Hockey Players Transferring Winter Puck Skills to Spring Golf Swings
By
Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com
May 26, 2023
When the Michigan seasons shift from winter to spring, some high school golf teams are a little more eager than others for the hockey season to officially end.
This is especially true for the school golf programs in Brighton, Hartland and Muskegon Mona Shores – examples of boys teams that love having hockey players transition from the indoor frozen ice to play golf outdoors on the lush green grass.
“I would take a golf team full of hockey players any day,” said Hartland golf coach Nathan Oake. “I love them.”
We can tell, because his program is full of them.
Hartland and Brighton each have eight hockey players on their 16-golfer varsity and JV rosters.
Mona Shores has three hockey players this year, but usually has more. In 2023 it’s Oliver MacDonald (all-state honorable mention in hockey), Nathan McNarland and Nicholas Taylor, who was voted Division 1 all-state golf last spring, then leading his team to fifth place at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
Brighton golfer Winston Lerch was also Division 1 all-state last year in golf and an assistant captain on the hockey team this winter that finished Division 1 runner-up to Detroit Catholic Central. Here in 2023, he shot a 65 to open the season at Oakland University for medalist and has committed to Grand Valley State for golf with his 72-stroke average.
Joining Lerch in the Bulldogs boys golf program are hockey players like Levi Pennala, winner of hockey’s Wall Award sponsored by State Champs as the top high school goalie. Pennala – who recently shot 72 at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship tournament, his career low for high school golf – finished in the top 30 last year at the LPD1 Final. Then early this spring when he was away at a high-level junior hockey tournament, freshman hockey player Adam Forcier stepped in and shot a school record 18-hole round for a freshman at 73. Jacob Daavetilla also works into the starting lineup at times.
Forcier tied the record of Davis Codd – who, as a pro hockey player on leave from the Saginaw Spirit OHL hockey team when COVID-19 shut down the league, won the LPD1 Final in 2021 for Brighton.
Brighton golf coach Jimmy Dewling said Codd was one of the earliest to prove to others you can play both hockey and golf and excel. In fact, that June in 2021, Codd went to an NHL scouting camp in Pennsylvania before the Golf Finals, drove overnight back to Forest Akers to play the two championship rounds, won the title, then immediately returned to Pennsylvania to resume the hockey camp.
“On our team, we believe, and TBone (Codd) was a perfect example of it, if there’s any time you have the opportunity to be competitive, it is going to make you a more well-rounded competitor and therefore better at your particular sport,” Dewling said.
“We like hockey players. In the winter, they have to think to where the puck is going, be smart enough to react, and understand how that emotion is going to carry over from one play to the next. When it’s your shift you have to forget about the last shift, or take something from the last shift and put it into the next shift, to have consistent play.
“It’s the same on the golf course,” Dewling continued. “It’s one hole to the next, one shot at a time, being tough, and that’s only going to come from competition reps. We love the athletic ability more so than anything; the toughness and competitiveness all year.”
In addition to Lerch and Pennala starting on varsity golf, they are joined by traditional golfers Matt Doyle, Riley Morton and Andrew Daily, who is committed to Wayne State and finished LPD1 runner-up last spring.
Going into the 2023 golf postseason, Brighton is ranked No. 2 in Division 1. The Bulldogs have won the Next Tee Invite at Oakland Hills, the North Star Invite at Plum Hollow and the KLAA Conference Championship – earning Brighton’s first conference title since 2007. The Bulldogs also were runners-up at The Meadows Invite at Grand Valley State University. The team is averaging 297 for 18 holes.
Oake admitted this is a rebuilding year for Hartland’s golf program. The varsity lineup has only two returning players with varsity golf experience – Keller King and Brady Betteley.
“So, we opted to keep a group of tough competitors with a solid combination of speed and strength – and who are not concerned about the cold conditions that we play in,” Oake quipped.
