Maine Amateur Champion Alexa Rancourt – Balancing the Books against Time on the Golf Course

Alexa Re Rancourt may be just 18-years-old but her resume is ripe with accomplishments. One of the more amazing came this summer when she took home her second straight Maine Amateur Golf Championship in astonishing fashion.

The now freshman at Furman University posted a three round, one under par total of 215 at a challenging Augusta Country Club layout. What made the accomplishment so astonishing was that Rancourt’s closest challenger was Debby Gardner of the Waterville CC. Gardner posted a three day total of 238, a full 23 strokes behind Rancourt’s pace.

But the 2009 Valedictorian of The Pendleton School in Bradenton, FL is now well-known for setting such pace. She not only won the 2007 Maine Junior Championship by posting the best score in the qualifying round, she went on to close out the title by winning her match play rounds 10 & 8, 8 & 7 and 6 & 5.

And despite the fact she just completed high school, she has also posted a 4th and a 5th place finish at the 2008 and 2009 New England Women’s Amateur Championships.

In addition to her 4.4 GPA, Rancourt somehow has found the time to perform in local Maine theaters and to work on her many dance moves (12 years of street funk, hip hop, jazz, or ballet). Perhaps even more importantly, the gifted young athlete is also in the habit of giving back to the community through her numerous volunteers efforts.

Whether it be fundraising with “Art from the Heart,” mentoring in the Buddy Lunch program at a local elementary school, or working with Habitat for Humanity, Rancourt’s volunteer time clearly demonstrates that not all of today’s youngsters are focused solely on themselves.

Just prior to the start of her freshman year at Furman, we spent some time talking with Alexa regarding the challenges of balancing academics and time for the game of golf, her decision to attend Furman on a combined academic and athletic scholarship, and what the game of golf has taught her about being a better person and student.

Can you talk a little bit about when and how you became interested in the game of golf?

My grandfather and my dad got me started with my first set of golf clubs when I was about 5. I didn’t take an immediate liking to it though. Actually, besides driving the cart and trying to hit the ball as far off the tee as I could, I didn’t find much interest in the game at all. Then, when I was in 8th grade, my dad and I took a winter road trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and played 8 rounds of golf in a week. I’m not exactly sure what is was about that trip, but on our way back home I remember telling my dad that I was hooked, and that golf was something that I wanted to pursue.

You are still considered a resident of Maine yet you attend the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Can you explain to our readers how you came to attend school in Florida? How important has this prestigious school been in your development as a player?

Because of my interest in golf and the lack of a season in Maine, my parents and I began looking at schools down south when I was entering my freshman year in high school. I ended up staying at Waynflete in Maine for my freshman year, but I knew that I wanted to go somewhere warm after that, somewhere where I could take golf more seriously. At first we looked at public schools in South Carolina and Florida but then my dad came across a few different golf academies (DLGA and one in Hilton Head, SC). I visited IMG Academy (which is the name of the entire sports academy that DLGA is a part of) and absolutely fell in love with it. The school itself has played an integral part in my growth as a golfer; the coaching, the facilities and the scheduling have all helped me to develop my game. However, just being in Florida and playing in tournaments against some of the best juniors in the country has helped me improve immensely.

I see where you graduated first in your class at Pendleton. Can you talk a little about the school, its size, your academic program there, etc.?

Pendleton is a fairly small school. I don’t know the exact size, but there were 114 students in my graduating class, which gives you an idea. It’s a fairly new private school (I think it was founded about 10 years ago) and it was started specifically for student-athletes at IMG Academies. Because of this, it’s right on the campus of the sports academy and anyone who attends the school is also part of the sports program (basketball, soccer, tennis, golf or baseball). The classes are split up into morning and afternoon blocks, depending on when your practices are. For example, I played golf in the morning so after lunch I would attend my classes. My first one was at 12:45 and on days that I had two classes I got out at 3:30. On alternating days, when I had three classes, I got out of class at 5:00. The program was really well organized in the fact that the teachers were very understanding of travel for tournaments and a lot of classes actually did online work so that you could take your work with you easily if you had to leave for long periods of time on tournament.

strong>I understand you will be attending Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina this fall on a combined academic and athletic scholarship. How does a combined scholarship differ from a traditional athletic scholarship? Are there specific academic requirements that must be met?

