Monroe Yoder @yoder_monroe

Tryout Week Tryout week is one of the most nerve-wracking weeks of the whole year, and most of what makes it hard isn’t the golf. Boys team or girls team, it’s the same week. Your kid walks into a group where they know maybe three kids out of twenty. They don’t know who’s good. They don’t know where they fit. They’re doing the math on the range, watching the kid two spots down flush 7 irons, wondering what it means for them. Some of them are worried about letting you down and would never say it out loud. One goes quiet. One talks too much. One is up at midnight because their brain won’t shut off. Your intentions aren’t the problem In 25 years of coaching I’ve never met a parent who didn’t want their kid to succeed. Not one. You see your kid stressed and you want to help. Staying quiet feels like doing nothing. So you say something. “Just stick to your routine.” “Don’t three-putt out there.” “Shoot high 70s and you’ll be fine.” Every one comes from love. Every one lands as pressure. That last one sounds like reassurance. It isn’t. You just handed them a number, and now every hole gets measured against it. “Don’t three-putt” puts the exact picture in their head you didn’t want there. That’s where the nerves come from. That’s where the lost sleep comes from. And if it keeps up, that’s where you start losing the relationship, because a kid who feels judged by their parent stops talking to them about golf at all. Same intentions. Opposite result. Don’t be the tugboat A tugboat pushes. It shoves up against the ship and never stops, because the second it backs off the ship stops moving. Exhausting for both of them. A lighthouse never touches anything. It sits up on the hill, in the dark, in bad weather, and shines. It doesn’t chase. It doesn’t panic. It doesn’t go dim when the water gets rough. Your kid doesn’t need pushing this week. They’re already pushing harder than you know. They need to look up and see the light is on. So give them the six words that outlast every tryout, every season, and every scorecard they’ll ever sign: “I love to watch you play.” Then get out of the way. Ten years from now nobody’s going to remember what they shot this week. They’ll remember exactly how it felt getting in the car afterward. Five things to do this week 1. Don’t give them any instruction on how to play. None. No strategy, no reminders, no numbers, no “don’t do this.” Not on the drive over, not on the range, not on the putting green. That job belongs to their coach and to them. 2. Tell them you love them no matter what happens. Out loud, before they walk away from you. Not “good luck.” Not “play well.” Just that nothing about today changes anything between you two. 3. Tell them adversity is coming and you already know they’ll handle it. Something is going to go wrong out there. It goes wrong for everybody. Say it ahead of time so it isn’t a surprise, and tell them you have no doubt about how they’ll respond. 4. Tell them they’ll learn and grow from every round. Good one or bad one. Made it or didn’t. There’s no wasted round if they’re the kind of kid who takes something out of it, and they are. 5. Protect the car ride home. Say the six words, ask if they’re hungry, and then don’t initiate anything about the golf. Not that day, and give it 48 hours if you can. If they open the door, ask, don’t tell. No critique. Just be the lighthouse on the hill, always shining, always positive, always there. Your instincts all week are going to tell you to instruct and to help. Do. Not. Do. That. Be the lighthouse, not a tugboat.

I know countless millions of people love soccer, and it can be a thrilling game, as we witnessed repeatedly during the World Cup, but it suffers from a fundamental structural flaw. Because offense is in such short supply at this level, scoring is highly dependent on penalties. This means that scoring often comes outside the normal flow of play, and incentives flopping and pretend injuries that are unworthy of grown men—you think someone rolling around the turf in agonizing pain is going to have to be transported immediately to the hospital, then you look up and he’s played another 45 minutes, no problem. Then, there’s the courting of artificial penalties—a player steps in front of another, gets bumped, and proceeds to pretend he got shot. Whatever the other merits of soccer, this stuff is a blight on the game and brings an element of low comedy to even the highest-stakes competition.

Seriously? @GolfChannel ? Why should a player "graciously" accept a penalty that they honestly feel that they didn't deserve? If someone shows me a DEFINITIVE camera angle that showed his swing path was improved then there should be a penalty. But for a commentator to state that he definitely did improve his situation is , in my opinion, more about their personal opinion of Bryson than the facts. There is no down the line video that I have seen.

