TL Brown, head coach of men’s golf, was inducted to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.
“To get that honor, it makes me very proud of where the program has gone,” Brown said.
Brown started his coaching career at South Mountain Community College and he said he is grateful for the opportunity SMCC has given him.
“South Mountain (Community College) and the athletic director, Dr. Ferguson, were the first people who gave me a chance (to coach a college team),” Brown said.
Constructing the program from the bottom up, Brown said he is happy to have been a part of building the athletic program.
“There was nothing there, nobody believes in it; there was like no way can there be a good quality golf program in South Mountain,” Brown said. “Now the program is one of the top junior college programs in the nation. I just feel really blessed and honored to have had the opportunity to build something like that.”
Before coming to CBU, Brown coached at Sapola High School, Tom Water High School, SMCC and California State University, Chico.
“Coach Brown is a tremendous coach with many years of experience,” said John Hayes, freshman marketing major and golfer. “Before CBU, he worked at Chico State and led an outstanding team there with incredible statistics on how many times they won and soon enough that will translate into the program here at CBU.”
Having been a player himself, Brown said he wants to be a coach that motivates his student-athletes to be the best they can be and a coach that simplifies the game of golf.
“I want to be considered somebody who tried to build a relationship of trust and honesty,” Brown said. “All these young men already had their coaches, and as a college golf coach, it is more than just being somebody that drives, get you there and pays for the meals; it has got to be somebody that they can trust.”
Hayes said Brown is good at working with every athlete individually and the team trusts him.
“His ability to teach every player on how they can improve individually, as well as the team as a whole, shows he is one of the best in the country,” Hayes said. “Not only does he coach us in our golf but he relates to us on a personal level and loves to hang out with us, along with his coaching.”
The golf team ended its fall season and finished ninth at the Visit Stockton Invitational. The Lancers’ spring season will officially begin Feb. 11.