Five others rotate into the Eagles’ golf starting lineup with King and Betteley: Isaac Frantti is an all-state hockey defensemen playing his first season of golf but shot a career-low 79 at American Dunes recently. He just signed a United State Premier Hockey League tender to play in Connecticut next year. Ian Kastamo scored the winning goal in Hartland’s Division 2 hockey championship victory in 2022, and LJ Sabala is a varsity hockey player as well.
Then there are two non-hockey freshmen getting shots to start occasionally – Dallas Korponic, who finished third at his weight at the Individual Wrestling Finals, and Michael Maurin. Five more sophomores and juniors are hockey players on the JV golf team.
“We hope to be competitive with (Brighton) again soon, but they have the talent to make a big splash this year,” Oake said. “I also play golf at the same club as many Brighton players, so I see them quite a bit and we are friendly. When the Brighton team walked by our team on a recent Monday and all said hello to me and our guys, one of my players looked at me and said that this was the biggest difference between hockey and golf. In hockey, the small talk would be (traded) for the ice, and it would not be very nice out there.
“Either way, I believe both sports are filled with fierce competitors and respect, but when the game is over a handshake and a golf hat tip are offered to the victor.”
This story was updated and reposted with permission of MIGolfJournal.com.
PHOTOS (Top) Brighton takes a team photo after finishing third at last season’s LPD1 Final, and all five golfers are back this season including hockey players Levi Pennala (second from left) and Winston Lerch (second from right.) (Middle) Hartland’s Ian Kastamo (16) takes a faceoff against Brighton this winter. (Below) Mona Shores’ Nicholas Taylor fires an iron shot. (Photos courtesy of High School Sports Scene, Sapshots Photography and Mona Shores’ athletic department, respectively.)
Always Better Together, 'Tilden Boys' Bring Special Bond to Shores Hockey
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
December 13, 2024
Nathan and Brady Tilden realized a long time ago that they are better together than apart.
The “Tilden Boys,” as they are known to almost everybody in the Muskegon Mona Shores school community, came into the world on the same day 18 years ago as identical twins and have made a conscious decision to spend almost all of their waking moments since together.
“The way we look at it, God made us twins for a reason,” explained Nathan, who is 18 and one minute older than his brother.
“There is no way that I would be where I am today, in hockey or in school or really anything, if Brady wasn’t with me. He is my best friend, and we do everything together.”
They have pushed each other to great heights in the classroom, taking the same demanding classes and both maintaining a GPA of better than 4.1.
They hold each other accountable to go to church every Sunday and take care of every detail at school, where they have emerged as leaders and role models.
But perhaps the place where their special twin chemistry really manifests itself is on the ice, as senior assistant captains and standouts on the Mona Shores hockey team which is off to a 4-1 start heading into games this weekend at Wyandotte Roosevelt and Allen Park.
Nathan has been on a tear with a team-high seven goals and five assists for 12 points, while Brady leads the team with eight assists plus has scored two goals for 10 points. Throw in junior center Eli Habetler (team-high 13 points) and you have one of the top lines in West Michigan.
“We just know where each other is going to be,” said Brady. “Eli is almost like our third twin. Our goal on every shift is to get a goal, and we don’t care who gets it.”
Special connection
Mona Shores sixth-year hockey coach Chris Benedict said the team’s coaches and players often just sit back and marvel at the way the Tilden boys work together.
“It’s like they literally cloned a hockey player,” said Benedict. “They always know exactly what the other one is going to do, which is a huge advantage in hockey. It’s so much fun to watch them go to work.”
The Tildens, who are both in their third year on the Shores varsity team, were at it again in their first conference game Wednesday night on their home ice at Lakeshore Sports Centre. Nathan scored a goal and added an assist, while Brady chipped in a pair of assists in a 5-2 win over visiting Holland West Ottawa.
But Nathan and Brady, who also happen to be the team’s two best penalty-killers, were most excited Wednesday that other players got involved in the scoring – which they know is necessary if the team wants to achieve its major goal of winning the Ottawa-Kent Conference Fischer title and then making a postseason run. Quinn Addicott had a first-period goal off an assist from Vaire VanderWalle, and Cooper Nellis scored a nifty, sharp-angle goal in the third period with an assist from Cullen Conrad.
