With a firm grip on the putter, Coach Ryan Jamison leads the five-time NCAA II Men’s Golf National Championship team with determination to continue the legacy that he helped build.
In his first year as head coach, Jamison is no stranger to the Sharks. Prior to becoming head coach, Jamison spent the beginning of his career, 2006 to 2010, serving as assistant coach for NSU’s golf program, under then Head Coach Kevin Marsh.
In 2010, Jamison helped lead the team to a sixth-place finish in the program’s second national championship appearance. That followed a fifth-place finish at the national championship in 2008. Also during Jamison’s time as assistant coach, the Sharks compiled multiple NCAA Regional and Sunshine State Conference titles. Jamison tutored former golf team members Bobby Bode, Constantin Schwierz and Greg O’Mahony to All-American honors and Ben Vertz and Eric Cole to Sunshine Conference Freshman of the Year awards.
Jamison started his golf career as a student-athlete, playing for DePaul University’s Blue Demons for four years. There he won the 75th Midwest Amateur tournament by five shots and captained the DePaul squad his final two seasons.
Jamison was also the coach for his alma mater for two seasons before returning to NSU.
Since becoming head coach, Jamison has built up a special relationship with his players and staff.
Business major Ricardo Celia, a junior, said, “He was one of the first people I met at NSU and he showed me around the campus. So when our last coach left and he came back last year, I was pretty happy because I already knew him.”
Finance major Mitch Farrer, also a junior, said, “When I got recruited over the summer months, [Coach Jamison] and Kevin Marsh were the main guys I went to. I thought that he was a really nice guy and very approachable.”
Farrer and Celia both called Jamison a hardworking, caring leader, who understands his athletes’ needs.
Said Ferrer, “We all work hard because we all want to make it as professional players in the future. So he knows he doesn’t have to tell us to work hard. He knows that we all got our own individual technical practices. So he will just help us through that process more than implement his own way. He lets us run free.”
Celia said that Coach Jamison combines individual practices with team practices.
“He balances team and individual needs perfectly,” said Celia.
Ferrer said, “I love that he wants us to pressure ourselves in practice and take us out of our comfort zones. It doesn’t matter if we succeed or fail at a task, you get stronger because you are overcoming something. So he has done an excellent job in preparing us for whatever we might face.”
Jamison’s players aren’t the only people whom he has impacted. Noah Goldman, the team’s assistant coach, is in his first year at NSU and said that he believes strongly in Jamison’s coaching philosophy.
“One of the biggest things he has taught me is that you have to play strategically on the golf course. You have to always have a game plan and be able to adjust to each situation,” said Goldman.
Goldman said that he values his relationship with Jamison highly.
“Our relationship is set up so that I can learn from him and the things he does. He makes me aware of his decisions and the direction that the team is going,” said Goldman.
Golf is often described as an individual sport; as the team aspect is less clear than it is in other sports like basketball or baseball. But the members of the NSU men’s golf team clearly see themselves as a team and a family.
“It’s a really fun atmosphere. There are only seven members of the team, so it really helps that we are close to Coach Jamison. It’s really nice to have someone who you can trust and you’re friendly with,” Ferrer said.
