Sue Ellett leads ‘family effort’

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HAMPSHIRE – One of Hampshire coach Sue Ellett’s goals is to make both of her golfing daughters, Connie and Taylor, feel the same about the sport and to feel the same excitement.

During the 2009 season, Ellett got what she wanted. Connie and Taylor made it to the IHSA Class AA State Tournament.

After winning the Big Northern Conference title for the second consecutive season, Ellett has been named the Northwest Herald Girls Golf Coach of the Year by the sports staff. Ellett said that getting both of her daughters downstate a year after only Taylor qualified was important to her and her husband, Doug.

“We wanted both kids to feel like Taylor did,” Sue Ellett said. “We worked all year to get both down there. It was a family effort. You could find them at the golf course all the time. They spent time in the weight room. With the two of them, it has never been who is better than who. They both got the same equipment and the same lessons.”

Sue Ellett said the day at the Class AA Guilford Sectional was the hardest.

“The round at the sectionals was the most pressure-packed after you looked at who were there,” she said. “We knew that both had to put together an exceptional round of golf. I thought both kids were really fresh going into the sectional with the way we set their summer tournaments – we didn’t get overboard. We had set up a schedule where they got enough competition and got to play and still get enough family time for success at the sectionals,” Ellett said.

The state tournament itself was a bit of a treat for the Elletts, somewhere that Ellett herself had been before as a player. Ellett finished 9th in 1983 playing for Dundee-Crown.

“The nice thing for all of us was having been there before as parent, coach or player, so we knew what to expect,” Ellett said. “Connie said it was like a reward for all your work – play 36 quality holes and see where you go. The staying in hotels, eating on the road, six-hour practice round, they handled it with tons of poise and composure. I was proud of them in the end.”

One person who couldn’t be happier to have Ellett as coach is Hampshire athletic director Dave Hicks.

“She has worked well with not only her daughters but with all the kids in the program, not just being a swing coach but knowing how to play different courses,” Hicks said. “Sue has played on a lot of different courses and knows how to give good advice. It has shown through not only in how well we have done in conference but throughout all of the IHSA events.”

The Big Northern Conference honored Ellett and her team with the conference’s sportsmanship award at the BNC Meet last month.

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