THE LAST WORD | May 10, 2018
What a ride. It’s no joke - 4 years go by quick. Coming to SFU, I wasn
’t expecting a whole lot. I was just a kid looking for a place to start - looking to inspire others that they can do big things regardless of where they are - a chance to be different and do something amazing. A kid who never thought he’d have 7 college wins, be a 3-time conference player of the year and be a 3-time All-American. That’s the craziness of the journey. You never know what to expect. From the highs of making Nationals in my first year to the lows of missing out this year, to the countless memories made on each and every trip. The decision to come to SFU was one of the best decisions I’ve made, and I guess in the end it worked for both sides.
To the coaches who have been with the team along the way - Coach Buchanan, Boddy
, Steinbach
, Whipple and Jung - thank you for the tireless hours you’ve put in, dealing with the nuances of a golf team. Everything from personal food preferences to forgotten golf shirts and hats, your help has been much appreciated. In all seriousness, you have had an impact on me, not solely as a golfer, but as a person as well, and I cannot show enough gratitude for your help throughout the years.
To our media team - Gabe and Steve - thanks for shining some light on the golf team, constantly bringing up new ideas to put out more content. And for also being willing to take on challenges brought by the student-athletes, including this blog. You guys don’t get close to the amount of recognition you deserve. Thank you for proving that golfers are athletes.
To our past Athletic Director Milt Richards and our current Athletic Director Theresa Hanson - thank you for showing support to all the athletic programs and for being there during the highs and the lows. I can still remember the meeting we had last year after Coach Buchanan passed away with Ms. Hanson. Knowing that Athletics was prioritizing our well-being was something the team collectively needed at the time - and our AD was the first to acknowledge that.
To my teammates who have been with me throughout my four years. It’s been an honour
competing with you guys for Canada’s NCAA team. It sucks we never got to salvage the debacle from my first year and there’s still a hollow feeling that we could’ve done more each time. But things happen for a reason and the memories we made will still be with us forever. It’s been quite the ride with unexpected twists and turns, but it was those times that shaped the culture of our team. The future looks bright and exciting for returning and incoming players.
Honestly, I didn
’t know if I would stick around for 4 years. Any athlete growing up, the dream was to find a big Division I school - to watch and possibly be on big nationally televised games. At the end of my second and third years, I still had my doubts and considered transferring. At the end of the day, the decision I made was the one I thought would best help me develop as a golfer and I stayed loyal to the program that gave me that chance. Granted there were bumps along the way, I wouldn
’t be where I am today. The support system around me made it an easy decision to stay.
Finally, a huge thank you to my parents and my younger brother who push me every day and my friends who continue to be with me along the way. The ride has been fun SFU. And the best is yet to come.
Signing off for now,
Chris Crisologo
WE AREN'T DONE YET | April 18, 2018
Isn’t it odd to celebrate the end of the year when the year isn’t really over? Well that’s kind of what we did. We had our athletics gala a few weeks ago in late March, celebrating the successes and achievements of past and present athletes. As one of the few sports that continues long after final exams are written, it’s an entirely odd feeling knowing that this was, to myself and my fellow Spring sport seniors, our last gala. And we aren’t even finished yet.
Gala still presents itself to be one of the best nights for a student-athlete. In between all the studying, training, and competing, it gives us a rational reason to hang out with our teammates and not have much to worry about. There’s always one or two, good stories from the night that last…well kind of.
Psychology has taught me that death is the number one human fear. The second? Public speaking. Odd thing when I ended up winning Freshman of the Year, it was near the end of my sophomore season, and I wasn’t even at the banquet that year (we had an event at the same time in Arizona) so I didn’t have to do any talking. In fact, I actually didn’t know I won until one of the softball players congratulated me in class later that week. Last year, I was nominated for Athlete of the Year and I didn’t plan or prepare anything. And this time, just the same as the year before, I didn’t have a speech prepared. I had an idea of what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure how it was going to be put together. I thought it went alright…and no I won’t be putting up a video. It’s an odder feeling, winning an end of year award before the season is. Sure, some of my successes were carried over from last year, but I still don’t entirely know how to react. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a season where I’ve felt like I had my best stuff. Maybe it’s cause I don’t want to celebrate just yet. We aren’t done yet, and we’ll keep pushing.
