Johnny Roder didn’t wait for the phone call.
He called and emailed first.
Again and again.
Persistence paid off for the Marquette senior when he landed one of 12 spots on the Indianapolis golf team for next season.
Roder was not shy and he was not quiet.
He was determined.
“I wanted it so bad,” he said of scoring an opportunity to golf in college. “I knew it was going to be hard. It’s amazing how good the kids are and how competitive it is.”
Roder’s story is unusual and heartwarming in recruiting, which is usually a grueling process.
College coaches look at scores. They scout high-profile tournaments. They talk to high school coaches and then they dance with a select group of players who fit their profile.
Roder turned that process upside down.
Illinois-Chicago women’s golf coach Mat Blair, who’s also a co-owner of Elite Golf in LaPorte, said it’s possible for players to find a spot at an NCAA Division II school like Indianapolis.
Coaches are always looking for players who are enthusiastic and committed.
“If you pester someone enough, you can give a kid a chance,” Blair said. “Good for Johnny.”
Roder’s spot isn’t a scholarship guarantee. He has a promise to play on the team next year.
He’ll have to keep earning it.
Roder earned his spot this summer.
His average as a junior was good — 76 for 18 holes and 37 for nine holes, according to Marquette coach Jordan Gallas.
But Roder didn’t play well in the regional, shooting an 84 at Battle Ground Golf Club in Lafayette.
Roder has played golf since he was a freshman, but didn’t decide to commit totally to the sport until his junior year. He played varsity soccer as a freshman and as a sophomore.
It was after he quit soccer and focused only on golf that Roder made up his mind to pursue the sport after high school.
Roder was still struggling with his game until halfway through the summer when something clicked.
A slew of good rounds helped push him over the top for Indianapolis coach Brent Nicoson.
He finished in sixth place at the Indiana Golf Foundation Age Group Championship at Swan Lake, tied for fifth at the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour Championship at Cog Hill and finished third at an Indiana Golf Association event at Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru.
Roder kept in touch with Nicoson all summer, sending him texts and leaving voice messages about his progress.
Finally, this fall, Nicoson invited him to the school and gave him the good news.
He also invited him to join the team.
It was a big deal.
“It meant everything to me,” Roder said.
Gallas said Roder had a “monster summer” to earn the spot. He will be interested to see if being a college golfer will boost Roder’s confidence for his final high school season.
Gallas said Roder was usually just one or two holes away from having a great round.
It’s a familiar story in golf.
Good for 16 holes and not so good for two.
“He’s always be right there, and then he’d have those two or three big numbers,” Gallas said of Roder. “It was just a consistency thing.”
Gallas believes that will be different.
“He’s a big kid and he can hit it a mile,” Gallas said. “You just never knew where it was going sometimes. His short game is vastly improved. I think he’s more confident in his ability to put up a low number now.”
With the college issue out of the way, Roder is focused on Marquette’s season. He said he needs to loosen up and try to not take the game too seriously.
He wants to enjoy it a little and make a tournament run, something he hasn’t done yet.
“My main goal is to play my game, focus on the course and try to get to state,” he said. “I think I just have to mentally prepare myself to be ready and just keep playing like I’ve been playing.”
Twitter @MikeHuttonPT
