In 1990, Stephanie Cooper left her small Indiana hometown and headed to Columbia to start her women’s golf career at Mizzou. In 1994, she decided she didn’t want to leave.
Missouri women’s golf head coach Stephanie Priesmeyer, formerly known as “Coach Cooper,” is celebrating her 16th year as a coach for the same school she once played for. According to Priesmeyer, it was her experience at Mizzou that kept her in Columbia.
As a senior in high school, Priesmeyer won the PGA Junior State Qualifier for the state of Indiana and advanced to the national tournament in Florida. Upon arrival, she was paired with Amy Smethers, a golfer from Missouri, as her roommate for the tournament. The two instantly bonded and kept in contact during their senior year.
Smethers invited Priesmeyer to visit Missouri in the fall of 1989. They sat front row at a Mizzou basketball game and decided then that they would continue their golf careers in Columbia.
“If I had never met Amy I can’t say I would be where I am today,” Priesmeyer said. “She was my freshman year roommate and we’re still really great friends. Once we got to Columbia, I never really left.”
After graduating from Mizzou with a health and physical education degree, Priesmeyer took a job at Hickman High School as a golf coach and PE teacher. She taught and coached at Hickman for six years until her former golf coach at Mizzou, Tom Loyd, retired in 2001.
“I knew one of the athletic directors; I had his daughter on the basketball team at Hickman,” Priesmeyer said. “He contacted me that some of the players on the golf team had talked to him about me. After the whole interview process, I got the job and since then I’ve been here.”
Her climb to becoming a Division I college golf coach was short, unlike the typical experiences of coaches at other universities.
“A high school coach moving up to a [Division I], at the time Big 12, college program is something that would probably not happen,” Priesmeyer said. “I was very fortunate and had that unique connection to Mizzou which was important for the people hiring me at the time. I just had a lot of excitement for the team and the job.”
Her excitement derived from a lifetime of great relationships with coaches and mentors in sports.
“What inspired me to be a coach has been all the coaches in my life,” Priesmeyer said. “Growing up in a small town in Indiana, everything is kind of centered around sports. My coaches and family were great influences on me at a young age. My dad was a coach and a teacher, and my grandfather was a coach and a teacher. Those positive experiences are really what motivated me and taught me pretty early on that I wanted to be a coach.”
Priesmeyer said she has experienced a lot of change as a coach at Mizzou. She’s managed to stay involved and committed to the team through changes as big as Mizzou’s 2012 move to the Southeastern Conference.
“Every year is totally different,” Priesmeyer said. “Even with one player change, there are always events to learn from. The dynamic is always evolving; we never do anything the same way. We always want the best for our players and for them to get the most out of their time here as players.”
Alongside Priesmeyer is assistant coach Mindy Coyle, a fellow Mizzou graduate. Coyle played on Priesmeyer’s first freshman class team. Coyle, a Missouri native, graduated and was hired onto the coaching staff in 2006.
Both Priesmeyer and Coyle care about more than just winning for the team. They have a greater sense of community and desire to give back to Mizzou.
“It’s very rare to have two coaches, both being female and graduating from the University of Missouri, that have such a unique passion for the team and the community,” Priesmeyer said. “We do it because we want to be here. We do it because we love it and want to build something great because Mizzou has given us so much.”
_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_
