Sept. 3, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -
By Leigh Torbin
UCFAthletics.com
New UCF women's golf head coach Courtney Trimble has walked into a very good situation in her first head coaching job.
The Knights have made two straight NCAA Regional appearances. UCF is located in the heart of one of America's premier golfing states and in perhaps that state's most golf-friendly city. The Knights have a brand new practice facility just a couple of miles from campus at Twin Rivers Golf Club in Oviedo. UCF has a national reputation on both the men's and women's side in the collegiate golfing community and Trimble hopes to even further enhance that.
The Trimble era begins on Sunday with the first round of the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship in Daytona Beach. After less than a month on the job, Trimble sat down with UCFAthletics.com recently for a Q&A session.
How would you assess the UCF program right now?
"I think it's a really exciting time to be here. The new facility is awesome as are the golf courses that we have access to with their proximity to campus. The team is really excited about getting started. We have three freshmen and one more (Elisa Aoki) who started last spring and hasn't gone through a fall here. So, the team is really young and we look to have some good leadership from (senior) Victoria Tomko and (junior) Katie Detlefsen who have been here and know the ropes. I'm really excited to be here. I think that there is no limit to what this team can do, and I am not going to put a limit on it. We can't wait to get started and start climbing up the ladder immediately."
What has impressed you the most about UCF/something you didn't expect?
"The facilities on campus are incredible. The dorms and the weight room, and the things that the student-athletes have access to is all top notch. It's just as good as any other place I've seen, if not better."
How helpful is the new golf training facility going to be?
"It's awesome. It is awesome. You can get better there, and that's what I'm so excited about. It's three miles from campus. You can go there anytime and it's just for the team. It's a perfect practice facility for college golf as far as the building itself and the practice areas, the chipping and putting greens, are excellent. You can get your short game incredibly good. It's awesome."
This will be your first time as a head coach. How will you take what you did at perennial national power Auburn as a player and assistant coach and apply it here?
"I learned a lot at Auburn about how to be a part of a championship program. Even on down years we were still in the top 15. So, my goal is to bring that kind of attitude here and start to build the program with players that have a championship attitude and want to win championships and tournaments. That's probably the biggest thing I'll bring from Auburn - the goal to try to consistently be in that top 20. It's certainly going to take some time but it's very doable at UCF. There are a lot of great players that once they see this campus will really want to come here. The great advantage we have is that there are a lot of great golfers in the state of Florida. They know about UCF and the potential here to be a championship type program. If they want to stay in state, they will come here and look around and we can hopefully get them here once they see how much UCF offers."
How does being in the city of Orlando help you out?
"It's huge. A lot of kids in Florida have instructors that are here or close by. That has gotten big in junior golf, to be near your instructor. The caliber of golf courses here is excellent. It's one of the best golf cities in the country. Obviously the weather is great for golf year-round. The fact that the team has its own practice facility just for UCF golfers three miles from campus that's in top shape will help a lot. There's opportunity for a lot of great and varied things here. UCF as a big school has more opportunity for all student-athletes."
How competitive do you think this team be this year/relying on a lot of freshmen?
"My expectations off of what I've seen is that these players are capable. Their scores in the past are solid. It's my job to get them to believe they can play at that level all the time in college. My expectations are high. All these girls are experienced in tournament play at the international level so I don't see any reason why we can't be competitive. It's certainly going to take some time to build the program, but I'm not going to set any limitations on what the team can do. I don't see any reason why we can't go out and win golf tournaments."
How does your experience playing at a high collegiate level and tour translate to your coaching?
"I think it certainly helps. I know what it takes to compete for a national championship as a player and a coach so I've seen that from both sides. So I'll certainly use that first-hand experience in my coaching here. As far as playing professionally, most of the girls on the team probably have aspirations to be professional golfers and I know what it takes to be successful at that level too. I know how to help them help their game progress in college so that they're better professional golfers. But, we are trying to win now. We are trying to play great now and hopefully that develops and, with it, our players continue to develop into great professional golfers. My experience helps a lot and I still play some amateur tournaments. I'm still competitive and I know what it takes to compete at the highest level. I think all of that experience will help this team."
What are your goals for UCF?
"I would like to be competing for a national championship. I don't want to put a year frame on it but that is my long term goal. I didn't come here for any other reason. I want to win conference championships, as many as I can. That will always be a goal. I want to get some people in here and build a program that is something that people really want to be a part of."
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.