JOHN BUCHANAN CLASSIC
The John Buchanan Classic is our program's most important event, and we don’t even play in it. Not having class allowed me there to be there the whole day. There’s a whole lot of behind the scenes things that not everyone gets to see. I’m proud of the amount of time we put in to preparing and running the tournament and to see the success of the day. I’d say it was one of the most memorable days I’ve had with the golf team in my 4 years. Understanding that without the support of our donors, we really wouldn’t be where we are today. So to all our donors (making a list wouldn’t be practical) thank you for your generous support and we hope to do something special together. I'm hoping to put a group together for the next JB Classic!
As I said, we’re not done just yet. Exams are over and it’s time to actually get the season going. Rankings are just a number now. Follow us on Instagram @sfumgolf or @cj_crisologo8, because we may be throwing some live content and answering some questions on social media during conferences, no guarantees though. #TrueNorthRising
I'M BACK! | March 9, 2018
Excuses are for the weak. With all the travel time and missed classes (and a broken laptop), I haven’t had time to write anything up. And let’s be real, it’s tough to top the last blog post. I finally got some time to put something on a screen - here’s what I’ve been up to since then...
ARGENTINA ADVENTURE
I NEVER play tournaments before my birthday so it was a bit of a change. It was the first time I’ve been to South America and now I can put Argentina onto the small list of countries I’ve visited. It’s tough to put any expectations in an event you aren’t completely comfortable in, so honestly, I didn’t have any. I went into the event hitting the ball well but I didn’t expect a good result from the event. Going into the week, I wanted to learn from the event. Seeing things I needed to work on, from learning to travel to foreign places, to learning small things about my game. After round 1, I sent my coach a disgruntled message saying that there were a lot of opportunities on the course that I wasted and I thought I had a good chance in the tournament. I’ve never been one to talk about results and successes, so here’s a couple cool pictures below.
OFF-SEASON TRAINING?
The Pacific Northwest isn’t the worst place to be in Canada for golf but we did get some snow. We’re NEVER supposed to get snow in Vancouver. So what did I end up doing? A lot of working out, both cardio and strength. I watched a few Canucks games, did some go-karting and then some skating. There’s school to worry about too but that’s basically it (pretty boring if you ask me)…it’s only because it’s so cold. Prepping in this weather is difficult so fortunately, I’ve been able to head down to Arizona to work on the game. Technically, I’ve also been playing during our off season and with all the traveling I’ve been doing, I decided to take a picture at every airport I’ve visited. I’ve also seen a few sweet places in the process too!
I missed the team's last event since I was with Team Canada for training camp. With all the travel and cold weather we’ve been having, I thought it was a good opportunity to get some quality work in. We’re looking for a bounce-back week but this tournament isn’t just another tournament for me. The second round on Monday marks my 100th round with SFU and it’s been a journey. Over the years, I’ve used hashtags in the Spring semester to signal our journey to nationals. My hashtags have been #NCAAeh, #LightsOut, and #ALLin. These hashtags each have an interesting story and so does this one. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester cause this is my #LastCall. #WiiBeRolling on Monday! Go Clan!
ME, GOLF, AND MR. HARRY WHITE | January 5, 2018
The one question I get asked often is ‘why did you choose golf?’ The short and quick answer I like to give is that my dad thought it was a good idea to introduce me to all sports and see which one stuck. Here’s the long story that got me hooked to competitive golf, one that seems very fitting.
Golf really isn’t the most affordable sport in the world. Golf clubs cost money. Golf tournaments cost money. Travelling to golf tournaments cost money. Fortunately, at one of the local driving ranges in Richmond, a piece of yellow paper caught my mom's attention. She browsed through it and saw that this ‘tour’ held a number of tournaments throughout the year. These events were very affordable and something that her 7 year-old son could possibly enjoy. Me being me, I was mortified at the idea of trying something new and doing something different. The rules of golf were so foreign to me I wouldn’t be able to remember any of them. There were too many of them. On top of that, there was etiquette to the game. There was just no way I would be able to play the game. That all changed when I met Mr. Harry White.
