Even though the golf team is finished competing until March, in some ways, the Owls’ season is just beginning.
Temple played in the final event of its fall season on Nov. 5 at the City 6 tournament in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania.
All the players said their biggest goal was to build momentum throughout the year, in preparation for the American Athletic Conference Championship in May. The recently completed fall schedule of events is just one way the Owls can do so.
In both the fall and spring seasons, and during the bulk of its offseason, the golf team is busy training in the basement of McGonigle Hall with the university’s Director of Olympic Sports Performance, Tim Teefy. The team spends three days each week in one-hour training sessions with Teefy, and exercises range from deadlifts to squats to bench pressing.
While each session is only an hour, the Owls value their time with Teefy just as much as their time with coach Brian Quinn. Sophomore Trey Wren was one of Temple’s most consistent players in the fall and did not hesitate to credit the workouts with Teefy.
“It’s just as important as what we do in practice,” Wren said. “If we’re not in good shape it doesn’t really matter how we’re practicing and how we’re swinging because we’re not going to be as good as we can be if we’re not doing what we need to do in here.”
Teefy graduated from West Virginia University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and sports management. In 2008, he earned his master’s in kinesiology and exercise physiology from West Chester University. Teefy arrived at Temple in January 2015 after he spent three years at Villanova as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Wildcats.
Prior to Teefy’s arrival at Temple, the golf team did similar workouts. But Teefy tweaked the team’s workout schedule to involve cardio exercises, which help the Owls build stamina to get through their 36-hole days in an event. The focal point of the Owls’ workouts with Teefy is the Titleist Performance Institute, which uses video to evaluate golfers’ swings.
The Titleist Performance Institute is an approach to golf fitness that focuses on specific exercises to address specific swing characteristics that are causing problems, according to its website.
Teefy said that the implementation of his workout program with the golfers was a result of a discussion he had with Quinn to ensure that the golfers were getting the most out of their time with him.
“I went and talked with coach about getting a little geared towards what golfers need,” Teefy said.
Temple’s roster this season is full of young members. There are a total of eight freshmen and sophomores on the 11-man roster. The workouts are new to lots of players, including Wren, who said he has noticed improvement in his game as a result.
“I feel like I have a little more control with my body and my golf swing,” he said.
Before he came to Temple, sophomore Sam Soeth spent time at Bradenton, Florida’s IMG Academy, which also follows standards of The Titleist Performance Institute. While his routine has not changed, he said his game has certainly improved.
“It was the same exact thing so things are no different,” Soeth said. “Since I’ve been here I’ve probably gained about 10 yards just from strength and 100 percent it has helped my balance and mobility and all of those combined, that’s all the golf swing is.”
Teefy works with 14 other varsity sports teams at Temple and with golf entering the offseason, he focuses on increasing the amount of training the athletes are doing when they aren’t in season.
“We don’t really ever change how we work as far as the mentality and the approach but my job is to dictate volume and intensity with things that are going on throughout the year,” Teefy said. “When they get into their offseason they’re not spending so much energy on the course so now we can focus a little more on our energy in here so we’ll be able to try and focus on some of the things we want to enhance going into our spring season.”
Teefy added that he benefits from spending time with the team on the golf course during practice rounds. It has helped himself get familiar with the next wave of Owls.
“To see them out on the course compared to seeing them in here or seeing them walking around the streets of Temple’s campus is a little bit different, so then that allows me to figure out what motivates them and help them accomplish any goals that they may have,” Teefy said.
The Owls will take some time off before concluding the fall semester with their regular workouts with Teefy, which will resume at the beginning of the spring semester.
Greg Frank can be reached at greg.frank@temple.edu or on Twitter @g_frank6.
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