By RYAN SHUMAKER
Sports Editor
Northwestern Oklahoma State University has recently announced the hiring of Aaron Ford as the head women’s golf coach. The hire took place over the winter break and Ford will begin coaching responsibilities immediately.
A native of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, Ford recently graduated this last December with a degree in Health and Sports Science Education from Northwestern.
Ford participated on the men’s golf team for four years and was respected among his teammates.
“I developed a great relationship with Aaron in the two years that we were teammates at Northwestern and I believe he will be a great supportive and emotional leader for the women’s golf team,” said Kyle Ward, former men’s golfer for the Rangers and current head men’s golf coach.
Ford believes his experience as a Ranger and the connections he developed on the golf team are ultimately what provided this new opportunity for him as head coach. “Some of the steps I took in the process of getting this job were being a four year letterman and having connections through the university,” Ford said.
With a new job title in hand Ford is looking for some immediate improvement in the girl’s golf program and believes that more consistency throughout the team is vital for that improvement to happen.
“I expect from my team some more consistency… over the past couple of years I’ve noticed we’ve had some inconsistency in scoring and as a first year coach I’d just like to see some consistency through each player which will affect my team score as a whole being more consistent.”
A few tweaks in the practice regimen for the golfer’s will be expected under Ford, “I’m bringing in some new things, a few new drills, a little bit tighter schedule, I’m not sure what previous coaches have done with the girls but I’m just looking to give them the best environment in order to succeed.”
That new environment will be well received by sophomore golfer Olivia Brock. “We are very excited to have Aaron Ford as our coach this year,” Brock said. “I believe we will benefit tremendously with his golf experience and his love for the game.”
As a graduate from the Health and Sports Science program, Ford believes a Northwestern education is exactly the kind of preparation he needed to accept this position. “It prepared me a lot, I learned a lot of philosophies of coaching in this program and the biggest thing I learned from the program I graduated in was how to handle certain coaching situations and the difference in coaching women’s sports as compared to men’s sports, which I have participated in all my life.”
Ford will have just a few weeks to implement all he has learned before the Ranger women take to the course in Guymon, Oklahoma on Feb. 27, during which they will take on Oklahoma Panhandle State University in a dual match which will serve as Ford’s coaching debut for Northwestern.