Ben Reese’s SOL Golf Notebook features Truman golfer Shane Nocito.
By Ben Reese
Committed.
That might be the best way to describe Truman golfer Shane Nocito. If nothing else, Nocito is committed to improving his game and helping put Truman golf on the Suburban One League map.
"I'm trying to accomplish a lot of things," Nocito, a junior, said. "I have a lot of goals in life for golf that I want to do and I'm starting pretty well."
That might be an understatement. Nocito is the first Tiger golfer in recent memory to turn in a nine-hole score under 40.
He shot a 38 early in the season in a loss to Abington. He was one shot behind the Ghosts' Matt Shur over the Bensalem Country Club track.
"I'm trying to create something at Truman that no one has ever done because golf has never been anything at Truman that anyone has been good at," said Nocito. "I'm trying to do that."
Charlie Bachman, the golf coach at Truman, knows what he has in Nocito.
"He's our number one guy, and he'll only get better," Bachman said. "But he plays a lot, too. He's one of those who is actually committed to playing.
"He's a member at Philmont; he plays Bensalem all the time; he's always out hitting at the driving range. He's committed.
"He's been working out and doing a lot of stuff with his father, who plays a lot of golf. He (Shane) does play a lot of golf and that's a huge difference."
So, is he the best for Truman?
"For me, yes," said Bachman. "Is he the best from Truman, I don't know. He's the best I've had."
Bachman also has some hopes and dreams for Nocito and his golf team.
"I've got three guys that are all ninth graders that have some potential," he said. "I'm hoping that next year, the three ninth graders will come back and Shane.
"We might be playing better next year. We're getting better, but he's our best guy.
"He can do whatever he wants. He's good enough.
"I think that he's going to be able to qualify (for districts) without getting an automatic bid. I haven't seen that out of any of our guys.
"No one has done that since I've been here. If he does that, that's saying something for the program and for him."
Despite his excellent play this season, Nocito realizes that he has work to do.
"I'm starting (AJGA) this summer," he said. "I'm just getting to that level now, that I can shoot consistently.
"That's what I'm going to do, tournaments and everything. I'm hoping to play in college.
"I think I can do it. I have a lot of motivation and dedication."
Oh, and that 38 against Abington. Well, Nocito thinks he could have done better.
"That round, I had three birdies," he said, "and still shot a 38 because I got a triple (bogey) on the first hole."
He's got a Tiger by the tail.
Tournaments-- Council Rock South coach Dennis Matika had a different outlook coming into this season. He wanted his golfers to get a bit more competitive experience going into the league schedule.
"We did a bunch of tournaments to start the season," Matika said. "Normally, we try to get in one to start the season.
"I like them playing 18 holes. Nine is really tough. The travel and everything for just nine holes is brutal."
So Rock South played in an East-West tournament at Buena Vista Country Club in New Jersey and in the Central Dauphin Tournament at Dauphin Highlands, both 18-hole events.
In the East-West tourney, the East team, made up of four Pennsylvania schools (Rock South, Central Bucks East, CB West and Pennsbury) competed against a like number of New Jersey schools and the East won.
At Central Dauphin, Lukas Clark shot a 71 to take the medalist honors, competing against golfers from other Pennsylvania schools. The Indians finished in the top 10.
"It's something new we tried this year," Matika said about the East-West event. "It was a fun event.
"The problem is New Jersey plays its matches in the spring, and we play our matches in the fall. It's hard to get together. Somebody's going to be out of season."
The Central Dauphin tourney gave South a bit more competition.
"That was a tremendous tournament," said Matika. "They invite 24 schools. It's almost as good as the state tournament."
All that tournament golf must have been beneficial for the Rock South golfers. They are undefeated in league play this year.
Ooops -- As usually happens when you try to list everybody who has accomplished something, someone gets overlooked.
In the last notebook, Upper Dublin's Dave Koch and CB West's Bob Schilling were listed as the only active SOL coaches with more than 100 wins. Well ...
Souderton coach Fred Cicacci was overlooked. The Indians' coach has been around for quite a while and is well over the 100-win mark.
Sorry, Coach.
A reminder --Monday, Sept. 28, is the Suburban One League championships at Indian Valley Country Club. The order of finish at the SOLs will go toward determining the participants at the District One Tournament.
The districts will take place at Turtle Creek for the boys and Gilbertsville for the girls on the first day of play, Monday, Oct. 12. On Oct. 13, both the boys and the girls will play at Turtle Creek.
Regional play will be one week later, Monday, Oct. 19, at Golden Oaks in Fleetwood. The PIAA tournament will again be at Heritage Hills in York on Monday, Oct. 26, Tuesday, Oct. 27 and Wednesday, Oct. 28.
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