LJ g golf: Patient mentor

Viking coach Aaron Quesnell works
patiently with freshman Gloria
Devitt (white top), new to golf,
at practice Aug. 16.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

The sun had descended close to the horizon, a breeze was blowing, and the La Jolla High golfers paced by Coach Aaron Quesnell in a single group were plying their trade amid the relief from the long weeks of uncomfortable heat Tues., Aug. 14.

"Did you make that putt?" the coach asked Katie Graham, one of his seniors. "Heck no," Graham shot back in frustration. "Just no," Quesnell, supportive, seeking to soothe her frustration, said in downplaying the missed putt near the end of the nine-hole course at Mission Bay.

Two afternoons later, on Thursday, the Viking coach was patiently instructing new golfer Gloria Devitt, an incoming ninth-grader who also plays soccer, and another young golfer in the practice sand trap near the front of the golf club.

Quesnell quietly, calmly gave the two girls pointers on using a stroke with their club to lift the ball out of the sand and up, over the lip of the trap, not an easy feat for a beginner.

The two repeatedly tried to apply the tips from their coach, having varied success. "I finally got one over," said Devitt good-naturedly. She's had plenty of sports experience in soccer, so she was smiling though intent as she tried new skills in a new sport.

Her father stood in the shade of a tree nearby with Bob, the family Golden Retriever. "You know, 'Jonesy' (La Jolla's girls soccer coach) told Gloria she ought to try golf, that she would like it," dad said. "She knew that (Aaron) is the coach."

This is the way Quesnell and his assistant coach, Christie Quinn, drew 17 girls to come out for golf this fall. The head coach talks calmly, supportively, even gently. He's not running a power trip or a yelling camp, as some coaches in some sports do.

And his gentle tutelage continues to yield results.