Head Coach Ali Green is beginning her first season at the helm of the Toledo women's golf program. She has three returnees on this year's squad and added two transfers and one freshman to the roster. The Rockets begin their season on Monday at Purdue's Boilermaker Classic.
What are your goals for the upcoming season?
GREEN: I would like to see us ranked in the Top 150 in the country. I think that's a reasonable and attainable goal for my first season. I would also like to see the team win an event, though that's not our top priority. I think the biggest thing for me from a big picture standpoint would be to see our scoring average go down and our ranking go up.
How long will it take you to evaluate your team's strengths and weaknesses since you've just seen them play for the first time this week?
GREEN: I think that I will have a good evaluation of them in a few weeks. I don't want to evaluate them on just one event, because it could just be a bad day. After watching them play in a couple of tournaments I will be able to truly see where their weaknesses lie. It will be good to see how they each deal with some pressure and where the cracks in their game show when they experience that.
Will you be able to identify some of the areas to improve in practice as well?
GREEN: I can definitely see where certain drills will show certain areas where individuals struggle. I think women's golf as a whole struggles with the short game, so we're going to hit the short game pretty hard and really dive into that. There are definitely ways in practice to be able to see where we need to get better.
What is your approach with your players about playing team golf versus an individual event they would typically play?
GREEN: I think I will just make them aware that they're playing for your team. They're not playing for themselves, and then obviously having that messaging and having that culture piece that this is a team sport. Golf is obviously a weird sport in that it's not a team sport unless you're in high school and college. It really is just leaning into the team bonding aspect and making sure they realize they are in it together and they have a teammate that has their back.
Have you done any team bonding activities since the team arrived on campus last week or do you have any plans for it?
GREEN: I really enjoy organic team bonding. One thing we're going to do is put our tee gifts together for the Inverness Intercollegiate. The team is going to help me get them ready and that will be a night where we spend time together. I really like to get them off campus and possibly come over to my house. My husband and I might cook dinner for them, or we just might go bowling or do something where everyone can have fun and relax.
How have your past experiences as a head coach at Dayton and as an assistant coach at Abilene Christian prepared you for the upcoming season?
GREEN: I inherited a similar situation when I was hired at Dayton. I think just knowing what worked and what didn't work there is really going to help me. I know things that were a fail and didn't go well, but there were also aspects that went really well. I'm going to lean into that. I also learned a lot at ACU with different ways to motivate and ways to practice. I think that will help me be a better coach and to connect better with the players.
What does hosting the Inverness Intercollegiate mean for the program?
GREEN: I think it's huge. We get to show off our gem that not a ton of people in college golf get to see. I think it also helps us to get reciprocals into some really nice events that we may not be able to get into without hosting the Inverness Intercollegiate. It's great that we get to sleep in our own beds and show off our very wonderful slice of heaven that we have right by our campus.
Can you talk about your schedule and the challenges that are facing your team?
GREEN: Our schedule is tough. I made it hard, and I made it hard for a reason. It's cool for us to get to play in tournaments at Ohio State, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Purdue. Recruits like seeing those logos on our schedule and we're going to be facing some really strong fields in those events. Another reason why I did it is because I want us to be prepared the best way for the MAC Championships. We're going to be facing tough competition on tough courses, and I'm hoping that's going to prepare them for when they are in difficult situations at the MAC Championships. I want our team to feel that it isn't harder than what we experienced during our season.
