There’s something special in being “the first.” The first to go to college, the first to break a record, the first to pioneer an idea.

There’s a piece of leadership in being “the first.” It’s inherent in trailblazing. Naturally, those who walk a similar path will look to the one that “the first” has paved.

At least, that’s what Tracey DiSerafino is hoping. Head Coach of the Neumann University Women’s Golf team, Tracey took the reins when the young team became an official Neumann varsity sport for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Coach DiSerafino is humble. She’s played golf since she was nine years old, learning from her brothers, swinging balls into trees in the backyard before stepping onto a golf course. It wasn’t until the age of 14 when she played her full round, but with no women’s teams at her high school or college, she never became a competitive golfer. So, when I sat down with her to talk about the new team, it seemed that Tracey sees herself as a facilitator for a passion that’s been spreading for several years.

Lauren Cusack, currently closing out her senior year, is its source. The only girl in her neighborhood to play golf growing up, Lauren met several members of the men’s golf team early in her time at Neumann, began talking with coaches, and quickly was adopted into the program. Early on, she played practice rounds with the team, but in her sophomore year, men’s head coach Frank Sill placed her into tournaments as an individual golfer.

Lauren’s passion and skill didn’t go unrecognized. During one tournament, Lebanon Valley College’s coach took notice of Lauren and, loving her role on the men’s team, planted a bug in Coach Frank Sill’s ear that made its way back to Neumann Athletics. With Lauren’s passion and skill, the seeds of the current team were planted when Lauren separated from the men’s team to lead the formation of women’s golf as a club sport in the spring of 2015. Very quickly, under Tracey DiSerafino’s tutelage as head coach, the club became a full varsity sport.

This first full season had a slow start. The Knights did not place as a team in limited competition during the Fall, but headed into the spring season with confidence. Coach DiSerafino’s attention, though, is not primarily on winning.

“There’s a real brother/sister thing happening,” Tracey said. “With the men’s team, you could see [Lauren] was so comfortable with the guys and the team’s kinship. Now, with the women, Lauren’s like a big sister. They look up to her. She has been a great role model, teacher, and coach.

“She’s created this positive environment, shown the girls the etiquette of the game, how to hold yourself together. She’s a great role model in all aspects of this game. She’s always there to help, there for positive words.”

Lauren, unsurprisingly, isn’t doing it for the accolades or praise. She says it’s the competition that she loves, the challenge to grow and play better that first prompted her to join the men’s team at Neumann.

“Being part of an inaugural season and being part of something new has been great,” Lauren said. “Hopefully it stays with Neumann Athletics, bringing in other teammates and girls from other sports, others who have the same passion and interests.”

It’s clear that those passions are driving Lauren. From a team that just a couple short years ago was hardly a thought, she, along with Coach DiSerafino, have built a program with high standards. Those expectations are starting to materialize in competition, too. Most recently, at Ursinus college, Lauren won the women’s tournament and helped lead the team to a fourth-place finish. She won’t be done leading after she graduates this May, either; Lauren hopes to be part of the team’s future as an assistant coach. Knowing her contributions thus far, that sounds like a very wise move.

***

There’s no Cinderella ending to this young story. The team, though it’s growing in commitment and skill, isn’t on the verge of winning a tournament or making a big mark in the local area. Coach DiSerafino admits there is a long road ahead, and the team will need time, practice, and experience to help make them really competitive among more established teams in the area.

There is grace in this team, though. In moments of uncertainty or doubt, Tracey and Lauren have guided teammates to competitive confidence. In a recent tournament, facing 40 mile-per-hour winds, not a single golfer complained. New team members have shown great improvement in just one short year of practice and competition. More importantly, both Coach and Captain cite the bonds formed within this small group of women.

That, certainly, is an ending unto itself. Perhaps it is a blessing that the team wasn’t immediately filled with a waiting list of veteran golfers. It means the entire driving force behind this team’s birth and development is the passion of one golfer, Lauren, simply fostered early in her college years and shared in such a way that its potential became palpable and, with a relatively short turnaround, a seemingly natural addition to Neumann Athletics.

Tracey shared an interesting perspective on Lauren’s role in jump-starting the program. Truly, without her, it would not exist today.

“I wasn’t brave enough to join the men’s golf team at the University of Delaware,” (where she went to college), Tracey said. “That’s a regret that I have. I’m so impressed with how [Lauren] holds herself… to see other women step up and say they wanted to be part of this team has been amazing.”

I’m not sure that Coach DiSerafino gives herself enough credit, though. True, the team’s genesis was Lauren Cusack’s willingness to take a chance when a road had not already been paved, but without a coach to model Neumann’s athletic values and keep student-athletes grounded in the midst of an uphill battle for success on the golf course, this whole story might fall apart.

Luckily, Lauren and Tracey echo each other in their mutual respect and friendship. Both role models for a team young on experience, they’re optimistic that their work will pay off.

“We’ve had a lot more interest on the team,” Lauren explained. “We’re going to struggle because this is new and people are learning, but I think that’ll only help us build to be a good program in the future.”

Agreeing, Coach DiSerafino offered a thought on their priorities at this point in the team’s development. “It’s how you hang in there, how you conduct yourself, what brings you back, and what brings you together as a team… The team is growing, and they are playing for future teams.”

Julia Fair, a student-athlete on the women’s golf team as well as Lauren’s teammate on the Neumann Women’s Ice Hockey team, is feeling that attitude. “They’re so supportive,” she said. “As long as you’re improving, we’re all supportive no matter what.”

That will, probably, be the pervading theme as the team closes out its current season and looks ahead to future squads. That’s not stated with remorse, though. They’re in it to win as much as any competitor, and Lauren and Tracey are encouraged by what they’ve seen so far. Since the Fall, when they first played competitive golf for the Knights, several members have dropped their score totals by more than 20 swings.

But let’s put that aside, because it was my own research, not their prompting, that uncovered individual golfers’ stats. It’s clear that their point of difference is the pursuit of excellence, improvement, and their status as teammates.

“I think the more tournaments we play, the more we’re becoming closer as a team,” said Lauren. “[With] these relationships built on the ice or the golf course, you get to really know the person… You build relationships that mean something.”

Those friendships, the dropping scores, the improving swings – none of it happened by accident. Nor will the team’s future growth and success. And their sights are, indeed, set on the future, said Coach DiSerafino. “Future teams will look back and say ‘thanks for getting this started’.”