A familiar gallery

Rock Bridge senior Allison Coffelt tapped in on the ninth green at Lake of the Woods Golf Course on Thursday and walked towards the clubhouse. Instead of talking to her coach or asking her teammates how they did, she stopped to talk with her father, Terry. In a sport where crowd participation usually isn’t a factor, Rock Bridge parents are making sure the team knows it has loyal supporters.

A large group of parents, with usually at least one parent of every member of the team in attendence, follows the girls around the course throughout their round, and has a postgame spread of fruit, drinks and desserts in the clubhouse.

Coach Melissa Melahn has nothing but appreciation for the parents’ efforts.

“I remember when I played high school golf, and nobody did anything like this,” she said. “It’s a nice way to finish the day. If you’ve had a bad day, you can forget about your round, but if you played well, you can celebrate the moment.”

The members of the Rock Bridge Golf Gallery, as they are known, have their own embroidered shirts, too. Their friendliness extends to the Rock Bridge opponents as well. Last week, they drove to Jefferson City and brought treats for all three teams participating in the meet.

“They make sure everyone has a good time, even our opponents,” Melahn said. “Some coaches complain about parents, but in my experience, they’ve been nothing but great.

“To take days off and drive all over the place, it’s a big thing. We’re very appreciative.”

Although every parent has their own reason for coming out to watch, many simply want to support their daughters as much as possible before they move on to other activities. No player on the Rock Bridge team participates in another sport, so spectator-unfriendly golf is the parents’ only chance.

“We’ve had other daughters play sports and we supported them, so it was a no-brainer,” said Dick Ramsey, the father of Bruins senior Molly Ramsey. “You can’t cheer them any louder, but I still really like it.

“These girls get along very well, and we get to meet the other parents, too.”

Terry Coffelt can use his own golf experience to relate to his daughter Allison and her teammates.

“When they hit good shots, it’s fun to see them enjoying the game,” he said. “Because I play, I appreciate the feeling of hitting a good shot and the excitement that goes with playing well.”

Allison Coffelt likes her father’s support on many levels, especially because it gives them something to talk about.

“I really like it when my parents come to watch, because afterwards I want to talk about my round and it’s so much easier when they are here to see the shots,” she said.

It also gives her a breather when things aren’t going so well on the course.

“When you’re struggling, you can look back and realize that it’s OK. I don’t get as mad at myself, and they are always giving encouragement,” she said.

Senior Anna Coil rallies behind the support of her mother, saying that her presence takes away the loneliness on the course and gives her a sense of comfort.

Coach Melahn agreed, saying that parents know when to back off if the girls are anxious. They will go watch another player and slowly work their way back to their own daughter after she has settled down.

The Bruins have quickly reached the point in the season where the support is needed most. The Missouri Class 2, District 4 Tournament, which decides who goes to the state tournament, is Tuesday.

“The season is so compact, it catches you by surprise,” Allison Coffelt said. “Districts get here and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ Hopefully things will turn out for the best.”

Coil doesn’t think there is much to worry about.

“We’re going to be completely comfortable. We’ll be prepared,” she said.