Timeout with Men's Golf Head Coach David Trainor
By Melissa Powell, Athletics Communications Intern (April 9, 2015)
Head men's golf coach David Trainor is currently in his fourth season at Akron after seven seasons at the University of Kentucky and a collegiate playing career at the College of Charleston.
The Berwyn, Pa., native is passionate about recreating the collegiate athlete experience that
made him fall in love with the sport and giving his student athletes that same opportunity.
"I have known Brian Craig at UK for a long time, and spoke to him at length about my desire to get into college coaching," Trainor said. "I loved my time playing collegiate golf, and wanted to give other young men the same opportunity to do the same thing I did. When his assistant position opened up, he called and asked if it is something I still wanted to do, and the rest is history."
Prior to his first coaching opportunity at Kentucky, Trainor had not anticipated that coaching would be in his future.
"When I was in school, it never crossed my mind to get into collegiate coaching. I did a lot after college and in between my time as a collegiate golf coach – I caddied on the PGA and European tours, I traveled the world as golf instructor, worked as an assistant pro as several high end private clubs, and even worked in the financial sector for a short while," Trainor said. "When coaching caught my eye, yes – it is all I wanted to be."
Though pursuing coaching as a career was not originally on Trainor's agenda, finding a way to incorporate the sport into his professional life has always been his aspiration.
"I haven't really given it much thought about what else I would do, but it would have to be something in golf – I love the sport too much, and it is in my blood."
For Trainor, serving as a head coach is about more than just being around the sport.
"I love helping my student-athletes reach their potential. I love competing. I love interacting with the kids and their families. I loved my time as a collegiate athlete, and I wanted to give my student-athletes a chance to do the same thing, and hopefully love it as much as I did," Trainor added.
Being able to provide that same experience for his team is a driving force behind Trainor's coaching philosophy.
"I stress several things with my team; do the right thing, attend class and earn good grades, play smart golf, take accountability for all actions, and accept all results. The last two for me are very important – if we call take accountability and accept the results – good or bad, we can learn how to do better, or continue to do the right stuff," Trainor said.
Where Did the Summer Go?
By: Men's Golf Head Coach David Trainor (@ZipsMGolf), Sept. 6, 2013, Men's Golf
It seems like just yesterday we finished up our 2012-13 season at the MAC Championship. The summer – which never felt like summer because it just never got that hot – flew by with the majority of my time being spent on the recruiting trail. With all of that being said, summer is over, the student-athletes are back and it is nice to have the campus buzzing again.
From a golf standpoint, we start the fall off the same every year. The guys come back, they have a plethora of meetings the first couple of days and then get to qualifying for the first tournament almost immediately. This year we played five rounds to determine the line up for the frst event. I laid out the stipulations for the qualifier before we started and let them get after it.
We finished the "qualifying tournament" earlier this week, and I must say it was great to watch. I let them play and all I did is watch. It gives me a chance to see who is sharp, who isn't, some strengths and weaknesses, as well as who likes the pressure of competition. I must say I saw a lot of great things this qualifier, and I am excited to get the year started. We leave today for Pawleys Island, S.C., and our first round of the year is Sunday, September 8th.
I will try to keep everyone updated on how we are doing through Twitter (@ZipsMGolf) after each round.
Thanks for everyone's support – GO ZIPS!
