Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Nick Monaghan
RamWire: Timing Feels Right for Cilek's Program
9/6/2019 11:00:00 AM | Women's Golf, RamWire
Everything in place in her second season
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – This season may just offer the perfect timing.
Finally.
Not just for the players of Colorado State's women's golf team, but even coach Laura Cilek. All you have to do is go back to the start to understand why.
Cilek was at a tournament recruiting for Oregon when she was offered the Rams' job. So they sent her some CSU gear lickety-split so she could change logos on her green clothes. As it so happened, one of the players she was about to inherit was playing at the tournament.
This all happened about two weeks before the start of the 2018-19 school calendar.
She already had a blueprint on hand for any program she would mentor. The type of golfers she wanted, the type of people they were, how they approached academic tasks. While she was able to go out and find them, she also had to recruit another group.
Specifically, the Rams who were held in limbo while the coaching search took place. The reality was both sides were in for a somewhat awkward introduction.
But the first one went rather well.
"I was lucky that I was playing in a tournament in California that Laura was watching and following when she got hired," senior Jessica Sloot said. "So I was able to actually meet her before I went back to season, talk to her a little bit, and I think that helped reassure me a lot, because I talked to her about her plans for our team. Everything made me love the type of coach she was from the start.
"It's not easy coming in as a new coach, but she handled it really well, and especially when we lost our assistant, it was her by herself. I am very impressed by how she handled that. And I've loved her coaching style, and she's really understanding and has pushed me to be a better player."
Sloot, in Cilek's words, has been "a rock", the same as fellow returners Fiona Hebbel and Saga Traustadottir. Imagine, a coach understanding the players had been there longer, so you lean on them a bit. For instance, comprehending Sloot can show you the ropes, even the landmines.
With trust, Sloot also helped lead the transformation of changes coming, establishing a leadership role for the future of the program as her tenure comes to an end.
Sloot, basically, fit perfectly into the mold of player Cilek would recruit.
"Really, the biggest thing is people who are still eager to play golf. With sports now, there's so much junior play, you can see a little bit of a burnout level when they get to college," Cilek said. "We're looking for players who still really love the game and want to get better for four years, because that's a long time. You can see that. You can tell when they're playing in a tournament if they're really engaged or if they're just doing it. We want people who can come here and want to be independent.
"Golf is kind of on your own as a junior, and are you going to be able to come here and take care of yourself and be part of a team and live away from home. If you can do that well, you're going to have a better career."
Cilek felt fortunate to add her first recruiting class in a short amount of time, finding those qualities across the globe, ranging from California to twins from Norway and another player from Sweden. Welcome to CSU's version of the United Nations, which has proved to be a hoot.
Start with the fact Cilek misread the language barrier. She thought "Oy" meant a good shot. It doesn't. Assistant Mitchell Moore still can't say milk chocolate no matter how much Thea Bjerkelo has tried to help him.
Listening in on conversations at practice can get confusing.
"So I mean, we have German and Icelandic, too," Sloot said. "And then the funniest thing is the twins from Norway and the girl from Sweden, they can understand each other but not speak their language. So they'll be like one will speak Norwegian and she'll respond in Swedish and then back and forth in totally different languages."
Even those misses are hits.
Granted, there hasn't been a ton of time for them all to get acclimated to each other. The Bjerkelo twins arrived first, but have only been here three weeks. Enough time to go to Ikea with teammates and to watch the Rocky Mountain Showdown on television.
Thea sensed this direction from Cilek, one of the reasons she wanted to sign on. That, and she and her sister, Tomine, could come as a package deal.
"She wanted a team that was good, and as well to have a good community. I feel like the team had such a good team spirit, and everybody was nice to everyone," Thea said. "When it is competition, it's competition but they still are super-good friends and always backing each other. So that was the main reason, I guess. Also, we got a scholarship for the same school."
Cilek has already started to put her personal stamp on the program, one she said already had a good reputation.
Better results are the goal of every coach, old or new, and the Rams have seen some already. The team's round average hit an all-time low in Cilek's first season, and they won a tournament for the first time since 2010.
"Colorado State, when I came here, was already a great place to come to school for golf," she said. "That was huge. It was already on the map, so it's just elevating it from there, getting a little bit more global."
As this season begins Monday at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., Cilek does so with members of her first recruiting class in the lineup. It may be season two for her, but it feels like unwrapping a gift.
