MOUNT VERNON — T.T. Crouch makes golf look easy. A junior at Mount Vernon High School, Crouch had an excellent year on the links, and has been named the Mount Vernon News Area Golfer of the Year.
Crouch had an excellent season and did what all golfers strive to do — he maintained consistancy. He averaged just over 72 strokes for the year.
“It’s very difficult to maintain that consistancy throughout a season,” said Mount Vernon golf coach Mike Fuller. “You have to get yourself up for every tournament and know how to prepare yourself. You can’t get too high or too low. T.T. is very steady and confident. He goes out every tournament and tries to win.”
Crouch did a lot of winning this year. In 18 tournaments this year, he was the medalist five times and was the runner-up three times. At one point in the season, he had eight rounds in a row of under-par golf.
“T.T. has a great personality,” said Fuller. “He has a lot of confidence in himself. If he hits a bad shot, he doesn’t panic. He has the confidence that he will recover and keep the damage to a minimum. He is a strong competitor; he loves to win. He prepares and works all the time.”
Most people would think of golf as an individual sport. In the high school tournament formats, it is one of the most team-oriented sports around. Crouch has embraced that concept throughout his career at Mount Vernon and will continue to do the same in his final season next year.
“He is a coach’s dream,” Fuller said. “T.T. is a great kid all around. He understands the team concept and also knows how to get himself ready. I guarantee you that if he could choose to be in the state tournament with his team or if he could be the Central District Player of the Year, he would say he would rather be with the team.”
Crouch was recognized as a strong individual talent this year. He was a state qualifier and he raked in the accolades. He was named to the Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division First Team and the Central District First Team. Not only was he named to the First Team, he was both the OCC Capital and Central District Player of the Year. Fuller looks forward to having Crouch around for one more year, and the future of Mount Vernon High School golf looks bright with Crouch leading the way.
“He had an outstanding year,” said Fuller. “It was just incredible. He was very solid all year.”
Several other golfers fill out the Mount Vernon News First Team. Mount Vernon’s Crouch and Charlie Phillips, Centerburg’s Garrison Myles, Loudonville’s Matt Gwin and Northridge’s Barry Roth. Phillips was a major reason for the Jackets’ strength this year, and averaged just over 73 strokes on the year. Myles was named Co-player of the Year in the Mid-Buckeye Conference, an honor he shared with Gwin. Roth, along with both Crouch and Myles, qualified for state tournament action.
The News Area Coach of the Year honor goes to Centerburg’s Nathan Altizer. Altizer was at the helm of a Centerburg team that exceeded all expectations this past season. Altizer led his Trojan squad to the Mid-Buckeye Conference championship this year, and his team advanced in the postseason tournaments. They won their Division III Sectional, and went on to finish fourth at the Division III District tournament.