Another reason for Shores’ hot start is the play of senior goaltender Joey Griffes-Castonia, one of six players the team added in its first year of a cooperative agreement with Whitehall. He had 46 saves in a game last month.
The Sailors opened the season with a loss to Plymouth but have since reeled off four consecutive wins.
Included in that streak were a pair of tight victories in Traverse City over Thanksgiving weekend. Brady Tilden scored the lone shootout goal in a 3-2 win over TC Central, and he and Nathan both had a goal and two assists in a 5-4 overtime win over TC West the next day.
“They have a motor that doesn’t quit,” said Benedict. “They are fast and in-your-face and do an incredible job in the offensive zone. You throw in Eli, and I would put that line up against any in the state.”
Fittingly, their career stats in three years on the Shores varsity are nearly identical. Nathan has 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points, while Brady has 20 goals and 35 assists for 55 points.
Second set of twins
The odds of having identical twins are 1 in every 250 births.
But Nathan and Brady are not even the only set of identical twins in their family. There are also the “Tilden Girls” – 23-year-old identical twins Emma and Lily – which put the odds of Bob and Colleen Tilden having a second set of identical twins at 1 in 110,000.
“I’ll never forget I went to what I thought was just a regular doctor’s visit,” recalled Colleen. “A few minutes later, I was calling Bob and telling him: ‘You are not going to believe this, but we’re having twins again.’”
Fast forward 18 years, and neither Bob nor Colleen can imagine their lives without their twin boys.
“They were against the odds, but now we know that they were meant to be here,” said Colleen, fighting back tears. “They are very special boys. They are such a blessing.”
Bob marvels at their dedication and self-discipline, watching them wake up at 4:30 a.m. every Monday and Friday to go get an extra skate in or figuring out a way to get to church every weekend, even with their often-crazy hockey and school schedules.
“They are able to accomplish everything they do because of each other,” said Bob. “Brady is very focused and a good planner. Nathan is the one checking the details and making sure his brother has everything that he needs. They work together on everything, every single day.”
The final piece of the Tilden puzzle is oldest sibling Zach, 26, the only non-twin of the family’s five kids.
Zach was a standout hockey player for Shores, and both Nathan and Brady immediately name him as one of their biggest role models in hockey and life in general.
“What made me love hockey was going to all of Zach’s games and watching him play,” said Brady.
Sticking together
Even though their older sisters went in different directions after high school, Nathan and Brady are sticking together.
The boys will live together at Michigan Tech, where they both plan to major in mechanical engineering.
“There’s no reason for us to go to different colleges,” said Nathan, who pointed out the longest they have ever been apart was two days, when he was sick in 10th grade and had to stay home while Brady went and played in the Brighton Showcase hockey tournament.
“Tech is a hard school and mechanical engineering is a tough major, but together I know we can do it.”
They also know that, eventually, jobs or marriage will separate them physically. But in the meantime, they are determined to continue to work their twin magic and make the most of their final high school hockey season.
They both also play a spring sport, but while Brady continues to play baseball, Nathan switched to golf his sophomore year. That change is one of the only tangible differences between their high school resumes, and even they struggle (often comically) to come up with other differences.
“How are we different? That’s a good question,” said Brady, taking a long pause and several deep breaths, thinking about it. “I mean, I like Subway and he doesn’t like Subway. We don’t drink pop very much, but if we do, he’ll get a root beer and I’ll get a Dr. Pepper.
“There’s gotta be some other differences. Sorry, but I can’t really think of anything else right now.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mona Shores’ Nathan Tilden (8) makes his way up the ice with the puck as twin brother Brady Tilden (18) trails the play. (Middle) The Tildens show off a trophy early in their youth hockey careers, and then take a photo together during the team’s media day this season. (Below) Nathan Tilden raises his leg to allow linemate Eli Habetler's shot past and into the goal against Muskegon Reeths-Puffer last season. Twin brother Brady Tilden looks in on the play. (Action photos by Eric Sturr; posed photos courtesy of the Tilden family.)