Wilson leads golf to continued success

Head GCSU Golf Coach and Associate Athletic Director Jimmy Wilson sits behind his desk in his office, listening to classic rock from his college days. One glance at the walls will tell one all they need to know about the success the golf squad has enjoyed under him—13 consecutive NCAA appearances. Eight appearances in the NCAA finals. Two Peach Belt Conference championships. Twenty All-Americans. Five PBC Golfers of the Year.

“Recruiting good kids has been the formula to the success,” Wilson said. “When I got the first good group in here, they began helping me with it. They sent me names of kids who were growing up in their clubs. Being a PGA member professional, I get tips from other PGA members here in the state about guys who might be a good fit for our program.”

And, according to Wilson, courtesy didn’t hurt either.

“I feel like if you treat people the way you want to be treated, you’re going to get that in return,” he said.

Wilson

Wilson’s GCSU roots begin where he himself played golf here for three seasons, graduating in 1986. He transferred after his freshman year at ABAC and finished up at GCSU under coach Mike Peeler.

“We won a couple team tournaments. My best individual finish was a third place,” Wilson said.

After graduating, Wilson took a job at the Little Fishing Creek Golf Course in Milledgeville, where he served as the Director of Golf from 1988-2007 before taking a full time job at GCSU and being added as an associate athletic director.

In 1996, Wilson was approached by then Athletic Director Stan Aldridge about the head golf coach position.

“They’d been through three or four coaches in three or four years, and Stan came to me to see if I was interested in helping out,” Wilson said. “I’d obviously been attached to the program, since I played here for three years, and so I accepted.”

Wilson began to bring the Bobcats success.

“The first couple years were a struggle just trying to figure out who to recruit and how to recruit,” Wilson said. “I’ve been very fortunate since then, bringing in some good kids that can play a little bit of golf.”

In 1998, the Bobcats earned a birth in the NCAA Finals, finishing in fifth place. In 2000, they won their first PBC title under Wilson, while ending up 10th in the NCAA finals.

They added six more NCAA finals appearances in the next nine seasons: 5th in 2001, 10th in 2004, 15th in 2005, 6th in 2007, 4th in 2008 and 5th in 2009.

In 2010, the Bobcats were the preseason national No.1 team and won the PBC championship before falling short in the regional tournament.

Still Wilson garnered his third Region Coach of the Year after previously winning in 2000 and 2008.

“The level of consistency (Wilson) has brought to this team on the national level has been phenomenal,” GCSU Athletic Director Wendell Staton said. “It is a testament to him that he continues to not just field a good team, but run a consistent program. That’s pretty rare at any level.”

Part of the success under Wilson has been driven by the influence of international players, predominately from Argentina and Sweden.

The first one from Argentina was Tomas Arlia.

“He was traveling through the southeast looking for somewhere to play. He came by here, and we talked,” Wilson said. “He came here to stay and helped bring me Esteban Endere, who helped bring in Jose Medrano and then so on and so forth. They have just helped recruit for me.”

Ola Bjoerklund was the first of the Swedes that have helped the Bobcats out over Wilson’s tenure.

“Ola was down at Valdosta State, and for whatever reason, the coach down there didn’t allow him the chance to try out. He gave me a call. We were heading down there for a tournament,” Wilson said. “I told him I’d be happy to meet him, and I offered him a chance to come here and try it.”

Bjoerklund played at GCSU for three years, becoming the PBC player of the year by his senior year. And he helped recruit as well.

Even with the success, Wilson’s favorite part of GCSU remains the student athletes.

“When I recruit a kid, we have their mom and dad here for a visit,” Wilson said. “I obviously tell them I want their kid to be a better golfer, but if they leave here a better person than when they arrived, then I’ve really done my job.”

And his love for student athletes goes beyond the golf course.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know a lot of student athletes, not just golfers but every other sport,” Wilson said. “And it’s been very rewarding for me to watch kids come in and grow up and turn out to be good people.”

Posted by Scotty Thompson on Sep 24 2010. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.