KELSEYVILLE — Here”s one reason why the 2007 Kelseyville High School golf team stood apart not only from other squads in the Coastal Mountain Conference South this season, but from other great Kelseyville golf teams of years past.
While other schools were throwing out scores in the 90s and 100s by their sixth man during a conference match (teams keep the best five out of six individual rounds), the Knights were throwing out 80s. In fact, there were occasions when coach John Berry”s team was dropping a score that was close to or good enough to lead other teams.
Now THAT”s good.
“This is not a dynasty team with three seniors and two sophomores,” Berry said while reviewing the 2007 season. “This was a one-time, put-together sort of thing, all the stars being aligned in one moment.”
Berry, whose coaching career at Kelseyville began in 1983, is the Lake County Record-Bee Coach of the Year for boys” sports following the 2006-07 high school sports season. It”s the first Coach of the Year award for Berry, who is also the first golf coach to receive that honor. And it”s only fitting considering that Berry”s 2007 team posted a 48-0 mark in the conference standings, the first CMC South squad to do that.
“I”ve had two teams in the past with one loss, but this team was able to sustain it (an undefeated record). They took on all comers and were always able to adapt on the wide variety of courses that we play on,” Berry said.
The season was special for Berry on a number of counts, not the least of which was that his son, Nick Schaefer, was one of the team”s top players. And this is one team that had no shortage of top players.
“That was real nice,” Berry said. “I”ve developed him as golfer from age eight on, I bought him his first set of clubs, so it was a real pleasure to have him on the team. His game has really improved and now he and I can play competitive on the NorCal.”
2007 was special for another reason as Kelseyville advanced past the sectionals and into the North Coast Section Tournament of Champions for the first time in school history.
“I”d be surprised if we ever got there again or anyone from our league got there again,” Berry said. “I don”t see it happening in the near future.”
The team”s low scorer on the season, graduated senior Brent Hamilton, was the clear leader on a club that ran five deep, which is almost unheard of, especially in small schools.
“Five deep is good anywhere and this was best top-to-bottom fivesome I”ve ever had,” Berry said. “Brent was the top guy, but two to five you could have shuffled the scores in any match and still came up with the same results.”
While Hamilton isn”t the best golfer Berry has ever coached, he did have the best season, improving from a 12 handicap his junior year to a 1 handicap his senior season.
“And he had probably the best single season of anyone I”ve ever coached,” Berry said. “He was fourth out of 144 golfers at the TOC.”
More talented golfers on past Kelseyville teams haven”t always gotten along, but Berry said he was spared that problem in 2007.
“Which was nice,” Berry said. “Golfers are ego driven and can be very self-centered,” Berry added. “But this group very much liked each other. In fact, I had to wait for them sometimes 45 minutes after rounds because they wanted to sit and talk.”
