From the coach to the players, there will be a different look to the Aberdeen Christian boys’ golf squad this spring.

Tyler Pridey is in his first year as head coach of the Knights. The squad will feature four players, most of whom have limited varsity experience.

Senior Micah Leslie was on the varsity last spring, while freshman Ellis Russell did play in a few events at the end of the season. They are joined on this year’s varsity by freshman Josh Leslie and eighth-grader Jett Johnson.

“We do have quite a bit of inexperience,” Pridey said, “even as far as the training goes prior to the golf swing.”

For that reason, Pridey is working on a lot of preparation of what to look for and what to expect before the golfers even take the course.

“My job is, this is what it’s going to look like, you show them what the course is like, even if it’s on a scorecard, before the round,” Pridey said. “And then practice is all about pre-routine, this is what you’re going to do when you get to the golf course, you’re going to warm up x amount of time, you’re going to go to the driving range, you’re going to go to the putting green. It’s the small stuff that leads up to before the round to get them ready to go.”

Pridey knows what it’s like to struggle on a golf course, so he can speak of first-hand experiences with his players when they have issues in the game.

“Fortunately, I’ve been through that myself. I think it’s managing expectations. A friend of mine calls it: don’t go to war with yourself. It’s worrying about results,” Pridey said. “You get a bad score on one hole, you move on from that. I think part of that too, is the confidence in your own game. How much have you practiced, how much time have you put into it? Then you go to the meet and you know that you’re ready to do that. That helps with the mental aspect.”

Learning the sport of golf takes time and does not happen overnight.

Pridey is prepared to do what he can to help his young troops have a good experience with the game. He said a key will be trying to keep things in perspective while out on the course when the guys encounter rough spots.

“The golf swing takes so much time to improve, technically speaking,” Pridey said. “So at that point, if they’re shooting scores anywhere from 90 to 120, I’ll give them tips every now and then, but they just have to stay in it mentally and know that this is what today is going to be like. You play one bad hole, you have 17 left.”

The Knights, who have a rich history in the sport with team and individual state championships, are scheduled to have their first meet today.

Pridey knows the season will be a work in progress and wants the players to improve each time they step on the course.

He said the goal is to “be much better two months from now than you are today.”