High School Helpers
A focus on 2022 for the Southern Nevada Golf Association and Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association is to identify and help out Southern Nevada high school golf programs that need assistance to become the best they can be.
This is being done in a few ways and with the assistance of others, including Kendel Chrysler and Paul Lampi, who oversee the Del Sol high men’s and women’s golf programs. The two have created a state-of-the-art “golf room” at the school and also golf is a part of the freshmen P.E. curriculum. That means clubs get into the hands of 500 students each year.
Also, the SNJGA has kicked off a program to assist area high schools and the Nevada State Seniors Golf Club made an initial donation to tee the program off. Be on the lookout for other ways we are helping and how you can also help.
What Chrysler is doing is pretty cool stuff, and even a local PGA Tour player, Maverick McNealy, has taken notice.
“We converted this area over into a fully-functioning golf room with a simulator and two hitting bays, chipping area, putting green, and we have different clubs separated by swing flexes and weights, and all this stuff,” Chrysler says. “It’s nice because the kids can kind of tinker and experiment. Once they have a swing down, we’ve got swing plane trainers and every training aid device known to man to help the kids develop. It’s a really neat facility. Maverick McNealy has come by and hit balls, and he also did a clinic for the kids over the summer. I asked him, ‘What do you think of the room?’ and he said, ‘This is by far the coolest classroom I’ve ever seen.’”
Del Sol is located in an underserved area of the city where most kids wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to learn golf. But Chrysler, a PE teacher, includes golf as part of the freshmen curriculum. He then follows through by coaching the men’s women’s golf programs for those students who show interest and talent.
“Bringing the game to kids who have never played before and then trying to figure out where it fits into their lives is fun and rewarding,” Chrysler says. “It’s enjoyable to watch somebody pick up a club and figure out what to do with it. We put a club in 500 kids hands every single year. A lot of our students have circumstances that keep them from being able to visit a golf course on a regular basis, so the room really helps them. I’ve got students who have to go to work to help support their families. Others have to babysit and help out their little brother and sisters so their moms or dads can go to work. By bringing in that golf room to the school, we’ve been able to create an avenue for each kid to explore the game without having to go to the course.”
While Chrysler, 32, is a driving force behind the program, Lampi is the sage and wise teacher who pushes everyone.
“Technically, he is the head coach of the women and I am head coach of the boys, but we just split the roles and then split up the responsibilities,” Chrysler says. “He’s sort of the grandfather of the program and he is the one who inspires us to do more. He has all these crazy ideas and also says, ‘Why can’t we do that?’ He does the same with the kids and asks same question, ‘why not, why can’t you practice today?’ He really keeps them motivated.”
If you want to help Del Sol golf with donations, email chrysks@nv.ccsd.net.
