Skovron chips away at LV records

photo by Amy Babin

Sophomore golfer Joe Skovron was an All American and SCIAC Player of the Year in 2001. He shot a 72 in the first round of the SCIAC championships last weekend, only one stroke behind the leader, his teammate Joey Murray. ULV competes this weekend in the second round of the conference championships at its home course, Sierra La Verne. The Leopards are currently in the lead, with an opening round score of 294.

by Alex Serena
Staff Writer

Golf has been a part of Joe Skovron's life since he can remember. Having a dad that was a former club pro, Joe was surrounded by the game of golf at a very early age.

"I started messing around with it at seven years old. At nine years old I seriously started playing in tournaments," Skovron said.

"It would be safe to say that he is the best golfer the University of La Verne has ever had," said Rex Huigens, head coach of the golf team

Joe was born on January 11 1981 in Rancho Bernado, a suburb of San Diego.

At age 8, Joe and his family moved to Murriet, Calif., and from there, he commuted to Lynnfield High School. During high school, he played football and golf. Out of high school he was recruited by several schools but chose UC Santa Barbara because of the golf scholarship he was given.

Skovron came to ULV because of the coach. "Rex is the reason I came here. He's the perfect mix of personality and competitiveness; he stays out of the way and lets the golfer play his game without having to worry about a coach observing your every move," Skovron said.

Throughout his years as an athlete, Joe has always tried to make his parents proud. He remians dedicated to his craft and likes for people to understand his intense devotion to the sport.

"They've worked so hard to give me the best opportunities available, and I want to make it worth it for them," Skovron said.

Having expectations put upon him by his family, Skovron has always strived to be the best at what he does.

"Sports have always been a big part of my family's life, but they're more concerned with my academics.

"Expectations were always high when it came to that so I've tried to get the best grades possible," Skovron said. With a 3.97 overall G.P.A., he has maintained a balance of sports and education.

"He's the perfect student athlete, excelling in both," Huigen said. Eventually, Skovron said that he one day wants to make it on the PGA tour.

If he was to make it that high on the tour, he would like to measure himself next to Tiger Woods in success because of his stature as the best player in the world. He would also like to make a difference with people and the game. One day, he said, he wants to become a coach.

He wants people to have an appreciation of the competitiveness that golf demands in a player. Skovron said that as a golf coach, he would use Rex as a role model because of the way he coaches golf.

"He knows when to teach and when to just let the player learn by himself," Skovron said.

Though he has played golf throughout his life, Skovron also played football. This sport also played a major role in his life as an athlete.

He was the quarterback for his high school football team, and he said that he has been able to take the aggressiveness of football into the sport of golf.

"I love the competitiveness of other sports, a lot of where I came from and why I'm so competitive is that fact that I've had the opportunity to play other sports, I'm not just a golfer," Skovron said.

After attending ULV for several semesters, Skovron has decided to major in Movement in Sports Science and hopes to one day become a golf coach at the college level or a high school football coach.

During the fall semester he was a quarterback coach at Riverside's Ramona High School.

Sports are not the only influence in his life, for there have been other interests in his life.

Skovron has an interest in politics but he said there are too many tricks played in the political world, so he will not be venturing into that field.

He has been an accomplished golf player throughout his life and has won several tournaments and awards, such as Two-time conference player of the year in High School.

Skovron placed sixth in the junior world championships. Golfing at ULV has been beneficial for him and the team itself.

Skovron said that he has enjoyed playing on the golf team because of the teamwork that is involved.

The competitive environment makes him work harder to win and he always wants to avoid letting his team down.

"Obviously having him for two more years is an exciting situation for us," Huigens said. "It's like the way he goes, if he's playing good, we play good. If he struggles, we struggle. I hate to put that kind of pressure on him but that's the type of player he is," Huigen said. Skovron has been able to succeed in school and sports because he makes time management a priority in his life.

"I just put in the work required to succeed in everything I do, as I said again my parents have always been there for me and I want to make them proud in knowing that it was worth it," Skovron said.

So far Skovron has lead the golf team to a first place 6-1 record in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. When the day is done, Skovron is just a down­to­earth type of guy who wants to have his parents proud of him. He also thinks it would be nice if he were to be successful in life. He plans to acheive this through hard work and determination.

But if his golfing habits are any indication of what he is capable of, he is well on his way to achieving his goals and accomplishing much more than that.