Boys’ Golf Preview
Garceau steps aside as new season dawns for Centaurs
It had been a rite of spring for Rich Garceau for the last 22 years.
This spring has been a little different for the veteran educator and coach.
Garceau stepped aside recently from coaching the boys’ golf team at Woodstock Academy after amassing over 250 wins at the helm of the Centaurs.
“My life has changed over these last 22 years and, not saying I didn’t enjoy it and still do, but things change. Life brings on other priorities so I decided to step away,” Garceau said.
Garceau coached the Centaurs to a fourth-place finish in the Div. II state tournament a year ago.
But it’s not the wins and losses or the championships, it’s the shots, the battles on the course and the relationships he developed with his players, which is a different sort of camaraderie than that in a classroom, that he cherishes most.
“Just seeing them go off after they graduated, have become husbands and fathers, some have served in the military, and have grown into really good people. I would like to think that over the course of the 22 years that things they have learned from golf where you get bad breaks from good shots and good breaks from bad shots help you learn about life,” Garceau said.
When asked about his career highlight, it’s not what one would expect, winning an ECC championship or competing in the state tournament, but rather how a championship was won.
In his first year as head coach of the Centaurs, it came down to a match against East Lyme at the Harrisville Golf Course with the winning taking the ECC divisional title.
One of his freshmen had an approach shot go long on the ninth hole and his East Lyme opponent put his tee shot 5 feet from the hole on the par-3 ninth.
“We were all thinking, ‘Well, that’s about it.’ I was sitting down by the clubhouse with (East Lyme coach) Rudy (Bagos) and I was watching out of the corner of my eye, thinking that I have to shake his hand and congratulate him and doggone if (the Woodstock Academy) kid doesn’t take out a wedge and put the ball in the hole. I didn’t see it go in but the guys erupted and I was like, ‘I think we won,’ That was exciting,” Garceau said.
He also recalled another match with East Lyme where Cody Semmelrock shot 3-under par for nine holes as a freshman and it made the difference between a win or a loss for the Centaurs.
There will be more memories like those still to come for Woodstock Academy.
Garceau did not leave the cupboard bare for his successor, Marc Allard.
“I think I left it in good shape,” Garceau said. “There is a lot of talent and the strong are getting stronger. When you have big numbers coming in, it shows that success begets success and the kids that are coming back, work hard.”
Allard had more than 30 athletes turn out for the program.
The Centaurs will have six seniors returning to the course this season with Aidan O’Connor, Alec Nunes, Nate Faucher, Luke Thompson and Blake Hudock returning and transfer Alex Haggerty added to the mix.
“We lost a couple of good players (to graduation) but Aidan stepped up last year and we have a few people to fill the roles,” said Nunes.
In addition to the seniors, juniors Brady Hebert, Max Kopp and Cam Perreault will be a part of the mix.
“About all that can go right on the golf course,” Nunes responded when asked what has to go right for the Centaurs this season. “There is a lot that can go bad on a golf course but if we do some good course management, stay in a good head space, I think we will be good as a team.”
The weather has been up-and-down.
The Centaurs were able to get out on to the Woodstock Golf Course driving range during the first week of the season and then the course itself for the last week and a half. Their home course, the Quinnatisset Country Club, just opened this past weekend.
That meant that the first two matches of the season had to be postponed and the first boys’ golf match will not take place until after spring break this week. The Centaurs will open at home on April 21 against Norwich Free Academy.
“I think it was good to get back into the swing of things but probably a little less time getting to the matches would have been more ideal, getting a feel for the season. But a lot of matches late isn’t bad,” Nunes said of the late start compared to the other spring programs.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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The weather last week had the Woodstock Academy boys’ golf team bundled up.
Rich Garceau was all smiles when he received a plaque commemorating his 250th career victory as head coach of the Woodstock Academy boys’ golf team. Garceau stepped aside recently after 22 years at the helm of the program.
Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
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