Harry was the coordinator of the Junior Linkster Tour Canada in BC. He had a passion for the game and that showed throughout his tour. Respect, sportsmanship and camaraderie were the biggest themes. I remember at the beginning of the year, there would be a rules seminar, where all the junior golfers would attend and learn the rules and etiquette of the sport. Sure, there were a lot of them and sure you had to get 7-12 year olds to pay attention for a couple hours, but the amazing part was that he did it. It was all based on respect and all the kids would listen. Not surprising, there were few problems with etiquette and the rules on the tour. Crazy to believe these were 7-12 year old kids. There was a sense of respect and integrity that Harry instilled in all his juniors and that has carried on with me throughout my golfing career. The Junior Linkster Tour was the first place that allowed my game to grow. Competing against other kids, in a competitive yet fun and affordable environment gave me an opportunity to enjoy the competitive nature of golf. I fell in love with it immediately.
Harry’s tour introduced me to the competitive nature of the game. He instilled in me the values of the game and how to respect it. But Harry was much more than a junior tour organizer to me. On top of giving me a place to compete in, he took me under his wing and gave me a home. Getting a 10 year-old kid a membership into a private golf club isn’t easy. Through his connection at Marine Drive Golf Club, he was able to help me gain junior membership status. There is no explanation in the difficulty of getting a kid with no family connection at the club a membership, but many juniors like m got in because they were recommended by Harry.
Being able to play a few rounds with Harry gave way to some of the aspects of my golf game. How do you learn to hit the ball far? “Tee it high and let it fly, there aren’t any hazards in the sky”. Harry also taught me the importance of visualizing a shot and feeling how my body should move in order to create that shot. He gave me a picture book when I was a little older that I found childish, but yes, at times I still like to envision the yellow highlighter colour streak, following the path where the ball should go.
My relationship with Harry was more than golf. He was a graduate of Vancouver College and he wrote one of my recommendation letters. He captained the two Junior Americas Cup teams that I played on. I struggled playing at altitude in Colorado and I forced a few too many things playing in Hawaii but he was there to console me, saying that these experiences will help me grow as a player. From Colorado, I learned that you should always be prepared for anything, including doing math on the golf course. From Hawaii, I understood that it’s just a game - you’re going to struggle so there is no point on dwelling on it. There’s “just another hole to make a birdie.” I was not one of the best juniors at the time, but Harry put his confidence in me, hoping it would work out in the end. I like to say it did, but I realize now that the life lessons traveling with him were more valuable than anything else.
There are countless memories and lessons I learned from knowing Harry White. He played an instrumental role in who I am today. From many friends I was able to make playing on the Junior Linkster Tour, to the valuable life lessons from road trips, to the connections I was able to make through him. He also valued the Optimist Creed, since his tour operated under the Optimist Club banner. Those words have stuck with me ever since. If there was one person who I could point to who lived those words, it was Harry. In doing so, he became a role model to me on how to live life.
It hurts that I won’t be home for his memorial service. Fitting as I’m heading to Argentina for a tournament. An opportunity that I would never have had if my mother missed that bright yellow piece of paper. I know there will never be another person so dedicated to introducing the game of golf to children. I am truly grateful for having crossed paths with Harry White. To one of the people who inspires me every day, rest easy Harry. You taught me that being unique isn’t something to be scared of. It’s something to strive for. Thank you for everything you have given us. I promise.
2017 YEAR IN REVIEW | December 24, 2017
I like to say it was my scheduling, but my exam schedule this Fall was pretty easy - two finals spread over a week. Anyways, the past year has been a wild ride to say the least. There were some lows and a lot of highs, with valuable lessons learned. Here are 3 of the biggest lessons I learned in 2017:
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
This includes school…‘C’s get degrees’…I’m kidding. Through the many events I played in this year, I learned that you won’t have your best stuff a good majority of the time. What does that mean? You’re not going to feel like you’re playing well. It's hard to tell with so many different accomplishments, but this year, I don’t think I had a single round where I had my ‘A game’. To be honest, I still feel that my sophomore year was my best year. The scores and accomplishments don’t tell the whole story. It was knowing that I could hit any shot at any given time. There were a few times, maybe a few times too many, where I didn’t feel comfortable with a shot. I think it was the search for perfection. But sometimes, you just never know how things are going to play out.
