JUNIOR SPORTMAN OF THE YEAR For Berkshire’s Gallen, golf has always, and will always, be just a game By Chris Roselle Athletes often talk about how difficult it is to compete against either a family member or a close personal friend. Sam Gallen of Berk-shire Country Club had the unenviable task of doing just that when he faced buddy and clubmate Evan Thornton in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 99th Junior Boys’ First Flight championship match. “real honor” and he is “just happy to be recognized for sportsmanship because it is something I have always prided myself in.” “Golf has always, and will always, be just a game,” Gallen said. “I take pride in having a good attitude both on and off the course because I feel fortunate just to be able to play.” Going forward, Gallen said being named the Junior Sportsman of Year will help reinforce the fact that his behavior both on and off the course invokes a great sense of pride. “Change the ‘e’ in his last name to an ‘a,’ then stick a ‘t’ at the end of it. That describes Sam,” Tony Regina, the Association’s Assistant Director of Communications, said. “He is a ‘gallant’ young man who always treats our staff and volunteers with respect, coupled with a dose of humor. Sam doesn’t hold back from cracking jokes that make his peers smile. It reminds us all that at the end of the day, it’s just a game.” Gallen, of Wyomissing, Pa., is a freshman at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. While his major is still undecided he is leaning toward political science. But it was the way in which he conducted himself, not only during the match, but after the contest, that made Gallen an obvious selection for the 2013 Ju-nior Sportsman of the Year, an award presented to the junior golfer who demonstrates fairness and respect for fellow competitors and graciousness in winning or losing. “ I take pride in having a good attitude both on and off the course because I feel fortu-nate just to be able to play.” “It’s still something we talk about,” Gallen said regarding the match against Thornton. The 18 year old described his experiences at The Ridge at Back Brook as some of the most fun he has ever had at a tournament. Gallen’s week didn’t start the way he would have liked as he bogeyed his last two holes during stroke play qualifying and “was disappointed not to make the Championship Flight.” Always the optimist though, he was still “happy to be playing in the First Flight” because he would be getting another chance to be with, and compete against, some of his closest friends. “It was one of the last junior tournaments we [Gallen and Thornton] would get to play together so we were really looking forward to playing one another in such a prestigious tournament,” Gallen said. In fact, when the two were not on the course, Thornton spent most of the week sleeping in the backseat of Gallen’s car as the two rode to and from the Ringoes, N.J. course over the three days of com-petition. Even though Gallen would go on to lose to Thornton, 4&3, he said that because he was able to see his good friend win the trophy, “it made that final car ride home a lot less miserable.” Having not only learned the game, but the impor-tance of sportsmanship from his father John, Gallen said that winning the Junior Sportsman Award is a www.gapgolf.org 17 Visit the Golf Association of Philadelphia Web site at www.gapgolf.org for all the latest news and notes
GAP Magazine 2013 Winter: Page 17
