By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ANGELINO Cooper Jr, Taylor Sands and Seannae Norville-Smith are the latest Bahamian golfers to secure athletic golf scholarships and Chamari Pratt hopes her chance will come in the near future.

The four golfers, who are a part of the Harris Golf Academy, were able to sign their deals on Wednesday before family and friends at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Nine-Hole Driving Range at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

Keathen Stuart, one of the coaches who have assisted all of the golfers in their development, said he’s proud of their achievements and is looking forward to seeing what they do when they start playing at the collegiate level.

Cooper Jr, a student of Bahamas Global Academy, is benefiting from his three years in golf to attend Central State University in Ohio on his athletic scholarship.

He said it’s an amazing feeling. 

“This was something that I thought would have never happened,” Cooper Jr said. “It came so fast. I really didn’t know what to say when I got it.”

When he goes to school to pursue a degree in environmental engineering, Cooper Jr said he loves nature and he’s thrilled to be able to go after something that is near and dear to his heart.

“I just want to say that it’s never too late to start something,” said Cooper Jr, who considers himself to be a late bloomer. “I started at 15, as opposed to others who started at five.

“So it’s always good to know that you can go and succeed.”

Sands, heading to Central State University in Ohio, is a 17-year-old graduating student of Kingsway Academy. While she’s only been playing golf for the past two years, she was surprised when she heard she got the scholarship.

“I was so shocked because that day, I didn’t felt that I played my best, but the coach pulled me aside and told me and my mom that the coach wanted to offer me the scholarship,” she recalled.

“I’m really excited because I’m going to get to experience golf in a new setting, other than The Bahamas or the Caribbean. I’m excited to meet different people and play with my new teammates at college.”

Sands, who intends to major in biology and science, said she’s going with an open mind to learn as much as she can, although her coaches Fred Taylor, Keathen Stuart and Georgette Rolle-Harris provided a solid base for her to improve on.

In thanking her family and friends for supporting her, Sands encouraged those she will be leaving behind to “believe in yourself because no one is going to do it for you. You have to have a gola and you have to be determined to get it done.”

Seannae Norville-Smith, a 16-year-old student of The Heuristic Academy homeschool, will be heading to Lincoln University in Missouri on both an academic and athletic scholarship.

Having played the sport for the past three and a half years, Norville-Smith said she’s delighted to be heading off to college.

“I feel very excited. I always thought that something like this would happen for me, but because I’m so young, I’m just really proud of myself for pushing myself to where I am today.”

Once she goes off, Norville-Smith said her goal is to be able to “maintain my scholarship, play some extremely good golf for school” and when she’s done, her aim is to make her presence felt as a “pro”.

As she pursues her degree in nursing, Norville-Smith is encouraging the youngsters she’s leaving behind to focus their attention on their “education because athletics will only take you so far. But if you have academics, the world will open so many more doors for you. So just study hard, have fun and live your life so you won’t have any regrets.”

She thanked her parents and her siblings for pushing her to be the “best golfer” that she could possibly be. “I love them so much,” she stated.

Pratt, a 15-year-old 11th grader at Queen’s College, said after playing golf for the past ten years, she’s eager to see what the future holds for her at the next level.

She will be heading to the Congaree Global Golf Initative in South Carolina from June 9-15 to learn more about the academic side of golf and what’s the requirement to obtain a scholarship.

“I don’t have any school in mind just yet,” Pratt said. “But through clinics, I have a few that I might be interested in competing for.”

As for the three golfers heading off, Pratt said she’s proud of each of them.

“I’ve seen them from when they got started and how they have grown,” she said. “So I am really proud of them.”

Whenever her time comes, Pratt said she has some lofty goals, which include “being the best on my team, representing that college well and representing The Bahamas well and after college, playing on the LPGA Tour and winning”.