CANFIELD — When roaming the halls of a middle school, it’s fairly typical to trot past a gymnasium, an auditorium or a even a weight room, but at Canfield Middle School, one of those rooms is housing a golf simulator.

The school district will now give its 60-plus golfers in the middle and high schools the ability to tee it up during the winter season.

Canfield Boys Varsity Golf Head Coach Michael Kerensky said for the team to be competitive and reach the state champioinship, the simulator will help them get there. He explained that having a simulator will help keep the team loose and gives them the ability to practice when it’s snowing or there’s bad weather.

“The most successful programs have one,” Kerensky said.

It’s rare for schools to have one in this area, Kerensky explained. He said other schools may have some indoor facility in which the students can hit golf balls into a tarp or net of some kind, but to have something as immersive as a golf simulator that can track ball speed and flight pattern, among other things, is something no other schools in this area have. Even some country clubs in the Mahoning Valley don’t have a simulator like this, Kerensky said.

HOW IT STARTED

Kerensky explained getting the simulator started with the Girls Varsity Head Coach Dean Conley. From talking with various people from many different organizations, he learned that to take the next step in the program, the team needed to play in the poor weather months.

From there, about three years ago Conley and Kerensky were trying to figure out how to to bring a simulator to Canfield.

“We started looking at putting in a standalone facility. Space is a big problem and the financing of the whole thing is huge,” Kerensky said. “What we’re doing right now costs a ton of money and to throw in the building of a building, running electric and meeting all the codes, it was going to be probably four times the amount it is now.”

Kerensky said after they decided a room in the middle school would fit the spacing needs, the simulator was brought to the school in less than a year.

Middle School Principal Judd Rubin was on board from the very beginning.

“I wanted to do whatever I could,” Rubin said. “So I reached out to a few people to form a committee to look at fundraising.”

The funding for the simulator came in the form of donations from parents, alumni and the Golf Booster Program at the school. Rubin explained that the fundraising was essential to securing the simulator. He said the school has a golf boosters program and another group called the “Big Boosters.” After a presentation to the Big Boosters, they agreed to match whatever was donated by the golf boosters. Eventually, $10,000 was raised from the partnership.

Rubin credits Josh Cohol, a member of the committee, with the great job fundraising.

“We’ve got a great network of parents in the community. For a long time, golf has been one of those things that has been overlooked,” Cohol said.

Cohol explained that a lot of alumni were excited for the simulator, but skeptical at the same time. Those alumni quickly hopped on board once Cohol explained what it would be for, and from there the donations started coming in.

“It’s been great, we’ve had a lot of great community support from the few people I talked to that were willing to open up the checkbook and donate to such a great cause to help our boys and girls teams accelerate and take us to the next level,” Cohol said.

He also said certain Canfield alumni helped with getting the turf in the room installed, painting the room and running electrical throughout the room.

Rubin added that no money from the school or taxpayers was used and every dime was donated privately.

“Everything was done first class from the turf to the lighting to the painting, they really went into great detail to make this really special to our kids. Every time I walk in that room, I can’t be more proud to see our kids in there,” Rubin said.

The reason the simulator is in the middle school rather than the high school is because of spacing. Conley said the high school is pretty packed, but there was room in the middle school that Ryan Philibin figured to be the right size.

FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND

Conley explained the simulator will not only benefit the current players in the middle and high schools, but will generate interest in the program for years to come. Kerensky added that the more exposure the simulator gets, the larger the number of golfers the program will get in the future, especially in the lower, middle school-aged student athletes.

“We have kids who are excited about it, they want to get in there now. What coach in the world wouldn’t say ‘let’s make it happen’,” Conley said.

He added that he would like to see the middle school teams get officially sponsored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association and he hopes the sponsorship will come in the next few years.

The necessity of the simulator stems from the most recent district championship tournament the teams went to. Kerensky said he could see the difference between the teams that advanced and those who didn’t.

“It was (shots) from 120-yards in and on the green,” Kerensky said. “Installing the system is going to be integral because the data the students are able to get is invaluable. That’s what we’re looking to make the difference.”

Philibin, a key person in getting the simulator installed, said he’s confident the yardage on the simulator is very accurate — within five yards either way.

Philibin also said there’s three pieces to the simulator. One is simply playing nine or 18 holes and playing different courses, another is skill challenges that allow for competition between the kids and the last is simply a driving range to get swings in and fix any issues they may have.

“Nothing can replace playing outside, but getting the kids in there and get them swinging and working on their swings in the bad weather months is really what matters the most,” Conley said. “Ultimately you have to be outside and take in the variables, but you need to still be in golf-shape as well. We think we can steal a couple of months for our student athletes to start sooner than they normally would.”

Kerensky said the students are able to work on specific parts of their game, such as creating muscle memory and creating a good swing. Conley added that for people in the northern states who can’t play year-round, simulators have a tremendous value.

“Ultimately we want to win golf championships, not simulator championships, so I think this is a step that can help work towards that,” Conley said.

THE FUTURE

At the end of the day, getting the simulator boils down to getting these students excited about golf, Conley added.

He explained the driving force behind getting the simulator is what the goals of the teams were, along with individual goals and what direction the team wanted to head.

“When they talked about going to Columbus and representing Canfield at the state tournament, we had to have an honest conversation about how that can happen,” Conley said.

For a trip to the state championship tournament, Conley said the teams have to start sooner, adding that playing against teams in Cleveland and Akron who have multi-million dollar facilities leaves Canfield at a disadvantage.

As for the student use of the simulator, the first couple of months will be primarily high school students, but then it will be open to the middle school students. Cohol added that if space opens up in the high school and there is a need for expansion, everything except the paint can be picked up and moved.

“The whole purpose of the simulator room is driven by our student athletes and their desire to be successful on the golf course,” Conley said. “There’s some exciting stuff happening at Canfield in the golf program and its being driven by the kids. You can’t really go wrong if that’s the motivation.”