Golf is one of those games where if you make a big number, it’s difficult to recover from it. The US Amateur has 2 stroke play rounds and a cut to the low 64 players for match play. The scorecard shows I made a few mistakes that tournament. Maybe a few too many. When you have a double bogey in round 1 and a triple bogey in round 2, it’s not expected you had a decent tournament. Fortunately, I ended up in the 13 man playoff for 8 spots in the match play. In retrospect, I probably should’ve blasted my bunker shot to the far side of the green instead of going at the pin. I ended up making bogey thinking once again my tournament was over, only to be given a second chance with a 4 for 1 playoff 20 minutes later. I was able to make a 9 foot birdie putt to make the match play…only to be ousted 5 and 3 in the first round. But with so many low points throughout the event, the most important lesson I took was that mistakes happen, and it’s how you react to the next situation.
Talk to Your Professors (Communication is Essential)
I’m not the type of person who talks a lot and one of the biggest things that my coaches at SFU say is talk to your professors. They’re human, and most of them really want to know what their students are up to. I guess it gets boring seeing students go in and out of lecture halls with no contact with them. Every semester, I’d typically hand my professors a piece of paper outlining which days I’d be missing for an event. And every time, I’d get the ‘that’s cool, I didn’t know we had a golf team. Good luck.’ And that was the end of any interaction I had with a professor. I thought for my last year, I’d change it up a little and talk to them, just like my coaches recommend.
Fair warning: if you also enjoy getting called out of the blue in a lecture, I also recommend talking to your professors. Here’s my story - I think I had it in me knowing that the psychology class I was taking was about language and social interaction. Anyways, I got called out by my professors during one of the lectures because my introductory email looked very similar to the transcript we were examining. Fortunately, it wasn’t the email I sent, but it did pop up in the professor’s train of thought. Craziest moment I’ve had in a lecture hall since I never imagined getting called out in class for an email. Yes, I talked to the professor each time after a tournament to get what I missed in lecture. Maybe because I had to pay attention so I wouldn’t get called out for not paying attention. So, my senior advice - get to know some of your professors, sometimes, they might just call you out in lecture for not paying attention. To keep you on top of things of course.
Don’t Take Anyone For Granted
Early in the year, the SFU team lost longtime Head Coach John Buchanan. He had been struggling with his health for some time, and sadly, he passed away in late January. There are so many things that I have to be grateful to Coach Buchanan for, including the long 2-hour talks that should take 15 minutes. He started the golf program with high hopes, and though there were difficulties, he stuck with the program and gave all he had into it. Sure, he may have spelt my name wrong a couple times but Coach would make sure everything went as smoothly and efficiently as possible. It was really a work of art that I’m beginning to appreciate as my time on the team comes to an end. But the most important lesson I took from Coach was due diligence and commitment. There wasn’t a person more informed than Coach. The most important lesson my team took from the year was that there was more to life than academics and athletics.
The holiday season gives us an opportunity to spend time with friends and family, without the distractions of school, or sports, or anything else. I’d like to pass along a challenge given to us by our current Head Coach, Matt Steinbach. He challenged everyone on the team to put away their cell phones, or any other distractions, and give our full attention to our loved ones we spend time with. It was just a friendly reminder that things happen quickly and we need to cherish the times we have with others. And with that, I’d like to thank some of my friends for 2017. From the many hikes in and around British Columbia, to watching the various sporting events in Vancouver (including U15 baseball), to spontaneous caddy duties, and to all the trips around North America - it’s been a year of lessons. But that’s a good thing because we’re trying to improve each and every day.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PLAY FOR SFU? | November 28, 2017
A couple weeks ago, Coach Steinbach got a jump on recruiting and signed four players for the Fall of 2018. It’s an exciting time and I want to welcome each of them to Canada’s NCAA Team!
