“The day I stop getting nervous is the day I retire,” varsity golf coach Bill Camelio said.
Camelio has been coaching at the high school for 16 years and has no plans to retire soon. Prior to his arrival at the high school, Camelio coached baseball at Needham High School and Newton South High School for more than 20 years. He served as a bartender at Fenway Park for 23 years and has worked various jobs at the Country Club in Brookline since 1963.
From his decades of coaching sports, Camelio has found that mental strength is a key component in any sport, but especially golf.
“That’s what the game is all about,” Camelio said. “It’s all mental. These kids know how to hit a golf ball and they’ll get better as their life progresses. That’s what makes Tiger Woods the best player in the world. He’s mentally tougher than anyone else out there. That’s how I want these kids to be.”
When asked about what keeps him coming back year after year to coach, Camelio responded immediately, with confidence.
“Two words: the kids,” Camelio said. “It’s the only answer I know. I wish I could give you a long and sophisticated answer, but it’s the kids. You’re talking about a very special group of kids who play golf. This is a gentleman’s sport and the kids are marvelous.”
More than one of Camelio’s players noted that he does not have a traditional style of coaching. According to junior Cooper Lev, Camelio’s practices focus not on technical training, but mental strategy.
Lev said Camelio coaches them on the mentality they should have before and after every shot during matches.
“I tell these kids to think, ‘I’m down eight strokes, let’s make it six. I’m down six strokes, let’s make it four,’” Camelio said. “And even when they’re up six or seven strokes, I tell them to make it ten. It’s all about what’s between the ears.”
Boys captain, senior Stanford Belamarich, said the coach knows exactly what to say to the players during a match and how it will affect their game. Belamarich also noted that Camelio’s practices do not spend much time on the technical aspects of the game.
“He’s not the kind of coach that’s going to help you with your golf mechanics,” Belamarich said. “He’s more of an organizer and a motivator. The team is not always going to click. Some people are angry golfers. Some people are golfers that never stop talking. He’s pretty good at organizing people together and making a team sport out of an individual sport.”
Girls captain, senior Janice Lee, agreed that Camelio serves as a motivator during practices and matches.
“He always says something like, ‘Don’t give up after you hit a bad shot,’” Lee said. “‘Even if you think you’re going to lose, you have to keep going. Even if you’re playing worse than the other player, you can still beat them. Even if you’re not having your best day, you have to keep going.’”
Camelio said this alternate approach to coaching has worked until now, and he plans on coaching this way until he retires.
“Yelling, screaming and issuing ultimatums does not work,” Camelio said. “I want golf to be fun, and I want their lives to be fun. The kids feel good about themselves and that’s the key. When the kids are confident, wonderful things can happen.”
JK Suh can be contacted at [email protected].
