By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

Don’t expect to see Nathan Kerns driving a beat-up ice cream truck and selling snake oil. But if he did, he’d probably be able to make a living at it.

Kerns took over the Ironton Fighting Tigers golf program four years ago and he said the biggest thing was connecting with the golfers and getting them to buy into what he was asking them to do.

He sold it. The players bought it. And the result was a banner year for Ironton that culminated with a trip to the Division 2 state golf tournament.

Kerns said that the response from the players was the key to them as Ironton’s program returned to one of the elite in the area as well as the state.

“The kids have to go do it, but the kids have to buy into what we’re telling them and it hasn’t been easy,” said Kerns.

“We pushed them hard this year because we knew this was a realistic expectation. I knew we were one of the two best teams in the district if not the best team in the district. I told my dad (Jeff) that I thought we were a top 10 team in the state right now.”

As it turned out, Kerns was dead-on with his assessment as Ironton followed up its Ohio Valley Conference championship by winning the sectional tournament and then placing second in the district by one shot to Westfall who was playing on their home course.

At the state tournament held last weekend at the Akron Firestone Country Club, Ironton finished ninth after being 10th on the first day. Alter was the easy state champion with a team score of 598 which was 26 shots better than Ottawa Hills.

The Fighting Tigers shot a 346 on Sunday but fired a 335 on the second day as they finished. at 681. The total was 8 shots better than Westfall.

Kerns put all the praise of the team’s success on the team that included seniors Hunter Freeman, Judah Barnes and Elijah Ford, junior Carson Blankenship and freshman Silas Keyes.

“It was the beginning of the season and I said I’d like to get them within the top five or better. But it was going to take a lot of pushing and the kids responded to that,” said Kerns.

“It’s not easy working hard. They all took the initiative and ran with it. Over the summer they worked on their own. We worked as a team. Nothing was mandatory but they wanted to work. If they wanted to come out, I told them I’d be there and they could work on some stuff. They played tournaments and that’s what it takes.”

Kerns said the team’s willingness to work beyond the regular season and to accept the “pushing” from him and his father, assistant coach Jeff Kerns, were the big keys for the players. And he also felt that as coaches, it was their job not to let that work ethic slip.

A prime example was last season when Ironton lost the OVC tournament by one shot and then this year, they won by 23 strokes. He said the players were determined to erase that feeling and put in the extra work.

“Golf seasons are short. You can’t get a ton done as far as practice goes once the season starts. You get better in the offseason and that’s where it all starts,” said Kerns.

“Just looking at our district and who was coming back, I felt if we played our best golf we could compete with anyone. I felt that way all year. But that’s a spot you have to stay on top of as a coach. You don’t want your kids to get complacent and think they deserve to go. They’ve got to want it.”

The first day of the tournament had mild weather but the second day was plagued by rain and cold weather.

“I would say the golf course was set up tough but fair. It was a tough test. You had kids in practice talking and saying the fairways were running as fast as the greens we’ve been playing on,” said Kerns.

“The greens were faster, more firm. The first day I think it was because we didn’t play smart but I don’t think it was intentional. I think it was a case of struggling and being punished for struggling, missing in tough spots and making big numbers. I don’t feel our kids were nervous. We had a good day of preparation the day before and learning the golf course and learning the speeds of the greens and where we want to miss.

“I feel they were prepared. I think it was just one of those days you hope you don’t have it at the state tournament, but unfortunately we did. It was the worst score we’ve shot by 20 shots all year. Some of that has to do with the harder golf course. The weather wasn’t super windy. It was 60 degrees and sunny which is about as good as you’re going to get in Akron in October.”

Obviously, Ironton was disappointed following their first day performance. But Kerns said he and his father delivered a message to the players and they responded again.

“The message dad and I had for them the night before the second round was that this isn’t where we wanted to be, but you still have a lot to play for. You have yourself to play for, you have your family to play for, you have your school to play for. Let’s go out and show people why we’re called the Fighting Tigers and not just the Tigers like every other school,” said Kerns.

“I think they responded to that. They beat their day one score by 11 shots in terrible, terrible weather, was very impressive. We played better but it wasn’t our best. It was good to see them come back and move up the leaderboard and not down.”

Freeman along with Blankenship and Keyes had the top individual scores.

“Silas was our bright spot on day one. A freshman going out and shooting an 85 in his first state tournament experience. It just shows what his future looks like. It would have been a really bad score the first day if he hadn’t played as well as he did. He just needs to keep working,” said Kerns.

“Every kid on day two had signs of good golf. Whether it remained for 18 holes, there were still glimpses of good golf and what we were capable of doing. It’s just on day one we shot ourselves out of the tournament. There’s an old saying and we were on the bad end of it, that you can’t win a tournament on day one, but you can sure as heck lose it. And, unfortunately, we did. But I’m proud of all our guys for going out on day two and really grinding and fighting. It would be easy to give up in that weather where you know you can’t win. But those kids didn’t do that and I wouldn’t have expected it from them. That’s who they’ve been all year.”

Freeman is the only four-year player Kerns coached in his short 4-year stint as the Ironton head coach

“Hunter has been our guy. He’s been our leader for two years. As a freshman he started playing golf and I remember his first qualifying round he shot a 67, but that was on nine holes. His sophomore year, his first 18-hole score was 77. The turnaround that he has made not only as a player but as a person, has been a joy to watch and to be a part of,” said Kerns.

But Freeman was not a lone wolf. Kerns noted that Ironton was a solid group of individuals who worked together to be an outstanding team.

“Carson and Eli worked hard all summer long. I don’t know Eli’s plans, but I know he can play at the next level if he chooses to, as can Hunter,” said Kerns, who was the top golfer for Marshall University during his four years.

“I think next year is going to be a great year for Carson to step into that leadership role and take the team under his wings,” said Kerns. “We’re only going to have one other person who played in the state finals coming back next year besides Carson. So, using that experience stepping into a leadership role will be a big part of what we do next year and a lot of that depends on how Carson responds, which I have no doubt he’ll respond in a positive way.

“Judah has been the guy who is always going to count in the team score. He was one of our best golfers the first nine or ten holes (in the state tournament) and then he just hit a bad patch. He showed signs of playing some good golf up there. He’s the guy you can always depend on. He’s one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever had.

“Silas did a great job juggling football and golf. He was able to get to enough qualifiers and practices and tournaments for us to justify he was the fifth best scoring average on our team. We put him in that role and he fit right in. He counted for us both days at the state and at the district. I see him getting nothing but better.”

Although Ironton is losing three outstanding seniors, Kerns said he expects the next group of players to buy into what he’s selling.

“It’s going to be tough replacing three horses, but we’re still in a better spot that we were four years ago,” said Kerns.