Sports
Prepping for LPGA Q School, Wong to coach Langara golfers
One of Richmond’s best-known golfers in
joining the coaching ranks.
Christine Wong, a four-time NCAA college
champion at San Diego State University, will now help oversee the Langara
College golf program.
“I’m really looking forward to working with
this team and with Langara’s staff,” said Wong, who as a professional golfer
has taken her game to the U.S. Women’s Open and Canadian Women’s Open. She is
currently competing on the local Vancouver Golf and GG Tours while
preparing to compete in Stage of LPGA Quality School in Palm Spring Aug. 23 to
26.
“There’s a lot of promising student-athletes
in this cohort, and I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with them.”
“We are thrilled to have Christine joining
our team,” said Langara’s Director of Athletics and Intramurals Jake McCallum. “Her
passion and dedication to the sport of golf will be a welcome addition to the
program, and her background as an elite student-athlete will prove invaluable
as she heads up the golf program this fall.”
The chair of Zone 3 Junior Girls for the
British Columbia Golf Association, Wong
says if everyone moves forward as a team, success will come.
“Taking on the coaching role as a woman of a
men’s team will be an exciting opportunity for me,” she says. “As a female
coach, I believe that we represent an untapped resource in the sports
community. We have different life experiences, values and attitudes that I feel
will equip the team with valuable sports expertise and perspective.”
Wong has experience teaching individuals and
groups, mentoring junior elite athletes, and managing provincial golf teams.
She patterns her coaching after Leslie Spalding, her coach at San Diego State “because
of the success I had as an individual athlete with her guidance and positive
impact to the team team dynamic and performance.”
“I believe that with a structured practice
and play schedule before and during the season, the team will build discipline
and gain confidence in their game that will bring success to the program.”
A former member of Canada’s women’s amateur
team, Wong will join a Langara program that started during the 2015-16 season,
partnering with Quilchena Golf and Country Club as the team’s training
facility. The roster includes All-Canadian Jacob Vanderpas and Richmond’s Eric
Hooper and Jordan Ballogh-Callow, graduates of McMath and Steveston-London
secondary schools respectively.