After a hard Monday morning training session, Crew players and coaches traded in their boots for golf shoes and hit the links for the fourth annual Crew Soccer Foundation Golf Classic at Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City. The full team was out to support the initiative, which included sponsors riding along with the team in foursomes.
"It's nice to be in an environment away from the field with the coaching staff, the players and the sponsors," said Eric Gehrig. "It's good to get out here. It's always a fun event. Everyone always has a good time."
"It's a great event," added Ethan Finlay. "We have another good group of guys out here, so we'll see who the best is again."
While all agreed that it was a good time, it was less agreeable as to who the best golfer on the club is. An informal poll seemed to indicate that honor belonged to either goalkeeper Daniel Withrow or midfielder Daniel Paladini.
"I think I picked [golf] up after or around my college years," said Paladini. "I got pretty good really quickly. I got that bug, as they call it. Ever since then, I go out as much as I can and try to get my handicap low."
On the flip side, most of the players were quick to say that Gehrig needed the most work on his game.
"I accept the role. I just can't figure this game out," said Gehrig. "Being a professional athlete and being mostly good at sports, this is one sport that I never, ever can figure out. My brother's pretty good. My dad's already better than me. It's just not good. I don't get it. That's my response. I just have to accept it."
The event went hand-in-hand with the weekend's Kirk Urso Memorial Night match, as all proceeds from the scramble-style tournament benefitted the Kirk Urso Memorial Fund to support youth heart health research and programming.
