BROCKTON, Mass. ---- In today’s world of college athletics it seems more and more colleges across the country are dropping sports, not adding them.
That is not the case at Massasoit Community College, as Athletics Director Julie Mulvey recently announced the athletics department is adding a golf program to compete this spring. Chris Ballerini will lead the golf team for the 2015 season.
“We are very excited to add another sport to our department,” Mulvey said. “We continue to try and find new opportunities for our students to get involved here at Massasoit in athletics. Adding track last year was a great addition and golf seemed like the perfect fit to continue expanding.”
This is the second go around for the Warriors having a golf program. Former Athletics Director and current Massasoit Senior Vice President Nick Palantzas coached the first golf squad in 2005.
New head coach Chris Ballerini was a three-sport athlete at Silver Lake Regional High School. There he led the Lakers golf team to the MIAA State Tournament his senior season in 2008. He was a two-year captain of the golf team and later attended Boston College where he received his bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2012.
“Chris is the ideal coach for our upstart golf program,” Mulvey said. “He is a local golfer from Silver Lake and seems to be focused on helping build the program. He will be able to relate to the student-athletes and be a positive role model for them. We are excited to have Chris join our athletics department.”
Ballerini is ready to hit the ground running in his first season at Massasoit.
“I’m really excited to get started and the job opportunity came at the perfect time for me,” Ballerini said. “I’m ready to get outside once all the snow melts.”
Ballerini is passionate about the sport of golf and feel it helps individuals grow in other aspects than just on the course.
“I’ve made a lot of great friends through golf,” Ballerini said. “It helped me with a lot of things and I think it will help these guys too, like the mental aspect of the game, which you don’t think about too much. Just being strong mentally and staying in your compartment out there is something I can help them with throughout the season.”
Ballerini has a wealth of knowledge and skills on the golf course and away from it. Last summer, he spent six months as a Fly Fishing Guide for Epic Angling and Adventure located in Nakalilok Bay, Alaska. Prior to that he spent two years as a fishing guide at Sasquatch Fly Fishing in Estes Park, Colo.
When not coaching or teaching fly fishing, Ballerini is a musician playing at local bars and pubs around the South Shore area.
The Massasoit golf team will compete in the NJCAA at the Division III level.