But what does it mean to play for Canada’s NCAA Team? Well for starters, we’re the only team in Canada competing in the NCAA. Scratch that. We’re the only team outside of the US to be competing in the NCAA. The maple leaf - it is a symbol that not only marks our university, but our country. Wearing it has its responsibilities and how we portray ourselves during and out of competition isn’t overlooked. Here’s one of my stories:
Every university gives golf balls with school logos for their players to use. For anyone who knows, these golf balls get scuffed pretty quick, which can affect how the ball flies. It is similar to how umpires change baseballs once it hits the dirt. Anyways, every so often there are kids who follow our groups for a few holes, in hopes of learning what (n?o?t?) to do. And every so often, we have the chance to make a kid’s day by giving him, or her, one of our golf balls. Sure every school has their golf balls, but the marking of the maple leaf helped the dad identify from which team the ball came from. Long story short, a seemingly small deed can go a long way. So to the current (and future) team members, remember who you represent, and be proud of it.
What else does it mean to be competing in the NCAA? Earlier in the year, Coach had the team go through an exercise, looking at the past results within the golf program. On the men’s side, we were surprised to see that at the end of the year, SFU had the lowest ranking golfer in the NAIA in 1999 (Brent Osachoff). No one on the current team has met Brent, but his name still resonates within the program. With SFU's transition into the NCAA, we are able to create our own legacy. Set the firsts in a program’s history. There are a lot of things that the program hasn’t seen yet and each player has an opportunity to do something special. So I’d like to challenge all of our student-athletes to dream big and achieve bigger things.
If you’re up on the hill and find your way to 'The Bog', our golf room is on the opposite side of the hallway. Outside our room is a bulletin board that shows the team stats throughout the years, along with a bunch of numbers. The big number is our team ranking on Golfstat, while the smaller numbers are our individual rankings (ranked inside the top 150 in Division II).
THE BEAUTY OF GOLF | November 10, 2017
There is uniqueness in all golf courses we play on, and every track is different. There’s not one that’s exactly the same as the other. That’s the beauty of the sport. There are so many different views, when you stop and appreciate the nature around you, it’s so surreal.
I played a number of sports growing up - from baseball to hockey, volleyball to track & field - but golf has always been the sport that I enjoyed playing. And it’s not because I don’t have to do intense cardio training (though we still do as a team, kind of). Every trip is so different, and the places we get to play at are spectacular in their own way. I know it’s the same in all sports, but with golf, we get to have an opportunity to stop and take in the nature around us - while competing. Here are a few of the scenes that we have enjoyed throughout my time on the team.
It’s been a while since my last update. I got absolutely swamped by mid-terms, writing assignments, papers and compulsory events. The life of a typical student-athlete, right? It sounds extremely repetitive when talking to any student-athlete but organization is the #1 key to success. It really is.
Anyways, we finished up our regular season a couple weeks ago in California. This trip in particular is one of the best we have had all year and it’s always nice to end on a good note, regardless of how we play. The team is currently ranked 13th in GolfStat and 16th in the Coaches Poll so overall I think we’ve started the year off pretty solid. As solid as that appears, there has been a consensus that we could’ve been better. We still have a lot of improvements to make in the offseason. You’ll get a chance to get to know the rest of my time over the rest of the year.
FAMILY | October 6, 2017
Clan: A family; A group of people with the same common interest
When the calendar flips to October, there’s one day that makes you reflect on the things you can be thankful of. With how our schedule works out, I still get a chance to spend Thanksgiving with my family.
The first word that comes to my mind thinking about my team: FAMILY. Each of my years on Canada's NCAA men's golf team have been different, to say the least, which is why our team culture is so unique. For a good majority of my time at SFU, a whole lot of my teammates have been people I’ve known for most of my life. It’s not often you can gather a bunch of local kids, have them to compete as a team, and see them succeed. Not only are they my friends - everyone on my team is like family. We’ve been around each other long enough to enjoy pushing each other to our limits. It’s not out of competition, but more out of the willingness to see the whole team succeed. It’s something unique and something we take pride in. Anyone who becomes a part of the team becomes a part of the clan, pushing each and every day to the same common interest - a national championship.
