J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO: Michael Schoen drives for about 350 yards off the tee. (Photo for L’Observateur by Michael Gentry) RESERVE – Golf, more than any another sport, is a game of patience. There is no one to hit, check or strike out. There is only the course – nearly four miles of manicured grass and carefully terraced ridges and folds that wrap themselves around the club house. Each shot must be measured against the course and in the end it is a golfer’s patience that determines how well he or she has played. It is maddeningly difficult to learn how to play golf. It looks so easy. Swing club – walk. Repeat. And because it looks so easy, self control and patience are highlighted. It is common to see golfers lose patience, then lose composure, and then lose their game. The course has beaten them. To learn how to play golf takes patience. To play golf well takes patience and skill. To play golf well while competing in two other varsity sports as well as dealing with all the other distractions that high school has to offer takes patience, skill, and concentration. To succeed academically while all of that is going on requires all of that – in spades. The high school athlete is occasionally rewarded for such concentration – Michael Schoen is such an athlete, and he has had his patience, skill, and concentration rewarded by a full scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana Univer-sity in Hammond. The scholarship is a combination of the TOPS in-state tuition assistance program and an athletic scholarship. The package was put together by SLU golf coach Tim Baldwin, who recruited Schoen after he won the Class 2A state championship in golf. Schoen knew coach Baldwin before winning the state championship. “He would come out with the team and practice at the course (Belle Terre Country Club) two times a month. He came out and watched the state tournament,” said Schoen. Michael’s golfing resume is impressive. He started playing golf when he was four years old. At Riverside Academy, along with Brett Bergeron and Steve Luminais, Michael was part of a team that placed fifth in state his freshman year, then third his sophomore year. During Michael’s junior and senior years, Riverside won back-to-back state championships. This year, Schoen was the Class 2A state champion as well as the player of the year. He was also named the Metro New Orleans Player of the Year and was honored at Riverside as its Most Valuable Player. Additionally, Michael was selected to the first team All Academic football and basketball teams this year. He finished his high school career having lettered in football (as a quarterback), basketball (as a guard) and golf, while holding down a grade point average of 3.98. In college Michael is looking towards studying engineering or possibly taking a pre-med track. As for golf, he is taking a wait-and-see approach concerning a possible professional career. “He has four or five years before thinking about that,” said his father. According to his father, who helped teach him golf, Michael’s advantage lies in that he loves to practice. “Its an advantage he has over a lot of kids,” he said. Michael’s father has been his teacher and biggest influence on the links. “He taught me everything. He’s pretty good. I can’t beat him on a regular basis,” Michael said. Riverside Academy golf coach Liz Torres has also been an influence on Michael; she was his coach for six years, since he was in seventh grade. “She doesn’t do much with the physical aspect of the game. She’ll try to keep our heads up. Ninety percent of the game is mental,” Michael said. “Every time you go out you’re trying to beat the course. You can’t learn every shot. It’s just you. You can’t blame a bad shot on anyone but yourself.”