UFV alumnus Cody Stewart takes the lead during complicated 2020 season
The golf program at UFV has consistently played at a high level throughout the past decade of competition, largely under coaches such as Chris Bertram. It was announced this August that Bertram would transition to an advisory role with the Cascades, signalling the need for new coaches. One of those coaches is Cody Stewart, who now leads the Cascades women’s golf team through the complicated 2020 season.
Stewart is grateful for the chance to lead the team.
“I feel very fortunate. Getting the call was certainly exciting. I have a lot of pride in being a Cascades golf alumni, so being able to continue with the program is special. Chris Bertram and Jennifer Greggain have done an incredible job in building the program to the place it is today, and being selected to continue the process is a privilege,” Stewart said.
Stewart comes to coaching as a decorated player, and though he played at UFV for four seasons, he is also a professional golfer out of the Chilliwack Golf Club and Cheam Mountain Golf Course.
Stewart has experience coaching golfers in strength and conditioning. He said that he received support and encouragement from his peers while making the decision to join the Cascades team as a head coach.
“Jennifer and other peers have been pushing me to transition into coaching for a couple of years now,” Stewart said. “Making the move into coaching has been filled with nothing but positives.”
The Cascades have quite the squad this year, as they added three promising recruits from B.C. and abroad. Avery Biggar, Lucy Park, and Alex Brunner will all bring their own different strengths to the team; while Park and Brunner have won events as juniors, Biggar brings a proven work ethic and some team experience. She was able to join the Cascades mid-season during their last campaign as a redshirt.
Stewart sees a lot of potential for the Cascades this year.
“The team has been great so far. We have one returning athlete in Emery Bardock, who has been a fantastic leader for our three incoming first-years. We have a young team that has bought into everything we have worked on so far,” Stewart said.
The season has been in jeopardy due to the spread of COVID-19, but programs have started to have some hope for 2020. The B.C. Rivalry Series has emerged, organized by and for B.C. programs to salvage the season with events being scheduled to take place prior to 2021.
“This season is going to be different than most. Unfortunately our Canada West championship was cancelled due to the pandemic, but the programs here in B.C. have done a great job in providing opportunity for the athletes to compete in the B.C. Rivalry Series. We have multiple events coming up throughout October, including this first event we are midway through at the Okanagan Golf Club,” Stewart said.
The Cascades will host an event at the Sandpiper Golf Course on Oct. 14.
It’s important to note that these dates are subject to change should the situation regarding COVID-19 escalate. However, this series signals real effort from schools and programs to keep players active while they wait for Canada West’s decision on second-term sports. That decision is set to be made Nov. 2 or sooner, and will determine if second-term sports will see a competitive season under the Canada West conference this year.
