By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
When the world shut down due to COVID-19 last spring, there weren't a lot of places people could go.
Golf courses, for the most part, were able to stay open. For Bishop LeBlond golfer and freshman Tim Johnston, that proved to be a nice escape - and a nice opportunity to get better.
"It helped a lot," he said. "Especially on days where we had Zoom classes and we had time off. We could come out here and practice and hit balls and keep our game in shape."
Accompanied by twin brother Patrick, and older brother Jeffrey, the Johnstons practiced golf a lot in the offseason. And many offseasons before that, actually.
"I've golfed since I was two," Jeffrey said. "Tim and Pat since they were little, too. My Dad (Matthew) has just played forever. So, yeah. It's just been a family thing."
The Johnston brothers, along with Sam Schoeberl and Davis Jungbluth, make up the LeBlond varsity golf team for 2021. Three of the five are related, but Schoeberl says they all feel like family.
"We're not just teammates, but we're really close friends," he said. "So, being able to do this with these guys has been great."
Whatever these guys are doing, it's working. LeBlond has been on a tear so far this spring, taking first in a triangular against Savannah and Smithville, beating St. Pius X head-to-head and also taking first in the Blue Springs South Invitational this week.
"We're just little ol' LeBlond, small school here in St. Joe," first-year head coach Mitchell Girres said. "We played against all Class 5 and 6 schools (in Blue Springs). We didn't really play our best, and we were fortunate enough to win, even not playing our best. It speaks to the depth of our kids. We finished with all five kids in the top 10 in that tournament. So, they're really playing well at this point in the season."
Girres, the head boys' basketball coach for LeBlond, just finished leading the Eagles to a 16-11 record and a district runner-up finish. Jeffrey Johnston, a senior, was a big part of that run.
Girres knows - you can't be as vocal coaching golf as you are while coaching hoops.
"You're going to have bad days playing golf," said Girres, who played collegiate golf for Missouri Western. "It's not one of those things you can really control, and no one can really perfect it. So, I just try to help guide them on the course and some course management stuff. These kids have played so much golf. I just do my best to guide them and teach them some things, and they kind of take care of the rest."
Bishop LeBlond has a strong history in boys' golf. The Eagles have finished fourth or better at state six times. They've won three state titles - all since 2016.
"We've had a lot of good players come through LeBlond,"Schoeberl said. "I'm happy to be a part of it."
That strong history and culture, partnered with this current team's passion and dedication to the game, has LeBlond seeking history once again in 2021.
"We've just been playing pretty much all of our lives together," said Jeffrey, who will go onto play golf for Missouri Western next year. "We've gotten really close. We've been looking forward to this year for a long time. We knew we'd have a chance to do great things, and it's just showing. We just hope to continue to play moving forward."
The Eagles compete at Maryville on Thursday at 4 p.m.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.