The players spent their summers all over the globe, so Cilek and Mitchell (who was hired this summer) hadn't seen them in a while. During qualifying rounds this week, they were seeing the players in a new light.
It's the way Cilek reacts is what Sloot called one of her coach's greatest strengths.
"I mean, all of us have golfed for a long time, and all of us have our individual swing coaches," Sloot said. "So when she came in, and I was a junior, she realized I had been here two years, I kind of knew my way around, and yeah, I still needed help, but she would let me come to her. And if I wanted a tip or something. I like that she gave me the freedom and helps build our game by letting us play our game because everybody's different. She's not trying to make us all the same golfer."
The other major strength: Cilek factors in an understanding of academic demands. That, Sloot said, is somewhat new. Besides, Cilek said, Sloot has a crazy-hard academic schedule (she's aiming for medical school) and has no idea how the senior doesn't stress out.
Easy. Sloot heads to the golf course, a safe place where she can escape.
Cilek is, however, trying to make them all one team. For the American players, it's easy. Most of them understand the concept of playing for a high school. For Thea, her sister and Andrea Bergsdottir, the concept is new.
Incredibly exciting, too.
"Yeah, I like that. It's something you can't get mad. Like, you can get mad at yourself, but you can't get mad at others, because that will just ruin the whole team spirit and stuff," she said. "And I feel like you have to be more focused on everything around you and trust yourself and be a bit more open to discuss what you did wrong and what they think you should do to get better."
In Norway, Thea said all the junior golfers from the country new each other, no matter the distance apart. Even in competition, they became each other's biggest fans. She hopes to see a similar comradery develop at Colorado State, and she's confident it will.
Players will switch roommates on the road, at times, purposely done to come to know each other as people. You can't spend a couple of days or more tied together in a hotel room without some bonding taking place.
This may be Cilek's second year, but the feeling is overwhelmingly fresh.
"It's fun to get them here and actually get to see them play golf. Now you can actually get involved in their games and learn more about them," she said. "With golf, you're doing everything, driving the car, booking flights, getting them food, checking them into hotels. You do learn a lot, sometimes more than you would probably like. That is the fun part, you get to build relationships."
As well as a program.
Finally.
Not just for the players of Colorado State's women's golf team, but even coach Laura Cilek. All you have to do is go back to the start to understand why.
Cilek was at a tournament recruiting for Oregon when she was offered the Rams' job. So they sent her some CSU gear lickety-split so she could change logos on her green clothes. As it so happened, one of the players she was about to inherit was playing at the tournament.
This all happened about two weeks before the start of the 2018-19 school calendar.
She already had a blueprint on hand for any program she would mentor. The type of golfers she wanted, the type of people they were, how they approached academic tasks. While she was able to go out and find them, she also had to recruit another group.
Specifically, the Rams who were held in limbo while the coaching search took place. The reality was both sides were in for a somewhat awkward introduction.
But the first one went rather well.
"I was lucky that I was playing in a tournament in California that Laura was watching and following when she got hired," senior Jessica Sloot said. "So I was able to actually meet her before I went back to season, talk to her a little bit, and I think that helped reassure me a lot, because I talked to her about her plans for our team. Everything made me love the type of coach she was from the start.
"It's not easy coming in as a new coach, but she handled it really well, and especially when we lost our assistant, it was her by herself. I am very impressed by how she handled that. And I've loved her coaching style, and she's really understanding and has pushed me to be a better player."
Sloot, in Cilek's words, has been "a rock", the same as fellow returners Fiona Hebbel and Saga Traustadottir. Imagine, a coach understanding the players had been there longer, so you lean on them a bit. For instance, comprehending Sloot can show you the ropes, even the landmines.
With trust, Sloot also helped lead the transformation of changes coming, establishing a leadership role for the future of the program as her tenure comes to an end.
Sloot, basically, fit perfectly into the mold of player Cilek would recruit.
"Really, the biggest thing is people who are still eager to play golf. With sports now, there's so much junior play, you can see a little bit of a burnout level when they get to college," Cilek said. "We're looking for players who still really love the game and want to get better for four years, because that's a long time. You can see that. You can tell when they're playing in a tournament if they're really engaged or if they're just doing it. We want people who can come here and want to be independent.
"Golf is kind of on your own as a junior, and are you going to be able to come here and take care of yourself and be part of a team and live away from home. If you can do that well, you're going to have a better career."