I'm so fucking sick of the GOP. "We can't do anything." Shut the fuck up. SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. You have the House. The Senate. The White House. A Supreme Court majority. The most unified government you've had in years, and you're telling me you CAN'T DO ANYTHING????? You have RECONCILIATION. You know, the filibuster-proof tool Democrats used to ram through trillions in spending with FIFTY votes? It's sitting right there. Do you morons understand what happens if Democrats take the midterms? It's over. Not "tough." Not "a setback." FUCKING OVER. Every DOGE cut? Gone. Did you forget you still need to CODIFY THOSE into law?! Executive orders? Erased. Regulation cuts? Reversed. Border policy? Deleted. Years of work, torched in one election cycle, because you kept saying "we'll get to it" like we gave a DAMN that you "tried". Guess what happens when Democrats win, dumbasses? They start passing bills. They actually DO everything you won't do, for God knows what reason. You're telling me if they win, they won't NUKE the filibuster ON DAY ONE?! They've SAID it out loud, repeatedly, on camera!!!!! Transgender plays in Uganda? Back. Elmo in Afghanistan? Back. NPR/PBS funding? Probably DOUBLED out of spite. ICE? Defunded. DC and Puerto Rico statehood? Yep. Court packing? THEY SAID SO THIS WEEK!!!!! Every single "crazy" thing you swore would never happen becomes a floor vote the second they hold the gavel. Because THEY actually use power when they have it. That's the difference between you and them, and it's fucking humiliating. Meanwhile YOU can't even pass the SAVE Act. Requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections is an 80/20 issue. The easiest layup in American politics... and GOD FORBID YOU CHANGE SOME ARCHAIC SENATE RULES TO GET IT DONE because you'd rather have the ISSUE than the LAW. You won't defund the fucking TALIBAN. We're still watching taxpayer money leak into Afghanistan and your response is a strongly worded letter and a subcommittee hearing nobody watches. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE????? Don't tell me there's no time. The House is scheduled for barely over 100 legislative days this year. You work a THIRD of the year. Teachers work more days than you. AND SOMEHOW you STILL ARE FINDING ROOM FOR EVEN MORE VACATIONS!!!!!!! GOD FORBID you actually put in some effort. But no. Instead you give us tweets. Fox News hits. Cringe-ass TikToks. Podcast appearances. NOBODY GIVES A SINGLE FUCK ABOUT YOUR CONTENT. Not one of us. Zero. You're not influencers. You're lawmakers. So make some fucking laws. That's the job It's all we've EVER asked you to do. Trump won't be on the ballot next time to drag YOUR SORRY ASSES ACROSS THAT FINISH LINE. You really think you can come home, look us in the eye, and recycle the same excuses? After THIS? No. Not this time. The stakes are way too high and our patience is gone. Completely gone. Stop telling us what you'd do "if only you had the power." YOU HAVE THE POWER. RIGHT NOW. TODAY. If you're too cowardly to use it, then stop fucking asking us for more of it. ...and don't act all shocked when the people you keep taking for granted stop showing up to save you from yourselves.

My goodness. One of the best things I’ve ever heard. Bravo.

