Harriton golfers shoot an ace for creativity in team bonding
Rosemont – When you play a sport in high school viewed by many as individualistic, your goal as coaches and players is to make it a team. A staple of Harriton golf coach Brian Dobak’s philosophy has been his creativity and getting his team to buy in.
Since his arrival four years ago, the Rams golf team continues to embrace the personality of its coach and his unique approach of bringing a team together.
“Coach Brian (Dobak) and the Harriton golf program recognize the importance of team chemistry in team performance, and it was shown in the bond that the teammates created this year,’ said senior Chloe Niu,”The program, which included a variety of golf-related activities, allowed for us as teammates to realize that we could rely on each other both on and off the course. The friendships cultivated through these activities strengthened the team as a whole.”
Fellow senior Nicholas Wert added, “Coach Dobak is a fantastic coach because of the fact that he does think outside of the box. Having worked with him for two years now, it’s been evident that his unorthodox methods in bringing a team together coupled with his positive demeanor makes our team the tight-knit unit that it is. Even if we don’t win every match, the team always feels like a family, and I think most of that is due to Dobak’s coaching.”
Dobak likes to conduct team related activities both on and off the course to help with team bonding, the potential of playing golf at the next level along with importance of teaching leadership skills.
To assist with helping players with their potential of playing at the next level, Dobak brought in a local college coach to talk to the kids about what it’s like to play college golf, and what college coaches expect in their players. Dobak also help set up an “Alumni Spotlight” page on their team website in which they tap into alumni so they can share their post-college experiences and give their perspective and advice on leadership and career building.
Additionally Dobak brought in local and regional business professionals as guest speakers to come in and talk to the kids about leadership, career-building, and hard work.
Other team related activities included a trip to the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J. for a tour of the USGA Museum and the USGA Equipment Research & Test Center, a visit from Brian Becker from Full Cycle Fitness during the season to walk them through golf-specific exercises and a visit from Sports Psychologist, Dr. Joe Havlick to talk to the kids about golf psychology.
Team bonding occurs in many ways and this year Dobak tried something new introducing “Birdies For a Cause”, which teaches the kids how to give back through golf. The main idea was to select a cause and recruit students, teachers, neighbors, local businesses, etc. to designate a certain amount of money per birdie that the team makes during the season. This year it was Birdies for ALS. It was chosen because the grandparent of a player on the Harriton golf team died from ALS. Harriton also does an end-of-season donation to the First Tee of Greater Philadelphia.
“It was a collaborative effort between myself, my co-captain Donny Diloreto, and Coach before the season,” said Wert. “We wanted to begin something that would be a lasting tradition and really make a difference with our golf. The team definitely played harder, not only to have bragging rights over who had the most birdies at the end of the year, but also knowing that the more we made, the more we would be helping others. That competitive nature alongside helping a cause is really what made it a success in the end. Our sport is not necessarily a charitable one at heart, and to be able to do something we all love and help others in the process made it a special experience.”
“Birdies for a Cause is a great fundraising initiative that benefited the ALS Association this year. It shows that everyone as members of the golf, school, and global community, should always be looking to give back for the greater good,” said Niu.
Dobak added, “This was our first year doing it so I didn’t go into it with high expectations. Whether or not it had an impact on their game, I don’t know. It’s not really measurable or quantifiable. But there’s no question that the kids cared and certainly gave the best effort they could.”
To accompany his ability of bringing a team together, Dobak has the unique ability to get the most out of his players and watch them improve their game.
Niu, who continued to improve but did not make the varsity team until this year said, “Coach Brian noticed that I was improving continuously, and encouraged me to keep working I believe that having a coach who understands each of his team members well and is able to hearten them individually and collectively factors tremendously into the team’s performance. Coach was able to do this not only with me, but also with the entire team. He inspired all of us to keep pushing both for ourselves and for each other. The golf program at Harriton has improved greatly under Coach Brian, and the team’s camaraderie and success were very impressive. I wanted to contribute the team in future years, so I placed responsibility on myself to practice and improve for my teammates.”
Dobak added, “It means a lot. We hope that the students invest into the program and their game as much as we invest into the program as coaches. Not all of them do, but when somebody does, it makes everything worth it. We love seeing the progression from freshman to senior year, it’s a blast to walk along with the students.”
