NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Northampton High School golf season begins the third week of August and usually ends with the state tournament at the end of October. The team encompasses ninth through twelfth graders, a group described by their coach Michael Chapdelaine as a great bunch of kids who cooperate well with each other, caring for one another and looking out for one another, and always sharing their experience and knowledge of the game with one another.

Last season the Blue Devils were the regional champion. They won the Division I western Mass golf championship and made it to the state tournament. This was the first time the golf team had won a championship in sixty-five years. They were undefeated throughout the season. The team was made up of six younger players and two seniors. Chapdelaine describes them all as “excellent students.” Of the two seniors, one was their number five golfer and the other number three. The now graduated number three player hopes to continue to play golf in college. The team’s number one and two players are a senior and a sophomore pair of brothers, Galen and Riley Fowles.

Michael Chapdelaine has been coaching golf at Northampton High School for the last five years. When he first started coaching, the team had a fifty percent win rate. In a time when young people’s lives can be consumed by social media, Chapdelaine says golf provides a break for them. “It’s a period of time where the kids are focused on golf and being on the course. They get a break from the worries and pressures that come along with social media.”

The team welcomes new players who are quickly made to feel a part of the team. As a ritual, the team will wear their uniform shirts to school on the day of matches. Wins are celebrated with high fives and handshakes, and the team is celebrated during the end-of-season banquets and pizza parties. During losses, which are practically unheard of for this team, the team members support each other. Chapdelaine and the team’s co-captain Evan Yurko are there to support and guide them as well. “We have a young team and we’re going to continue on having a successful program for the next couple of years,” Chapdelaine said.

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