For Regis Jesuit boys golf, character builds champions

Regis Jesuit’s boys golf team comes into the 2014 season in a familiar and comfortable position — as defending state champions, a title they’ve captured for four consecutive seasons.

That type of consistency is considered rare in high school sports, where student-athletes come and go so quickly.

The turnover presents a unique challenge this year for head coach Craig Rogers, who had an excellent returning squad in 2013 to lean on. Now, four golfers from last year’s state championship squad are playing golf at Division I colleges, which means the Raiders will be forced to reload if they want to repeat.

“It’ll be fun, because it’s very wide open. Going into last year, we really had three guys who were exceptional golfers. There wasn’t a lot of mystery who our best players would be,” Rogers said. “This year there’s a lot of good young players who have the opportunity to step up.”

If past accomplishments are any indication, the Raiders possess the perfect road map for remaining on top. According to Rogers, the key to sustaining success is developing his players as young men first, and as golfers second.

“The mission of our team is the same as in school — to become better people and develop character. I’ve already been in conversation with (our captains) about how they really want to focus on making sure we have a bond as a team,” Rogers said. “The older guys look after the younger guys and they take care of each other and develop as gentlemen.”

Despite graduating a number of excellent players, including last year’s individual champion Spencer Painton, Regis Jesuit will hardly be devoid of experience going into the season.

Senior Jack Lazzeri, one of the team’s three captains, returns after placing in a tie for 26th in last fall’s state meet. And Rogers, who has a long history of defending championships to point to as proof, knows where character and consistency comes from — it’s passed down from one class to the next.

“What we’ve done really, really, well is just get kids who are enthusiastic, good character kids, who kind of fall in love with the game,” Rogers said. “They see the older kids that are having a lot of success, how they carry themselves, and how they work at it. And they kind of see themselves being that guy someday.

“If we do a really good job with character first, golf will follow.”