Cooper Schoolcraft, Collin College's new golf coach, believes the two most essential traits for a golfer are trust and patience.

A golfer since he was able to hold a club at age 2, Schoolcraft said players must trust in themselves and trust that the work they have done on their golf games will carry them through.

"There are a lot of times that the golf ball seems to have a mind of its own," Schoolcraft said. "It is going to be influenced by external factors. We cannot control those things, but we can control our process. We have to trust we are doing everything in our power to produce the outcome we envision, whether or not that actually happens. We can't control the shot, but we can control us."

Patience comes into play in the longer term, he said. You must have the patience to allow great shots to happen through trust in the process.

Schoolcraft is going through a different process right now – building Collin's first-ever National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) golf team. He has experience in shaping teams, though, winning his first golf coaching role at Midland Christian School in 2014 after previously establishing himself as a track and football coach at the school. From there, he coached golf at Fort Worth Christian School and Houston Northland Christian School in addition to coaching for a short stint with GOLFTEC, a training company with sports science at its core.

"As a coach, to be able to step in and build a program at an incredible school like Collin is a tremendous opportunity that I could not ignore," Schoolcraft said.

The college is using a multi-pronged approach in the search for the right players, primarily looking for recent high school graduates and current Collin students who have played competitively.

"We are looking for local talent with the ability and a drive to compete at the NJCAA Division I level," Schoolcraft said. "I am willing to talk to anyone who has played competitive tournament golf and is interested in being part of our inaugural program."

He has already contacted players who approached Collin Athletics after the program was announced and anticipates more conversations as the summer continues. The college has not currently scheduled an open tryout, but Schoolcraft has not ruled out that possibility.

The college wants to field a team by the fall golf season, which will serve as a tune-up for the longer spring season. Spring play begins in late January and runs through May. As a former high school coach with players who earned scholarships at the NJCAA level, Schoolcraft is familiar with the competitive landscape.

"We happen to be in one of the most competitive regions in the nation," he said. "That is good news for us because we are able to compete with the best. Being in Collin County, we are surrounded by great golf and extremely talented golfers. We are in an excellent location to build something special here at Collin College."

Players interested in joining Collin's inaugural golf team can reach Schoolcraft at cschoolcraft@collin.edu for more information.