McCollum's Column: Former CHS golfers drive home fun element to new team

One of the aspects that sets Conway High golf apart occurred almost at the crack of dawn Monday.On the eve of the Wampus Cat Invitational with the temperatures still cool and the dew still on the ground, parents and friends hosted a “kickoff” breakfast for the CHS boys and girls golf teams.

It was not surprising that almost all the current Wampus Cat golfers answered the wakeup call. Most of them had 9 a.m. tee times for the 12-team tournament at Conway Country Club.What was amazing was the number of CHS alumni golfers, which included almost everyone that has had recent success except Bryce Molder, who now lives in Arizona. There was no real reason for the local alumni to wake up that early and many of them probably didn’t want to.But they gathered around a large table and offered words of advice to the latest edition of the CHS golf team, several of whom were playing in their first tournament.“These kids feel a sense of wanting to give back, and you need that to keep a good program going,” said coach Janet Taylor.The advice the alumni golfers gave the younger ones also says a lot about the Conway program.The rich Wampus Cat tradition, which has produced a college signee each year for seemingly forever, was generally mentioned in passing. The alumni gave no fiery speeches, no “run through walls and win one for the Gipper stuff.”Almost to a person, it was “have fun and play the game the right way. Cherish the memories and the relationships with the people you meet.”“It seems like it wasn’t that long ago I was beginning my freshman year and I remember how excited I was to come out for golf,” said Mary Michael Maggio, who became one of the best female golfers in the state and the region during her high school years and who in about another week will be headed to LSU on a golf scholarship. “One thing you will find out is Conway golf is big and you can count on it. Just enjoy it as much as you can.”“When I started playing as a ninth-grader, it seems like high school golf will last forever and it goes by just like that,” said Scotty Campbell, a former golfer at the University of Arkansas and UCA. “It seems like yesterday when I started playing for Conway High and it’s been ... what ... eight years?”“Enjoy every minute. And when you play in these tournaments, thank a lot of people along the way who are working in them. Keep it classy,” said Jeff Campbell, Scotty’s brother who originally signed with Baylor and now plays for UCA.“One thing I learned in college is golf is not all about how far you can hit it, and it took me the last semester of college last year to figure that out,” said Jason Cuthbertson, a member of the NCAA Division I runner-up Arkansas Razorbacks. “The key is 100 yards in.”One unfortunate situation is that age and eligibility requirements resulted in Maggio and freshman Summar Roachell, two of the best female junior golfers in the state the last several years, not being able to play together on the Conway girls team. Maggio is on her way to college; Roachell, 14, played in her first varsity tournament Monday and won her division.“We began thinking about that when Summar was in the seventh-grade and realized it just wasn’t going to work out,” said Bill Roachell, her father.Maggio did not head home without giving a word of personal encouragement to each player.“I told them to just enjoy being a Wampus Cat, and I hope they stay classy kids and they really are a good group of kids,” she said. “We’ve won at Conway but I think people around the state remember us as classy kids.”A group of parents presented each Conway golfer with a prize Monday — a small golf item donated by former UCA star Christina LeCuyer, who is attempting to make it in pro golf.“What makes Conway golf special is the support from the community and parents,” Taylor said. “You can’t have a golf program with that kind of support.”“It’s kind of difficult because I’ve gotten used to carrying that Wampus Cat bag and teeing up that Wampus Cat ball and chasing it,” Maggio said. “It’s difficult not being able to play in this tournament but I’m thrilled to get started on something different.”The first tournament for the LSU women’s golf team is at Daytona Beach, Fla.Conway Country Club is in good shape and those trips to Hot Springs and Greers Ferry are nice ... but there are new vistas out there.Another group of CHS golfers will discover those someday — and will probably return to tell about it.(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)