Cilek felt fortunate to add her first recruiting class in a short amount of time, finding those qualities across the globe, ranging from California to twins from Norway and another player from Sweden. Welcome to CSU's version of the United Nations, which has proved to be a hoot.
Start with the fact Cilek misread the language barrier. She thought "Oy" meant a good shot. It doesn't. Assistant Mitchell Moore still can't say milk chocolate no matter how much Thea Bjerkelo has tried to help him.Listening in on conversations at practice can get confusing.
"So I mean, we have German and Icelandic, too," Sloot said. "And then the funniest thing is the twins from Norway and the girl from Sweden, they can understand each other but not speak their language. So they'll be like one will speak Norwegian and she'll respond in Swedish and then back and forth in totally different languages."
Even those misses are hits.
Granted, there hasn't been a ton of time for them all to get acclimated to each other. The Bjerkelo twins arrived first, but have only been here three weeks. Enough time to go to Ikea with teammates and to watch the Rocky Mountain Showdown on television.
Thea sensed this direction from Cilek, one of the reasons she wanted to sign on. That, and she and her sister, Tomine, could come as a package deal.
"She wanted a team that was good, and as well to have a good community. I feel like the team had such a good team spirit, and everybody was nice to everyone," Thea said. "When it is competition, it's competition but they still are super-good friends and always backing each other. So that was the main reason, I guess. Also, we got a scholarship for the same school."
Cilek has already started to put her personal stamp on the program, one she said already had a good reputation.
Better results are the goal of every coach, old or new, and the Rams have seen some already. The team's round average hit an all-time low in Cilek's first season, and they won a tournament for the first time since 2010.
"Colorado State, when I came here, was already a great place to come to school for golf," she said. "That was huge. It was already on the map, so it's just elevating it from there, getting a little bit more global."
As this season begins Monday at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., Cilek does so with members of her first recruiting class in the lineup. It may be season two for her, but it feels like unwrapping a gift.
The players spent their summers all over the globe, so Cilek and Mitchell (who was hired this summer) hadn't seen them in a while. During qualifying rounds this week, they were seeing the players in a new light.
It's the way Cilek reacts is what Sloot called one of her coach's greatest strengths.
"I mean, all of us have golfed for a long time, and all of us have our individual swing coaches," Sloot said. "So when she came in, and I was a junior, she realized I had been here two years, I kind of knew my way around, and yeah, I still needed help, but she would let me come to her. And if I wanted a tip or something. I like that she gave me the freedom and helps build our game by letting us play our game because everybody's different. She's not trying to make us all the same golfer."
The other major strength: Cilek factors in an understanding of academic demands. That, Sloot said, is somewhat new. Besides, Cilek said, Sloot has a crazy-hard academic schedule (she's aiming for medical school) and has no idea how the senior doesn't stress out.
Easy. Sloot heads to the golf course, a safe place where she can escape.
Cilek is, however, trying to make them all one team. For the American players, it's easy. Most of them understand the concept of playing for a high school. For Thea, her sister and Andrea Bergsdottir, the concept is new.
Incredibly exciting, too.
"Yeah, I like that. It's something you can't get mad. Like, you can get mad at yourself, but you can't get mad at others, because that will just ruin the whole team spirit and stuff," she said. "And I feel like you have to be more focused on everything around you and trust yourself and be a bit more open to discuss what you did wrong and what they think you should do to get better."
In Norway, Thea said all the junior golfers from the country new each other, no matter the distance apart. Even in competition, they became each other's biggest fans. She hopes to see a similar comradery develop at Colorado State, and she's confident it will.
Players will switch roommates on the road, at times, purposely done to come to know each other as people. You can't spend a couple of days or more tied together in a hotel room without some bonding taking place.
This may be Cilek's second year, but the feeling is overwhelmingly fresh.
"It's fun to get them here and actually get to see them play golf. Now you can actually get involved in their games and learn more about them," she said. "With golf, you're doing everything, driving the car, booking flights, getting them food, checking them into hotels. You do learn a lot, sometimes more than you would probably like. That is the fun part, you get to build relationships."
As well as a program.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Laura Cilek Press Conference
Thursday, August 07
Colorado State Golf (W): Ron Moore Recap
Monday, October 11
Colorado State Golf (W): Ron Moore Day 1 Highlights
Friday, October 08
Women's Golf Coach Laura Cilek and CAM the Ram Spread Ag Day Orange Out Across Campus
Thursday, September 19