I get asked the question - what means more - an individual win or a team win? My answer is they both bring unique emotions and implications, but honestly, I get pumped up for a team win, way more than winning an individual title. To see the constant improvements everyone on our team makes is not only encouraging, it’s a lot of fun to be a part of. So, with my team heading out to play in Portland during Thanksgiving weekend, one thing comes to my mind: I’m thankful to be a part of this Clan.
AND SO IT BEGINS | September 20, 2017
'Improve on something every single day. No matter how small, or how big, just keep improving.' That's one of the motto's I like to live by. The best way to figure out what you have to work on? Testing.
So it's not surprising Coach made us go through a series of tests to create a baseline for the rest of the year. I'll touch on that later.
First, every team has to do a 'team bonding' exercise. It's a way to introduce the new guys to the returners and bring the squad a little closer together, right before the season kicks off. For our team bonding exercise, we did the Grouse Grind. For those of you who don't know, the Grind is one of the many hikes around the city. 3-kilometres straight up a mountain with around 2,830 stairs. The ascent is just over 850 metres and "consequently the death of your leg muscles after a long summer of not trekking up mountains at 90 degrees" (quotations only cause it wasn't me that said it). So, to say it was a good cardio exercise is an understatement, but it did help a little going into our first set of testing.
Coach has us do a lot of testing in our first week. The real question is: What should golfers even test? Ballstriking? Sure. Chipping and putting? Okay. Cardio, strength, and flexibility? A must. So the team went through a series of tests, most of which did not involve a golf club at all, all of which did not go as planned. But hey, that's what testing is for.
First test we did was the beep test. Best word used by my teammates to describe it: "torture." You can see how the guys did...we'll work on that as the year goes on. The other tests we did proved we could make vast improvements on. In short, we went through some mobility and flexibility exercises and a few short game tests to see where we could improve on around the greens (yes, the one test where we actually hit golf shots). We poked a little fun at the poor results but it gives us something to work on as the year goes on.
The fall season is quickly approaching and the squad is getting geared up and ready to roll. What to expect for our first two events? It's going to be a GRIND. We'll be playing 8 rounds of golf in 6 days, which equates to a good third of our week on the golf course. It's a lot of golf, but it's also one of the most exciting times because it marks the beginning of a long journey. Did I mention it was going to be a grind? Guess that beep test was necessary.
Be sure to stay up-to-date with our team's latest results right here on our website!
A JOURNEY LIKE NO OTHER | September 12, 2017
When a journey comes to an end, start a new one right? Going into my last year of eligibility, I wanted to do something different. It's always been about being different after I committed to Simon Fraser. Why? SFU is the only NCAA school in Canada. Sorry, let me rephrase that, the only NCAA school outside the United States. Now THAT'S different. Being able to compete in Division II of the NCAA while being able to stay at home seems like a no brainer. Not only that, but competing for the only school that represents a country is something special. Like the Toronto Blue Jays and Raptors, we here at SFU like to use the maple leaf as a little extra motivation to compete.
Guess you don't know much about me. My name is Chris Crisologo and I am a member of the golf team at SFU. As I eluded to earlier, I am in my senior year of university. A psychology major and a true Vancouverite who graduated from Vancouver College. Five-foot-nine, 145 (though a lot of my friends know I'm being extremely generous). A three time All-American with 6 individual wins. All these things you can find somewhere on our team webpage. But that's all you get to see...stats, numbers, facts. It's my motivation in starting this blog. I'm giving a unique perspective on competing for Canada's NCAA Team, in a sport not a lot of people get to see. Unlike every other sport at SFU, we don't host a home event, mostly due to logistics (though in the near future, I hope we can make it happen). Many of my fellow student-athletes, along with the staff on the hill, aren't able to see the ins and outs of competing in collegiate golf.
My coach loves goals, and I hope to give a unique perspective through this blog. Though that's only part of the story...I have to save some things for the rest of the year. Most of my friends know that with me. There aren't any guarantees so there'll be a few surprises over the course of the year, that, I can guarantee. Our season kicks off on September 22 in Olympia, Washington for the Saint Martin's Invitational but stay tuned for more before we head into our first event to see what we're really up to with the golf team! This is 360o All-access with Chris Crisologo.
