Lakeland Jr/Sr Athletics

As of mid-October, Lakeland filled the vacant Varsity coach position for the boys' golf team with an inside promotion of our Jr. High golf coach, Orvan Schlabach. Schlabach comes to us with an expansive golf background, having played for 10 years and even playing competitively on the Golfweek AmateurTour for the previous 4 years. When asked about why Schlabach became interested in coaching and joining Laker Nation, he stated: “When I first started golfing, I was hooked like most golfers are, but I never knew where it would lead me. I knew I wanted to learn the game well enough to be able to teach my kids someday. I've studied the game a lot in the last 10 years, so when I was asked to coach the JR High last year, I was excited, and even more so when I was asked to coach the Varsity team.” Lakeland is especially excited about this partnership because of the enthusiasm and values that Schlabach coaches with, when asked about what he was most excited about he stated: “I'm very excited to get to know the boys more on a personal level. I'm also looking forward to teaching them good golf etiquette and good sportsmanship and how to use some of those skills in life. I haven't met the whole team yet, but I was able to coach several of the boys last year in Jr. High, so I'm excited to see the growth and to watch them continue to grow as a team and individually.” 3 fun facts about Coach Schlabach: He is 31, married, and has 2 kids - ages 6 and 2! He was raised Amish and graduated from 8th grade, but he got his GED 10 years later for “personal achievement” reasons. He has worked in the RV industry for 14 years and, on his off days, is a substitute teacher in the community. He has been a Youth Leader at New Life Fellowship for the previous 9 years! Schlabach's passion for young adults is obvious, and we are thrilled to have him take over our Varsity program. As always, Go Lakers!