Coach Roster

Lead Instructors

— Terry Audette recently started a second career as a golf instructor. He is certified by the U.S. Golf Teachers Federation and teaches many private lessons in addition to TGA classes.

— Al Bialek is retired after 43 years in business leadership roles. He is a passionate golfer who loves sharing that passion with the kids. Al has taught many TGA after-school classes and summer camps.  He also is a proud veteran and conducts seminars about veterans at schools and community centers throughout the metro area.

Brian Bauer is the parent of two TGA golfers and an avid golfer and skier. He has a full-time job in the mortgage business, but loves working with kids and finds time to teach TGA classes, plus ski classes in the winter.

— Brandon Blackmon is assistant athletic director at Parkway Christian School and also coaches football, basketball and
baseball. He is also an avid golfer and directs our summer camps at The Myth.

Alex Blyth is a student at Northern Michigan University. He is a former TGA student, attending many enrichment classes, summer camps, leagues, tournaments and parent-chi  busiest assistant coaches throughout his years at Grosse Pointe South High School.

Mark Boyd has been playing golf for more than 40 years and has lots of experience coaching basketball, baseball and golf. After retiring from his business career, he stays active with kids as a substitute teacher and coach. In addition to a big schedule of after-school classes, Mark runs our summer camps at Maples.

— Nick Bruce recently graduated from Walsh College and is now an assistant pro at Wyndgate Country Club in Rochester Hills, but he still finds time to teach an occasional TGA class.  Nick started as an assistant coach while a sophomore at Anchor Bay High School and earned more responsibility every year, eventually running a huge schedule of after-school classes and our Macomb County summer camps. 

Sandreea Cueva is a member of the varsity golf team at Madonna University and also an accomplished hockey player. Sandreea is a mainstay of our summer camp staff and also leads after-school classes.

— Sarah Doletzky is a student at Oakland University and former member of the state championship golf team at Lutheran North High School. She was an assistant coach throughout high school and now has a huge schedule of after-school classes, camps and leagues.

Olivia DeVries is a student at Michigan State University who played varsity golf at Lake Orion High School. She was an assistant throughout high school and recently was promoted to lead instructor.

Olivia Dryke is a student at Oakland University. She was a standout softball player for four years at Lutheran North High School and taught children the mechanics of pitching and hitting. She had played golf when younger and recently caught the bug again.

— Greg Fisher is a former high school golf coach who began teaching TGA classes in 2017.  He loves playing golf for fun, competition and exercise, getting in tons of rounds in Michigan in the summer and Arizona in the winter.

Lance Harwood is a student at Oakland University who previously played varsity golf at Northwood University. He played high school golf at Troy Athens and has lots of experience working with kids, including as a volunteer at his church.

— Tricia Hayes started playing golf as a young adult after being a competitive tennis player.  She fell in love with the sport immediately and has been playing for 30 years, including tournaments and casual rounds with family and friends.  She still works full-time at the University of Michigan but finds time to teach an occasional TGA after-school class.

— Ben Herteg is so passionate about the game that his email address includes back9charge. Despite a full-time job at Troy Motor Mall, Ben finds time to run one of our weekend leagues and sub at occasional after-school classes.

Sabel Imesch is a member of the Wayne State University varsity golf team and winner of the Lady Bulldog Invitational during her freshman season. She is a former TGA student was was an assistant coach throughout her years at Grosse Pointe South High School, working many after-school classes and summer camps.

— Evelyn Kensicki learned about TGA through a former coach. She enthusiastically jumped in as an assistant coach, then quickly volunteered to lead after-school classes and our Rammler summer camp.  She has been playing golf for 30 years and regularly shoots in the high 70s and low 80s. 

— Dennis Kensicki recently retired after a long career as a school teacher and coach.  He is an avid golfer and plays often with his wife Evelyn (winning a few times a year).  Dennis is a mainstay of our summer camps and after-school programs at Rammler.

