Polson's Bill Owen named golf coach of the year

POLSON - Golf is one of those games that can catch the interest of an individual at any point in their life. For Polson's Bill Owen, it happened when he moved to the Mission Valley from Missoula 36 years ago.

"It became a passion of mine when I came up here to Polson," Owen said.

He had played golf before in Missoula but with an easily accessible golf course here in Polson, he really focused in on his game.

"I like doing things competitively and that's something I felt I could compete in with other people and with myself," Owen said.

Owen said he would focus on his technique and all the different aspects of his game. He would sometimes work on his game near the high school, where he got his first teaching job when he moved up here. That's where then-athletic director Dennis Jones recruited him to be the head golf coach in 1995.

"That was 17 years ago and I still love it," Owen said. "It's fun to see the kids grow and get better with the game."

In 2011, Owen's girls team took home the Class A state championship, his third team title coaching both the boys and girls teams. On top of that, the Montana Coaches Association just named him the Class A Coach of the Year for golf. But as good as he is at coaching golf, Owen is even better at deflecting praise.

"There are a lot of things that go into the game of golf, I can't take all that credit," Owen said. "Assistant coach Cindy Templer and the golf course does a lot for the program."

Templer, who works at Polson Junior High School has been key in getting kids interested early about the game of golf, Owen said. The golf courses summer program has also been instrumental in helping get youth into the game.

Owen praised his girls' work ethic this season, saying they were constantly looking to improve.

"The girls were really responsive to what we offered them," Owen said. "I have to give them credit for working hard on all the aspects of the game."

And that willingness to work on all parts of the game of golf was something that made a difference for the Polson girls team. Owen and his coaching staff want their golfers to be well-rounded so they give them plenty to work on when they're out on the course.

"We try to cover it all in a week's time [between invitationals]," Owen said.

The Polson Golf Course teaching pro Brandy Casey also helped with the golf team this year.

"She was a big asset this season," Owen said.

Owen said he also doesn't like to put a lot of pressure on his golfers since they likely do that to themselves.

"That's one thing I tried not doing is adding pressure," Owen said. "We just wanted to keep it fun."

Along with the 2011 trophy, Owen has been at the helm of two other state championship teams: the Polson boys in 1996 and the girls in 2005. This was his third coach of year award in golf, but he was also honored as an assistant wrestling coach of the year.

The award is voted on by coaches, meaning that Owen was given the coach of the year award by his peers.

"It means a lot to me, I've built a lot of relationships through the years with the other coaches," Owen said. "I had some call me and congratulate me. I felt like they were excited for me. This group of golf coaches in the area is a close-knit group. I've had a lot of fun, there is good camaraderie."

Owen expects to have a good girls team this year and likes what he's seen from the boys. So when the end of the season rolls around, there might be even more hardware in the Polson golf trophy case.

"I feel like I'm still learning about coaching and learning about golf," Owen said. "It's a game that is still fascinating to me."