What College Golf Is Actually Like Most junior golfers dream about college golf. Almost none of them know what it actually looks like. After coaching at Duke and Ohio State, and sending 165+ players into programs across every division, here’s what college golf is really like: 1. It’s a job. Early morning workouts. Film sessions. Travel weekends. Team meetings. The romance fades fast if you’re not truly committed. You are an athlete first, a student second, and a normal college kid third. In that order, most days. The players who thrive treat it like a profession from day one. 2. The jump is real. The gap between the best junior golfer in your state and the average D1 player is significant. Prepare accordingly. The speed of the game increases. The courses are harder. The fields are deeper. Most freshmen are humbled before they’re ready to contribute. That’s normal. Plan for it. 3. You will sit the bench. Most freshmen don’t play right away. How you handle not being in the lineup defines your trajectory more than your talent does. Coaches watch practice players just as closely as tournament players. Nothing is invisible. The ones who stay ready when they’re not playing are the ones who earn the spot eventually. 4. The coach relationship is everything. You will spend more time with your college coach than almost anyone in your life for four years. Choose that person carefully. A great coach at a smaller program will develop you faster than a disconnected coach at a prestigious one. Ask hard questions on your visit. How do you communicate with players? How do you handle conflict? What happens when I’m struggling? 5. Teammates matter. You travel with these people. You compete with them for spots. The culture they create will shape who you become. Talk to the players on a visit without the coaches present. They’ll tell you the truth. The best programs feel like families. You’ll know it when you walk in. 6. Academics are harder than you think. Golf travel means missing class, managing makeups, and studying on the road. This is not optional. Programs that don’t support your academic success aren’t programs worth attending. Ask about graduation rates and academic support before you ask about the practice facility. 7. It’s a short window. Four years goes fast. The players who are present for the journey enjoy it. The ones always looking ahead miss it. Freshman year feels long. Senior year feels like a weekend. The players I’ve coached who were the happiest competed hard and stayed present. Both. At the same time. 8. Not everyone turns pro. The goal of college golf is not the Tour. It’s becoming the best version of yourself as a player and a person. Keep perspective. Less than 1% of college golfers play professionally. Plan your four years around the 99%. The discipline, teamwork, and work ethic you build will pay dividends for the next 40 years of your career. That’s the real return on investment. 9. The right division matters more than the prestige. Playing every weekend at a D2 program beats riding the bench at a D1 program for four years. Fit is the most underrated word in recruiting. Academic fit. Cultural fit. Geographic fit. Golf fit. I’ve watched players thrive at NAIA programs and wither at Power Five programs. The division does not predict the experience. 10. You have to want it. Coaches can feel the difference between a player who chose their program and a player who settled for it. Be somewhere you chose. Motivation borrowed from your parents doesn’t survive the first hard stretch of college golf. The players who last are the ones who chose the game, chose the school, and chose the grind. All three. On their own. The dream is worth chasing. Just make sure you understand what you’re chasing.

James Van Der Beek’s final message to the world is one of the most powerful things I have ever heard. Stop whatever you are doing and listen to this! 🥺

“There’s very few who have done what you’ve done.” 🤩 We had some important people in Braden Smith’s life congratulate him on breaking the @bigten career assists record.

There’s a new @bigten career assists leader 👏 Braden Smith just broke @MSU_Basketball legend Cassius Winston’s record.

Have you noticed... Fraud gets exposed over and over, whistleblowers scream from the rooftops, audits pile up... and crickets. Nobody in power EVER goes to jail. Not one.

I think paying taxes should be paused until the government can prove to the American people there is no more fraud.

The problem is not just Somalians. It is not just systemic fraud. It is an American power structure filled with grifting politicians and bureaucrats who endlessly profit from all of the above and more. Until they are held accountable, the grift will continue without end or shame.

Chevrolet with an all time Christmas ad. The cultural pendulum has swung in a monster way:

Curt Cignetti shares a universal truth about habits and consequences. "In life - you got freedom of choice, but not freedom of consequence." "First you form your habits, then your habits form you." Every choice and action you take compounds. The small decisions you make daily - preparation, work ethic, and how you respond - those become your habits. And over time, those habits become your identity. You're free to choose. But the consequences of those choices aren't optional. Your habits are shaping who you become. (🎥IU Athletics )

YouTubeTV & ESPN better be careful……I’m already getting used to not having it. And I might like it. I don’t think I’m the only one

ESPN Fatigue is real. It's why YouTubeTV won't fold. YouTube has all the leverage. YouTube's brand is strong. People like and make money with YouTube. People tolerate ESPN with gritted teeth. ESPN Fatigue.

YouTube is winning the ESPN carriage fight because consumers like YouTube way more than they do ESPN. outkick.com/analysis/googl…

NEW: Nearly one week into the Disney/YouTube TV carriage dispute, sports fans are fed up, none more so than Pat McAfee⬇️ “Let’s put our swords down for the good of sports… And stop asking me to go to a website. I don’t want to do that. …All you’re doing is pissing everybody off even more.” on3.com/news/youtube-t…

Pat McAfee broke rank with his own network to speak for sports fans caught in the middle of the YouTube TV-ESPN/Disney carriage dispute 🗣️

Kylee Heidemann continues to impress by earning the low score for round 3 of the Western Michigan Bronco Fall Classic‼️ Heidemann earned medalist honors (second consecutive event)👏✈️ #UDWGOLF // #GoFlyers