GW filled its biggest head-coaching void this summer by picking up Chuck Scheinost as the new leader of the golf program Wednesday.
Scheinost coached a consistent winner at University of Northern Colorado for six years, which finished third in the America Sky Golf Conference last year. He will now lead a GW team that finished a disappointing sixth place in the Atlantic 10 last year after winning a conference title the year before.
“Chuck is an up-and-coming coach who has proven he can build a golf program by mentoring and attracting quality golfers and student-athletes,” Director of Athletics and Recreation Patrick Nero said in a release. “We’re confident that Chuck will bring the program consistent success in the Atlantic 10 Conference while producing student-athletes who succeed both on and off the course.”
Scheinost replaces former head coach Terry Shaffer, whose contract was not renewed at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season after earning the A-10 Coach of the Year award two years ago.
Nero has sped up a revolving door of coaching changes, replacing four head coaches in major programs over his two-year tenure. Most GW coaches, except those leading the baseball and men’s and women’s basketball programs, work on one-year contracts.
Nero said in an interview in June that he has looked to make his mark on how GW teams run their programs, looking to balance wins and losses with academic achievements and good citizenship.
“We’ve got to have a coach that understands that base, and hopefully either has as an assistant or head coach been at a program that has had competitive success,” Nero said. “Ultimately, there’s no difference for golf as there is for basketball. We want to have a golf program that gets into an NCAA tournament on a regular basis.”
In five of the six seasons under Scheinost’s tutelage, the Bears finished in the top five in the American Sky Golf Conference, including top three finishes the past three seasons. There, Scheinost saw two of his players named Conference Freshman of the Year and eight of his players named America Sky All-Conference selections, including 2010 Conference Player of the Year Steve Bidne.
The GW team boasts an extremely young roster, including four rising sophomores and two rising juniors – five of whom competed at last year’s A-10 Championships.
“GW has the potential to become a golf power in the Atlantic 10 Conference,” Scheinost said in a release. “I’m looking forward to the responsibility of taking this program forward and turning our golfers into mature young men who will leave as positive representatives of our GW community.”
Joining Scheinost on the new coaching staff will be assistant coach and 2009 alumnus Eddie Newland and former GW golfer Eddie Newland. Newland played for the Colonials during all four of his years in Foggy Bottom, compiling a 77.4 scoring average during that time.