There are a lot of thank yous that need to go out when a team wins a state championship. To all the parents, teachers, principals and supporters of the Cathedral Green Wave golf team, thank you.

Thank you to Tom Bryant, Beau Pré golf pro, for all the advice and free lessons he gave to us. Tom also deserves credit for putting on a tremendous state golf tournament. Thank you to Dee Barron, Beau Pré course superintendent, for having the golf course in wonderful condition.

There are very few times in a person’s adult life that they will meet anyone who won a state title in any sport, much less be a part of one. I was a part of a football championship at South Natchez and people still talk about it. What made this one so special as a coach is the wonderful kids we had on our team. These kids practiced very hard for the last month to achieve their goal and it paid off.

However, there is one young man that I need to recognize. He did not have the lowest scores of the tournament but he came up huge on Friday. His name is Kayd Rush. Kayd is a special young man and it really has nothing to do with golf.

This young man found out not too long ago (by my wife, whom I also owe a lot of thanks) that he had a potentially fatal heart murmur. He had to have a defibrillator inserted into his chest to keep him from dying. He was told he could never again play contact sports, not even baseball.

The doctor told him to learn to play golf. Thank God! Not long after that, Kayd lost his father in a construction accident. So you can see he has had a rough few years. You would never know any of this from being around him. I have never heard him once complain about his situation. In fact, just the opposite. He is always smiling, joking around, confident and always positive. The Cathedral golf team has learned a lot from Kayd. At 43 years old, I have learned a tremendous lesson about how to live from a freshman in high school. I hope now that you have heard his story you can to.

Oh and by the way, if you have trouble believing in God because you haven’t seen him, you should have been at Beau Pré Country Club May 14. He was on the shoulders of Kayd Rush.

Kurt Russ

Cathedral golf coach