutes. It curled right the whole time. Once everyone exhaled, the ball was at rest 18 inches from the cup. There was a little hushed applause but no one in attendance wanted to show how big the moment actually was. Rylee had just executed the most important chip shot of her golf career. “She’s the worst chipper in the world,” Coach Hartman jokingly said to the people around him, including Revere Coach Mike Clark, a good friend, who also happens to be Caitrin’s boss at the First Tee in Akron. “She calls off more than any employee I’ve ever had,” he said with a smile. 

But everyone agreed, Caitrin is a stellar person and an amazing teammate. She deserved this so much. And in that moment she didn’t really seem to care about her accomplishments. All her emotional energy, all her focus was on her friend who needed to make a tiny tap in to share the glory. 

Another several hours seemed to pass. In reality it was about two and a half minutes. Everyone in Rylee’s group had cleaned up their putts, leaving only Rylee to finish out. Coach Hartman had made his way onto the green to tend the flag. Caitrin couldn’t help herself. She was now greenside. The whole amphitheatre setting was established. Rylee stepped up and stood over the ball.

Bang, center of the cup. Never a doubt. The crowd erupted. Caitrin sprinted onto the green and jumped into Rylee’s arms. “You made it!” she screamed. It was a storybook ending at Fox Den. Hugs went around for the next several minutes. The Irish sent both of their individual players to the District Tournament. Dirk Hartman’s passion and his players’ hard work had paid off. It was like a scene from a movie and it was hard not to shed a tear experiencing the purity of what had just happened.

Caitrin Coyle and Rylee Hoover will represent SVSM at the District Tournament at Tanglewood on Tuesday. They will be joined by fellow individuals Julie Paradise from Mayfield and Alaina Liem from Brecksville. 

Qualifying teams were Walsh Jesuit, Hudson, Nordonia, and Revere, who had to stick around at Fox Den for at least two hours scoreboard watching to see if they were going to make the cut. Walsh was dominant, shooting an incredible score of 294. Hudson got off to a bad start but managed to salvage the day with an amazing second nine score. Nordonia grinded through the day and put up a quality number. Revere did not have their best round, but it proved to be enough, making up for last year’s brutal finish that ended with three of their players, including two sisters, in a four way playoff for one spot.

We’d also like to acknowledge the North Royalton Bears. They came into Sectionals playing their best golf of the season. They played a solid round of golf with everyone on their team shooting in the 80s. They fell two shots short and Ali Kovalak missed out by one shot as an individual. That doesn’t take anything away from North Royalton and Coach Don Filips. They are a team that does everything the right way and they always put themselves in a position to be competitive.

On a personal note, this is why I love this sport so much. The high emotions, teams rising to the occasion, and seeing young athletes succeed in something they work so hard at is the most rewarding thing about coaching and covering girls golf. I may have lost a lawn flamingo (Caitrin…) in the process, but today and this year give me a newly renewed love and hope for our sport and the amazing athletes we get to see on a daily basis. 

Best of luck to all our teams and individuals in the District Tournament on Tuesday!