NSU Horizons Fall 2018

35 NSU HORIZONS a decorated member of this year’s team. “A lot of it comes from within and from the amazing women I had surrounding me during my four years. We were all eager to succeed as a team on and off the course.” Freedman, a recent graduate who majored in legal studies with a minor in marketing, said that she’s going to take a year off, play golf, and “hopefully work in a law office.” She wants to continue working on her game. She wants to improve on hitting greens in regulation while getting career experience in a law firm. Wall said that the team’s continued excellence goes a long way in recruiting new players. There’s always intense competition between schools to get the best available players, and NSU has a trophy case they can point to when talking with prospective student-athletes. Freedman agrees. “Of course, the more accolades the program has the more credibility it has,” Freedman said. “This would draw any great player – it’s always an advantage to follow in the footsteps of great players. When I visited NSU, I knew right away this is the place I would thrive and improve as a person and golfer.” Leading a team of talented golfers isn’t as easy as it sounds. Sure, they have natural abilities, but those can only take them so far. Wall knows this firsthand – she was an accomplished player herself, being named the 2009 SSC Woman’s Golfer of the Year. But being a player is one thing and being head coach is something entirely different. “Being a coach is definitely harder than I thought,” Wall said. “As a player, you focus on your game; as a coach, I have to focus on all the players’ games – every shot counts. As a coach, I can impart some wisdom I learned when I was in their shoes as a player, and they can learn from things I would have done differently when I played.” While all the honors and achievements on the course are great, Freedman said that what she learned playing golf taught her many valuable life-lessons that were essential. “The most important are patience and dedication,” she said. “Without those on the course, it’s extremely hard to have success. Same goes in life – having patience and realizing that things take time to develop leads to success.” Her advice to players picking up the mantle from her and her teammates is simple: “Anything you choose to dedicate your time and hard work to will eventually be successful. That doesn’t mean there won’t be failures and downfall, but eventually, if you keep up the hard work and dedication, you will succeed on and off the course.” ¨ Left to right: Sofia Garcia Austt, Michelle Ruiz, Jamie Freedman, Head Coach Heather Wall, Sophie Madden, Janelle Johnson