Rattlers’ Resch juggling two sports

By Sean Rooney on September 12, 2018.

srooney@medicinehatnews.com @MHNRooney

Basketball was Brady Resch’s ticket to post-secondary athletics. Golf was just something else he was good at.

Turns out, he’s better than he thought.

The Medicine Hat College student will join the golf team in Lac La Biche for the season’s first tournament this weekend, becoming a rare two-sport athlete at the post-secondary level.

“I was a basketball player first,” said Resch, who played in 21 games for the Rattlers basketball team last season and was named its most-improved player. “At the start of the summer (golf) wasn’t something that was in my mind. It kind of came up and I said ‘might as well.'”

Growing up in Coronach, Sask., Resch certainly played lots on the local nine-hole track, even going to high school provincials. After buying a dual membership to Connaught and Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club and playing more than usual this summer, it was Rattlers golfer Kent Lesko who convinced him to try out.

Resch surprised everyone by making the cut.

“He’s just pretty steady and consistent,” said golf coach Trevor Moore. “I would say what impresses me is that nothing really jumps out and impresses me. He’s not going to fire a 66 on us but he’s going to be consistent and dependable. We’re going to need that.”

Moore’s only got Lesko and Matthaus Taylor as returnees on the men’s team, which will get its first taste of competition at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference North Regional Saturday and Sunday. That’s a far cry from the women’s team, which is stacked with four returnees and was given a No. 3 national ranking Tuesday.

Named the men’s basketball team’s most improved player in April, Resch definitely has the time management skills and mindset to make it all work. He knows his business studies can’t fall behind, but the good news is golf season is done by late October, when the Rattlers host nationals at Desert Blume.

It certainly helps that the basketball schedule begins with three straight home games, including a night off following the last day of golf nationals Oct. 19.

“It was a humbling experience, planning everything out and realizing what it’s going to take,” said Resch. “I don’t want to put a half-effort in one place and a full effort in another. I want to make sure everything’s the best it can be.”

He’s only shot in the low- to mid-80’s on the golf course, but that’s comparable with ACAC rookies from previous seasons. But Moore knows the learning curve for someone who’s never really played competitive golf is huge, which makes Resch’s potential unknown.

“He’s a very coachable guy, willing to do what it takes for everybody’s sake,” said Moore, who will focus on Resch’s short game and mental skills in the brief season. “I think he will surprise himself by the end of the year. He’s good, he just needs to realize that he’s that good.”

As for what skills are transferable back to the hardwood? Let’s face it; not much. But pushing himself to be better in any regard can’t hurt in the long run no matter whether he’s talking about golf, basketball or his studies.

“I know time management’s a huge one, but that goes with being a student,” he said. “The confidence I’ve got to put into myself, knowing I’m going to hit the right shot in golf or knowing I’m going to make the right shot in basketball, they compliment each other a lot keeping my head space right.”

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