— Daniel Kleczynski is an enthusiastic golfer who works at Salem Hills Golf Course in the summer.  He has played in many competitive golf events, and spent more than 15 years working with children at before- and after-school programs in Livonia.  Daniel teaches many after-school classes and runs our summer camps at Hilltop and Fellows Creek.

— Jack Light recently retired after a long business career and is staying busy with grandchildren and golf.  In addition to playing as much as he can, he teaches occasional TGA classes and works in the pro shop at Glen Oaks Golf Course.

— Nick Lico is an avid golfer and student of the game who has worked with kids his entire life, teaching golf, roller hockey and soccer. He has taught TGA enrichment classes since 2009, including our hugely popular Saturday morning classes at the Macomb Township Recreation Center.

— Mike Mercier recently graduated from University of Michigan-Dearborn and has a full-time job at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Pinckney, but he still has a great connection to TGA and we will make sure he subs occasionally at an after-school class.  Mike is a former TGA student who became an assistant coach while playing varsity golf for Berkley High School.  He then played varsity golf at UM-Dearborn and became one of our most prolific instructors, teaching tons of after-school classes and running summer camps and leagues.

Bobby Mitchell is the  varsity golf coach at Grosse Pointe South after six years as an assistant. He has been active with youth sports for all of his adult life, including nearly 20 years  as vice president of the Adray Community Hockey League.

— Randi Miller is a former LPGA professional who played competitively and also was teaching pro at several country clubs. She is now the parent of two Maire Elementary students, and teaches our classes at Maire, plus summer camps at Belle Isle.

— Gene Myers succeeded Dave Robinson as sports editor of the Detroit Free Press in 1993 and stayed in that role until he retired at the end of 2015.  That means the Free Press had two sports editors from 1985 to 2015.  During the same period the Lions had 10 head coaches.  Gene’s first year of retirement was incredibly active, filled with hiking, running, cycling, yoga and some book projects.  He added TGA classes in 2017, bringing his enthusiasm and sense of humor to after-school classes and summer camps in West Wayne.

— Ann Parvin is a long-time LPGA professional who has taught many juniors and adults in private lessons, camps and clinics.  Ann joined TGA in 2014.

— Pamela Panagos recently retired from the Livonia School District, where she worked in before- and after-care programs. She has been playing golf with family and friends for 40 years and loves introducing children to a life-long game.

— Brett Pawlowski is a 2024 graduate of  Michigan State University and has been a fixture at our Macomb County summer camps, advancing to the director role in 2023 at Glacier and Oak Ridge. He is a former TGA student who attended tons of our camps and other events.

Taylor Pickett is a student at Oakland University who previously played on the varsity golf team at L’Anse Creuse High School. She was an assistant coach during high school and recently was promoted to lead instructor.

— James Robinson is a retired science teacher in Detroit and Southfield Public Schools.  He discovered TGA while working as a golf course ranger during one of our summer camps.  James plays lots of golf and is always working on his game.

Elliot Spoon played on the state champion Southfield High golf team back in 1968 and learned about TGA when he played a  parent-child event with his grandson. He was a law professor at Michigan State from 1999 to 2021 and practiced law before that. He earned BA and law degrees from the University of Michigan.

Owen VanderWeele is a student at Michigan State University who has been one of our most active summer camp coaches. He also coaches some after-school classes in the spring.

— Adam Wagenknecht first learned about TGA in the fall of 2016 when he signed up his kindergarten son for the after-school class at Great Oaks Elementary. He has been a fixture at our Macomb County after-school classes since then. Adam has a long background in golf, as a caddy at Country Club of Detroit and varsity player at Roseville High.

— Laura Winch is retired after 40-plus years in medical sales.  She is former president of the metro Detroit Chapter of LPGA Amateur Golf Association.  She was previously active in Campfire Girls.

