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<\/p>\nOn a warm spring evening, six college students lounge inside a still Halloween-decorated house. One enjoys a steak while the five others relax on the couch watching basketball and talking about their days. Chatter and laughter bounce off the walls, and it\u2019s hard to tell who actually lives here and who just stopped by to hang out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upon stepping into 318 North Main Street, it becomes clear that \u201cTPC OX\u201d is more than just a typical college home. For the three senior golf team captains who live there \u2014 Michael Weber, Cameron Pero and Brett Podobinski \u2014 this house is at the center of their friendship and the team culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Life on the road<\/p>\n
The Miami University golf schedule is intense and travel-heavy. The RedHawks compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and travel across the country to participate in both team and individual tournaments. Pero, who grew up in Bloomfield, Ontario, said when the spring season begins, the routine becomes nonstop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team\u2019s day starts at 6:30 a.m. with workouts,\u201d Pero said. \u201cThen we have class anywhere from 8:30 a.m. until about 1 p.m. Then we practice from 2 p.m. until 5 or 6 p.m. Then we go home and do it all over the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
With long days of practice and constant travel, a strong relationship is essential. Weber, Pero and Podobinski said their bond began the moment they stepped on campus as wide-eyed first-years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cComing here, you just get thrown right into the fire,\u201d Podobinski said. \u201cWe’re stuck in a room with some guys you don’t really know too well, so you definitely get to know each other quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Team culture\u00a0<\/p>\n
Golf is an independent sport, requiring each player to focus primarily on his own score while still contributing to the team\u2019s overall success in each tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the past four years, these three seniors have learned how to balance being teammates, competitors and best friends on and off the course \u2014 all while living in the close confines of \u201cTPC OX.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get the best of both worlds,\u201d Weber said. \u201cWe get to hang out here just whenever we’re off the golf course. Then when we\u2019re on the course, there\u2019s a lot of internal competition. We all want to beat each other, so it’s a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trio’s bond likely would not be as strong if any of them had transferred to another school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt’s kind of a lost art now; people are just always leaving,\u201d Podobinski said. \u201cBut when you come to a school like Miami, it\u2019s kind of hard not to fall in love with what you see and the culture with the guys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Cameron Pero, Bric Baird, Zach Radtke, Brett Podibinski, Tyler Anderson, and Micheal Weber hanging out in the \u201cTPC OX\u201d house.
\nPhoto taken by Clarie Weston<\/p>\n
Three different leaders\u00a0<\/p>\n
Weber, Pero and Pobodbinski all share leadership responsibilities as team captains. They each bring a different personality to the role, something their younger teammates easily recognize.<\/p>\n
Bric Baird, a first-year golfer from Dublin, Ohio, jokingly described the trio as \u201cketchup, mayo and mustard,\u201d since each one complements the other and brings a different perspective to the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pero said head coach JD Fletcher even assigned the three players \u201cofficial\u201d positions. Weber is the \u201ccommunicator,\u201d who keeps the team organized and connected. Pero is the \u201cbulldog,\u201d who brings intensity and competitiveness to practices and tournaments. Podobinski is the \u201cbalance\u201d of the group, with his laissez-faire personality.<\/p>\n
Their leadership stems from examples passed down from former players. These seniors credit former Miami golfer Sam Mortell for helping establish the environment when they first arrived on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mortell encouraged his teammates to compete hard on the course but leave the tension behind when they step off. This mindset helped shape the friendly, competitive atmosphere that exists around the team today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all really close, but it\u2019s also the team before us,\u201d Pero said. \u201cWe\u2019re just part of a bigger group that\u2019s really family oriented. Our door\u2019s always open \u2014 if anybody who\u2019s ever played golf wants to walk in, it\u2019s fair game. It\u2019s a very tight group.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was produced by Miami University journalism students in partnership with The Miami Student newspaper.<\/p>\n
sheaak3@miamioh.edu<\/p>\n
westonce@miamioh.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a warm spring evening, six college students lounge inside a still Halloween-decorated house. One enjoys a steak…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-580677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}