“I was ecstatic to get the opportunity to lead the men’s and women’s programs,” Ryan Chandler said about returning to Union University as head coach of both golf teams. “[I was] very, very excited.”
Coaching golf has always been one of the 2011 Union University graduate’s goals.
“If I didn’t have the opportunity to make playing golf a career, I wanted to be invested in the game and invested in the lives of young people, to help them accomplish their goals,” Chandler said. “Coaching has always been on my mind, but to be able to do it at my alma mater is what I would call the ultimate dream job.”
Chandler’s own experience as a Union University student-athlete and the investment of his coaches turned his life around. Some of the coaches under whom he played are still involved in Union athletics, including Don Morris and Andy Rushing. Chandler cited these men as major influences on the way he approaches coaching.
“[Morris] is the man who built our golf program and made it what it is from the beginning,” Chandler said. “He is still very much involved with our programs on a volunteer basis, and I couldn’t appreciate that investment from him more. We’ve had some really good conversations as I’ve returned, and I’m excited and thankful that he’s still here and still invests in our program, because there’s a lot that you can learn from coaches that have that type of stability here. It’s been very encouraging to be around him and my other coaches, like Coach Rushing.”
During Chandler’s three years as a Union athlete, the golf team won two conference championships and advanced to a national tournament twice. He went on to pursue a professional golf career in Florida, where he has lived for the past seven years with his wife and two dogs. This experience serves him well as he coaches students to succeed athletically.
“I have experience even after college with competitive golf, understanding the pressures on the course to be able to perform at that level, and I’m excited to help them reach those goals if that’s what they want to do from a competitive standpoint,” Chandler said. “That’s my priority: first to invest in their life, and secondly to help them become competitive within our conference.”
Sophomore public relations major Delaney Sain also thinks Chandler’s competitive background will be beneficial for Union’s golfers.
“I believe Coach Chandler’s leadership will challenge me because [having] played professionally, he knows what it takes to be the best,” Sain said. “My teammates and I strive to be the best golfers we can be, but we always need encouragement from someone who knows what we go through as competitive golfers. Golf is not an easy sport. It takes a lot of dedication and time to be the best. So I believe that Coach Chandler will be a great encourager for not only golfers but every Union athlete and coach.”
The Gulf South Conference contains some of the best teams in the country, many of which can practice more days out of the year due to their locations in Florida and other states in the Southeast. One of Chandler’s goals is to provide his athletes with the best opportunity to compete within the conference.
Chandler also hopes to encourage his players in their spiritual lives by developing trusting relationships with them and sharing his own story.
“My goal is that when they leave here, they have a foundation of faith and character [so] that they can come back five to ten years from now and know that I really cared about them, not necessarily that they won or lost on the golf course,” Chandler said.
“[Chandler] has told us his story of how when he came to Union as a student, the right people were placed in his life to mentor him, which changed his life for the better,” Sain said. “I know that that is his goal as a leader on our team. I am very excited to see how Coach Chandler improves the Union golf program over the next few years.”
Photo by Campbell Padgett