Adult Assistant Coaches

Ann Batory

Aaron Brown

Joe Carlson

Myra Cartwright

Jim Finkelstein

Matt Gordon

Jim Hartnett   

                                                Lauren Kotzian

                                                 Grace Leone

                                                  Tom Leone

                                                   Bob O’Brien

Tre Moore

Corky Read

Susan Rubin

                                                    RJ Schauer

                                                  Andrew Silva

Gary Skop

Lee Stevens

Carol Thompson

Connor Zydeck

College Assistant Coaches

American — Marley DeRoven

Bowling Green — Jack Holland

Central Michigan — Brooke Morris

Detroit Mercy — Morgan Jones, Gowtham Nalluri, Ria Narang, Mason Sokolowski, Gabby Tapp

Grand Valley State — Sarah Himmelsbaugh, Matthew Himmelsbaugh

Hope — Allyson Zuidema

Michigan — Jessica Finney, Nick Kozierowski, Meera Sankar, Grace Zhang

                                    Michigan-Dearborn — Colin Boyd

Michigan State — Lea Faust, Ava Gadawski, Corbin Ifkovits, Megan Luke, Art McCarthy, Filomena Spencer, Samantha Raedel, Mary Ronayne, Jake Smith, Evan Tasdemir

                                    Michigan Tech — Tim Burdick

Mississippi — Alex Carlson

Notre Dame — Ellie Gieselman

 Nova Southeastern — Sydney Mazur

Oakland University — Joseph DiStefano, Emily Hohensee, Sarah Hohensee

Penn State — Emily Szalach

Purdue — Lauren Timpf

Western Michigan — Megha Vallabhaneni

High School Assistant Coaches

Almont — Olivia Kotelnicki

Anchor Bay — Lilli Getzschman

Birmingham Groves — Daphne Breen

                        Birmingham Seaholm — Roman Hitchcock

Bloomfield Hills — Sophia Stearns

                                   Brother Rice — Rocco Iacobelli

Catholic Central — Ben Fogarsi

Chippewa Valley — Hunter Fleming

Dakota — Owen Chojnacki, James Eckstein, Gabe Romano

DeLaSalle — Bennett Rankin

Grosse Pointe South — Ben Bieri, Will Bishop, Taylor Lewis, Skip Moody, Patrick Clark, Murphy Russell, Tenley Stiyer

Grosse Pointe North — Camden Baker,  Colin Smith

International Academy Bloomfield Hills — Brianna Park, Kevin Lai, Hannah Wang

Lake Orion — Jacob Rybak

L’Anse Creuse North — Aubrey Howard, Scott Higuchi, Mila Menendez

                                Livonia Franklin — Kelsie Jeziorowski

                                Livonia Stevenson — Sophia Marsh

 

Lutheran North — Gabby Cardenas, Maddie Dryke, Landon Nilson, Saige Rothey,  Isabella Vincent

Mercy — Lila Polakowski

North Farmington — Zach Schultz

Northville — Anushka Athreya, Grace Bae, Naaz Gill, Zach Marnocha, Sanya Singhal, Arjun Vallabhaneni, Ben Zaremba

Notre Dame Prep — Dino Acciavatti, Brooklyn Haddad,

                             Novi — Haele McManes, Esme Scott

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s — Mikey Karwaski, Josh Paxton

Plymouth — Annie Flavin, Ryan Mazur

Roeper — Sam Salinas

Rochester Adams — Ella Eischeid, Elli Hoener, Nora Krentler, Chloe Lasky, Daniel Lee

Rochester High — Ella Harrison, Ananya Kumar, Libby Phillips, Ellery Yates

Romeo — Chase Laverell, Dante Salvatore

                           Royal Oak Shrine — Sophie Clemence

Troy — Ahina Bajwa, River Boribunburipan, Kaivin Mercader, Noah Willy

University Liggett — Steve McMahon, Dalton Shaffer

Utica Eisenhower — Ryan Dex, Brady Grimes, Dylan Knapp, John Murphy

                          Walled Lake Central — Allyson Adams, Riana Ferguson