It’s 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and Sofia Seals is finally unwinding at home after clocking out of work at Summit Hills Country Club in Crestview Hills. It marks the end of another marathon for the Conner High School golfer, whose packed schedule balanced a full day of school, a five-hour closing shift at the golf pro shop, and packing.
Seals, a high-effort junior, is preparing for a trip to the KHSAA girls state golf championship in Bowling Green. She has company after making previous semistate appearances as an individual. For the first time in program history, Conner is being represented by the varsity in the state finals. The two-day girls event gets underway Friday morning. Conner has tee times beginning at 8:18 a.m.
“I’ve gone to (sectionals) with one other girl, but it’s so nice to have every girl going to state,” said Seals, who gives all when it comes to commitment and character. “The girls work really hard. Everybody practices a lot. Everybody is at the range. We’re bonding. We’ve never been this connected as an entire team, and I think that helps a lot.”
Heading to Bowling Green Country Club along with Seals are fellow juniors Bella White and Evie Maurits and eighth graders Eva Fey and Cam Broering. The Cougars advanced to the state final with a third-place finish during the sectional round at Kenton County’s Willows Course. They are part of a nine-team state championship field in addition to individual qualifiers. The Conner golfers arrive in Bowling Green on Thursday for a practice round.
“We have such a good group of girls who are really close and very tough,” White said. “We do things to help us improve our playing and our togetherness.”
As she winds down her Tuesday, Seals chats up all things Cougars golf. She talks about the growth of the program. Seals delves into all the firsts she and her teammates are accomplishing this season. She discusses the team’s secret sauce.
“One of the best things about it is we used to be a really small program. We didn’t have a lot of success. And now we’re a lot bigger and better,” said Seals, who couldn’t help but notice there were just two girls golf trophies in the school’s trophy cases.
She talks about the improbability of this season and about the person who stands at the center of the historic rise: head coach Bailey Craddock, a U.S. history teacher at Conner.
“He deserves a lot of credit,” Seals said of Craddock, the Conner boys freshman team coach for nine years and a current boys basketball coach. “He’s the reason why we play in so many more golf tournaments than we used to. That’s been a big part of our success, just getting out there and playing more in tough tournaments. He does a lot of fundraising, too, to help with all the tournament fees.”
Seals has been golfing at Conner since the seventh grade. “Beyond talented,” Craddock said of his star. “As hard a worker as I’ve ever coached. And here’s the thing, Sofia is unbelievably humble. She just wants to play golf with her friends, and win.”
Check and double-check. Despite her schedule, Seals is with her teammates a lot. She helped lead the Cougars to their highest-ever regional tournament finish and a first-ever sectional appearance. They are making their debut at the state tournament final on Friday.
White began golfing just three years ago. She is a second-year varsity member who has taken to the sport and is drilling down on her mechanics, just like Seals did when she began playing competitively as a grade-schooler. Just like Seals and the rest of her teammates, White is receiving plenty of outside coaching while soaking up as much as she can from coach Craddock and his Conner assistants.
“She’s a really neat story,” Craddock said. “She’s been playing competitively for two years, that’s it. She was a nervous wreck at first. Since then, she’s turning herself into a really good golfer.”
White’s just glad she’s over the jitters and on her way. “Last year, I was only playing in matches, just getting used to it. But now, I’m playing in a lot of tournaments,” said White, who loves the confidence placed in her. “Our coach cares about the girls and their golf game. It’s pretty cool.”
Craddock, 29, is a Conner and Northern Kentucky University graduate. He took over the Cougars’ girls program four years ago. He arrived in Bowling Green on Wednesday for the tournament. As a New Year’s Day baby born Jan. 1, 1997, and an ulcerative colitis survivor, the coach is even cooler than his golfers think.
“I don’t know about that,” Craddock said with a laugh. “I just love coaching these girls. They’re really good golfers and they’re still improving. They’re relaxed for such young players and they’re having fun doing what they love. They have big hearts for the game. They’re gamers and they play with no fear. We preach mental toughness and they have it. In the one-hole playoff against Ryle at the region, I was more nervous than they were.”
Craddock was hospitalized two years ago for his condition and doctors were able to save his colon. Now that he’s back to full strength, he’s reattacking life the only way he knows how, with renewed vigor. His favorite television program is Survivor. He likes the program’s can-do vibes, and he has applied to be on the show.
Craddock also likes to keep a good vibe going among the Conner girls. “I try to keep things light because golf is hard enough and these girls really bear down,” the coach said. “I like to joke with them. We go bowling just to do something else different together. We made homecoming posters. I told them I’d jump in a pond if anybody ever hits a hole-in-one. And you know what? That’s coming.”
The players love the coach’s attitude. The coach loves the girls’ stick-to-itiveness and ability to wave off pressure and just play. The assistant coaches, Tony Fey and Joe Broering, literally love the players because two of them are their daughters. It’s a match made in heaven, and all that warm and fuzziness is getting prickly for opponents who keep losing matches to the loosey-goosey Cougars.
“We’re going to keep that going,” Craddock said.
He knows what he’s talking about. This isn’t a one-off at Conner. It’s just the beginning. There are no seniors among the state qualifying group and two aren’t even in high school yet. There are girl golfers galore in Hebron with nearly 20 in a thriving pipeline, all reinforcing the thematic spine of the team: work ethic, humility, and identity.
By the time Seals, White and Maurits make their exits, Fey and Broering are going to be formidable and more than ready to step into their shoes. Even more talent is behind them.
“Eva is going to be one of the best players in the region before she’s done. Likewise with Cam,” said Craddock, who saw Fey shoot 85 at the Region 7 tournament. “With these girls, we’re kind of built to last.”
