Golf coach Erin Lind begins her journey at Pacific
Not far from the familiar sights and sounds on campus is a slightly more unfamiliar sight: the swish of a seven iron and the fresh, open golf course air. The Boxer golf team has a special reason to be excited this year. Pacific University recently hired a new golf coach, Erin Lind, and her players are hard at work preparing for their upcoming season.
This season marks an exciting new beginning not only for Pacific’s competitors but for Lind as well, as coaching golf was not her original career path. “Before going into golf, I worked in corrections law enforcement for a while,” Lind explains. “And while that’s a good field to be in, it’s high-stress. You’re never really off work.”
Lind stayed in criminal justice for several years before taking the plunge on a new path. After leaving the criminology field, Lind joined the College of the Desert golf team. “When the coach there retired, he had suggested that I take over,” Lind recalls. “He really encouraged me to go for it, and I did, so I took that open door and went through it.”
Lind never looked back. She continued to coach golf at the College of the Desert for several years and guided her team to multiple championships. Now, she has taken on the new challenge of coaching Pacific’s golf team.
One of the things that drew Lind to Pacific was her affinity for the Pacific Northwest. “I wanted to get back up north,” Lind mentions. “I knew of Pacific. I did my research before I applied, and I just like the campus.”
Her goals for the team include raising their national rankings, lowering team scores, and perhaps most importantly, improving the mental game of her players. “When we had our team meeting at the beginning of the Spring, one of the values that I said was important to me was attitude,” Lind remarks. “No matter what we do in life, especially golf, if we bring a good attitude to that, it kind of takes care of some of the other things we must deal with.”
While Lind shares with her team the importance of improving your attitude, she also encourages them to foster friendly competition. “A lot of our team-building is what we’re doing every day at practice,” Lind explains. “Sometimes I’ll have them challenge each other, like, ‘Hey, what’s the low score for today?’ I think our strength and conditioning as a team is excellent regarding our team building and how we’re talking about different struggles.”
As it is Lind’s first year coaching the team, she has prioritized connecting with each of her players. From helping them improve their golf game to getting to know them more personally, Lind is making every moment of the new season count. “I enjoy coming to practice and conversing with all of them and just kind of getting to know them personally,” Lind reflects. “I think that’s my favorite part of coaching.”
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