2015

Mathner commits to play golf collegiately By Casey Strickland sportsr@southeastsun.com I Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 3:37 pm Kade Mathner qualified for the state golf tournament as a senior at Enterprise High School last season. and \\ill DO\\ have the chance to continue his playing career as \~ell as his education. Mathner orall) commined to play golf at East Central Community College in Decatur. Miss.. and plans to sign an athletic cholarship. The 2015 EH graduate visited the college and was impressed by the reception from the administrative and coaching staffs. "I got a lot of support when I visited up there from my coach," Mathner said. "My dad is good friends with the president so I got to talk with the president of the college. He's just a really great guy. They're all about doing your best. They are pretty committed there." East Central Community College, which is coached by Chris Clark. competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges. The Warriors finished lifth in the MACJC State Championship in April according to the school's athletic website. While he put in effort for golf. Mathner also learned the importance of academics and the scholarship. EHS golf

"They say academics is \\hat rcall) counts." he said. "I've got to take advantage of that and do \\ell academically. It's not just about golf." On the course. hO\\ e\er. the former Wildcat learned an important lesson during his EH career from Enterprise golf coach Joe Thornton. "Coach Thornton... instilled perseverance with us." Mathner said. "As a football coach... he has that mentalit) ofperse\erance that can CatT) over to golf. ot ever) thing in golf is good. You've just got to keep on pushing through." After he took a break from golf to concentrate on academics. Mathner noticed mental improvements in his game. "Probabl) this year \\as the biggest stride mentally," he said. "There was one point in the year \\ here I had to take a break... take a break from golf. I came back. (and) I wasn't really expecting much. I wasn't expecting to play (well)." Mathner exceeded his expectations when he returned to the course. He went on to earn a spot in the state tournament as an individual. "That was all because. mentally, I just let everything go," Mathner said. "I didn't get too upset whenever something bad went wrong. I didn't really put too much pressure on myself." "It shows 1belong with some of the best players in the state," he said. "It was really important to qualify. It showed I was good enough. It just gave me extra confidence." Since his high school career has ended. Mathner is grateful for a chance to play collegiate golf. "It's awesome." he said. "l'\e \\Orkcd rcall) hard for it. This ism) passion. and it's reall} good for me. I'm really excited." The accomplishment ofmaking the cut at the state tournament showed Mathner something.

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