Last winter, both the boys and girls golf teams at Franklin had coaching vacancies. The light bulbs flashed above the heads of Ted Bishop and Crystal Morse simultaneously.
A partnership that was supposed to have gotten off the ground in the spring finally takes flight this week, as Bishop and Morse — the owner and head pro, respectively, at The Legends — begin their tenure as co-coaches of the Grizzly Cubs.
“I think our skill sets complement each other,” Bishop said. “(Morse is) going to appeal to certain players on the team maybe more than me, and then I’m going to appeal to others more that she is — and when I say that, I’m just talking about what they’re looking for in teaching styles and what we have to offer.”
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Part of what made the coaching opportunity so intriguing for the duo is the talent on hand, especially on the girls side. The Grizzly Cubs have all of their key pieces back from last year’s team, which spent much of the year ranked among the top 15 teams in the state.
All-County mainstays Ellie Beavins, Liv Parramore and Ava Ray return at the top of the lineup, a foundation that any coach would be thrilled to inherit. Bishop feels that Franklin’s lead trio is as good as any in Indiana.
In high school golf, however, four scores count for each team — so finding reliable players will be the primary challenge for the Grizzly Cubs’ new coaches.
Morse, though, sees enough potential among the new and returning players to feel confident.
“I’m actually really excited about that fourth and fifth player emerging, because we have the talent,” she said. “There’s four girls just off the top of my head that, over the next month, any one of them could be playing 4 or 5 for us.
“The more that I’m around these other girls, the less I’m worried about that.”
That potential supporting cast includes sophomore Morgan Sandrock, who saw some time in the No. 5 hole as a rookie, as well as sophomore Kalyn Dickey and freshman Kara Heuchan.
Though Franklin has high expectations for this season, Bishop and Morse are already thinking long range. They’ve spent plenty of time this summer not only working with the high school boys and girls, but also trying to catch the younger players on their way up.
They’re not looking for one good year.
“We’re starting to build a program, and we’re trying to develop players — and we’re trying to get kids in the mindset that golf can be a year-round activity,” Bishop said. “If we’re going to compete and we’re going to achieve things and goals as a team, then we need to have players that are playing tournament golf all summer long. We can’t just show up and say, ‘Okay, we want to win the sectional,’ but yet we’ve had one guy that’s played in summer tournaments all year. It doesn’t work that way.”
Player development has been the running theme so far for Bishop and Morse; team goals, while obviously high, haven’t been explicitly discussed much. The theory is that if everyone plays to their potential, the results will end up being what they’re supposed to be.
Bishop says he’s hoping to see those high expectations reflected in the Grizzly Cubs’ attitude this fall and beyond.
“Our teams, we’ve got to be confident, we’ve got to have a swagger and we can only worry about ourselves,” he said. “If we do our thing, we’re going to be hard to beat.”
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Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Cale Hoover
Last season: Won county and sectional titles; finished fifth at Roncalli Regional
Key returnees: Meg Fosnot, Jezalyn Hyzer and Lauren Pagel, seniors; Lanie DeHaven, junior; Sage Parsetich and Natalie Wilson, sophomores
Top newcomers: Rowan Pheifle, Abby Rich and Camille Short, freshmen
Outlook: Hoover again has plenty of depth, especially with the addition of a loaded freshman class that could impact the lineup immediately, and he’s got three solid veterans back in Fosnot, Pagel and DeHaven. The coach is hopeful that someone in that trio can step up and become a vocal leader on an otherwise young team. Center Grove has dueled back and forth with Franklin for local supremacy the past two years and likely will again; if a couple of players can grow into starring roles, the Trojans have a solid chance to be a state qualifier.
Edinburgh Lancers
Coach: Doug Weddle
Last season: Won Mid-Hoosier Conference title; sixth at county, seventh at Bloomington North Sectional
Key returnees: Morgan Calhoun and Annelise Lollar, seniors; Jillian Turner, sophomore
Outlook: Weddle believes he’s got a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup in Calhoun and Lollar, who return from last year’s league championship team alongside Turner. The hurdle will be getting numbers up so that the Lancers can at least field a full lineup to defend that conference crown.
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coaches: Ted Bishop and Crystal Morse
Last season: Won Mid-State Conference title; second in county and at sectional, fourth at Roncalli Regional
Key returnees: Ellie Beavins and Liv Parramore, seniors; Ava Ray, junior; Morgan Sandrock, sophomore
Top newcomers: Kalyn Dickey, sophomore; Kara Heuchan, Addi Livorno, Rylie Wilkison and Maria Williams, freshmen
Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs have one of the state’s best trios at the top in Beavins, Parramore and Ray; what will make the difference between Franklin being a good team or a great team will be finding consistent depth in the fourth and fifth lineup spots. Bishop and Morse are confident that between Woodward, Sandrock, Dickey, Heuchan and the rest, at least one or two can step up and provide a reliable fourth score. If that’s the case, this team could make it to the state finals and contend.
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Thom Hord
Last season: Third in county, fourth in Mid-State Conference and at New Palestine Sectional
Key returnees: Maura Guilfoy and Madison Shaffer, juniors
Top newcomers: Emallie Ripptoe, sophomore; Lucia Agresta and Emma Baker, freshmen
Outlook: First-year coach Hord inherits a very young team that suffered some heavy graduation losses. The Woodmen are expected to struggle in the beginning with three rookies in the lineup, but Hord hopes that the girls can make some noticeable strides by the time the postseason arrives. Guilfoy is a strong candidate to make some noise as an individual.
Greenwood Christian Cougars
Coach: Shannon Witte
Last season: Second in PAAC, seventh in county, ninth at New Palestine Sectional
Key returnees: Rose O’Neal and Ashton Witte, seniors
Top newcomer: Taylor Ratliff, senior
Outlook: The Cougars would likely be able to field a competitive team within their conference, provided they can fill out their lineup with a fourth player. Shannon Witte is hopeful that someone will come through for the team in that role. In the meantime, GCA will press forward with a core of three, with Ashton Witte capable of perhaps making the regional as an individual.
Indian Creek Braves
Coach: Rose Moore
Last season: Second in Western Indiana Conference; fourth at county, fifth at Bloomington North Sectional
Key returnees: Ally Koron and Annie Stephens, seniors; Hannah Emenhiser
Top newcomers: Zoe Cushing, senior; Daisy Hall, sophomore
Outlook: The Braves were the WIC runner-up last year and should still be competitive within the league, but with three seniors having departed and only three experienced players among the five on the roster, Moore isn’t yet sure what the season will bring. The coach does have high hopes for Emenhiser, who is Indian Creek’s top returning player and a possible candidate to advance past the sectional individually.
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: John Morin
Last season: Fifth in county, eighth in Mid-State Conference, sixth at sectional
Key returnees: Dylani Sullivan and Tara Watson, juniors
Top newcomers: Sami Brinkman, Chloe Cooper, Karley Hoagland and Kylie McGovern, freshmen
Outlook: The Warriors struggled through last season with just four players, but they’ve got half of that group back along with a promising freshman class. Morin believes he’s got some young talent to work with, especially with Cooper, and that the key will just be building up some experience and confidence. The primary goal will be to continue making improvements and build toward the future.
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