Spring and fall seasons appeal to golfer

“I had a couple opportunities to play on golf teams in Canada, but the NCAA is the top level and I Iike the schedule the NCAA plays,” Chipman said. “You play in the fall and then you come back and play a lot in the spring where in Canada you might not even play in the spring at all.

“As a golfer, it’s important to get that off-season training and see where it brings you in the spring.”

Canisius placed eighth at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference c hampionships this year and Hummell expects Chipman to contribute immediately.

“My squad next year won’t be very large,” he said. “I will only have six or seven guys on the team and five will travel. Everyone competes for those travelling spots but I fully expect that he will be competing on the travel team right away.”

Chipman will need to make the same adjustments as every scholarship golfer that preceded him.

“It’s what every high schooler transitioning into college gets into trouble with; not playing their own games,” Hummell said. “They think they need to hit it farther because they are playing at the next level.”

That is not the case and it’s more a matter of refining one’s game.

“If you’re average is 25 feet from the pin (on approach shots), we need to get it to 20 and improve that way,” Hummell said. “They are good enough golfers to make it and we just try maybe get them to do a little bit of a different course strategy and move in that direction.”

Chipman feels there a few things he needs to work on to be successful at the collegiate level.

“I hope to become a little more of a steady golfer and wellrounded,” he said. “I want to get stronger off the tee and make sure I’m not making any big mistakes off the tee because the way my short game is, I feel like I can make a lot of birdies.”

Over the winter, Chipman trained on golf simulators at the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club and spent time at indoor golfing domes across the river, hitting balls and working on his putting.

This summer he plans to play a busy tournament schedule, starting with a May 3 qualifier in Maple for the Golf Association of Ontario’s men’s better ball championship.

His goal is to play in his third straight Canadian junior championship and do well in the Ontario junior tournaments. “If I can come in in the fall and have my game down pat, I feel I will be able to compete at the NCAA level right away as a freshman,” he said.

Peek remembers workouts.

“I came here and I was terrified of Mihai for the first two months of training,” she said. “I hated coming because he worked me so hard and he was the first coach who actually made me feel sick at workouts.”

Things slowly got better and now she trains five times a week at No Limit.

“She knew she was slow footed, she knew she was soft in the body and she knew how much work she had to put into it and she knew her only chance to make it anywhere was to shoot the hell out of the ball,” Raducanu said.

Peek agrees her biggest strides as a player have come in her shooting.

“When I first got here, I wasn’t the most athletic kid, but Mihai has worked with that,” she said. “My feet are slow, but my shot has become consistent and is something that I do the most on the court.”

This past season, the biggest improvements have come in her mental game.

“Before, I would get really frustrated and get down on myself if I was missing my shots. I am trying to stay more positive and working through things.”

She knows what she needs to do to play university ball.

“My university coach wants me on weights because I am a little smaller than I need to be,” she said. “It’s building strength so I can handle playing against 18- to 20-year-olds. It’s going to be tough.”

Peek sees the floor well, is a solid communicator and plays well without the ball. Raducanu expects her to make an immediate impact at Mount Allison.

“She learns fast because she’s already had these two years with us,” he said. “If the system fits her — and it sounds like it will — she will do well.” Peek has started at A.N. Myer the past three years and is playing with the Niagara JUEL (Junior Elite) team this year after being a member of a No Limit Performance squad that captured a championship in the Canadian Youth Basketball League’s senior girls division last year. those initial