My scholarship is about 75% athletic and 25% academic. The distribution of the athletic money is decided completely by the golf coach. Each sports team has a certain number of scholarships that they can give out and they can break them up or distribute them any way that the coach sees fit. For example, my golf team has six scholarships, but the coach could break it up any way she wants. This also means that depending on your performance from year to year, the coach can reassess the scholarships and then add or remove money for each player. As far as my academic scholarship goes, it’s based on my grades and test scores and transcripts from high school. In order to keep the academic scholarship from year to year I just have to keep above a 3.0 GPA. Initially, I thought that I wanted a full athletic scholarship but looking back I am actually glad that it was split between golf and academics because it means I am being recognized by the school in both areas of achievement, golf and academics.

How did you come to select Furman as your school? What will be your major and what are your future goals related to that major?

Furman was one of the last schools that I talked to for golf. I contacted Jen (my golf coach at Furman) at the beginning of my senior year, which is pretty late when it comes to recruiting. I talked to her a little bit through email and knew that I liked what I saw when it came to the golf program. She invited me on what’s called an “official visit,” which is where the school pays for the entire trip (flights, food, housing, etc.) and I went and spent 48 hours with the team at the school. When Jen first drove me onto the campus, about an hour after my flight arrived, I knew then and there that Furman was going to be a perfect fit for me. I got that feeling that everyone talks about where you “just know”. The rest of the trip just got better from there, and when Jen brought me back to the airport two days later and made the scholarship offer I knew that I was going to say yes. This was in the first week of November, 2008. The early signing period for athletes was the following week so I signed my letter of intent then and applied early decision. It was nice because while all of my friends were filling out pages and pages of multiple college applications, I only had to fill out one!

Right now, I am undecided on a major. I love English, so my initial thought would be something that allows me to pursue writing and literature (i.e. Journalism or an English major) but I’m really not committed to anything yet. As far as future plans, I want to play on the LPGA Tour after college. Since much of my attention is focused on achieving this goal, I haven’t thought much about plans related to whatever my major is. Once I select a major, I’m sure I will have a better idea of future plans related to that path should golf not work out.

Can you explain to our readers your golf training regimen, both the fitness segment and how you go about practicing the game?

I work out three to four times a week. When I was at IMG, we had a workout routine based mostly around core and strength training with a lot of weights. However, the weights can often make you more tight and less flexible and therefore restrict the golf swing. Our college workout is much more to my liking because we work three times a week (as a team) with a pilates instructor who teaches golf-specific workouts. In just two weeks of this workout, I have already become more aware of my body and how it should be functioning in my swing.

As far as practice goes, I spend at least four hours every day working on my game. My coach gives us drills each day which help us to have a focus in our practice so that we aren’t just hitting as many balls as possible or aimlessly making putts. Instead we have goals, such as “make 10 three footers from four different sides of the hole” or “hit 20 balls, alternating between driver and 8 iron, going through your full routine and picking a different shot to hit each time”. The majority of the practice time (when we are on the range) is spent on short game; I would say, about 75% of the time. We normally play three times a week. Whether it’s 9 holes or 18, it’s a chance for us to implement our practice on the golf course.

Can you give our readers some hints as to how you balance your commitment to the game with your school responsibilities?

Sometimes the balance can be hard but I feel like I enjoy my school work and learning just as much as I enjoy being on the golf course. Because of this, it’s not so much an issue of balancing my commitment as it is just staying on top of my time management. IMG really helped me in this aspect because the schedule is very similar to that of a college athlete. I had to learn early on (in my sophomore year of high school) how to schedule things so that I had time for practice, studying and socializing. I think the key to this is prioritizing. For example, golf practice and my classes are the main priorities and then I schedule studying time around that. The remaining time is left for any number of things; socializing, relaxing, more practice, etc. Time management is key to being a successful student athlete, whether it’s at the high school or college level.

You have a number of other interests beyond golf – the theater and dance among others! Can you talk a little about your background in these areas? Will you continue to do both of these activities while at Furman?

I have always loved the performing arts (theater, dance and singing). My dad is a musician, he plays casually now but it used to be how he made his living. I’ve grown up around music and singing my entire life, so singing, whether it be in front of people or just around the house, has always been a part of me. I stopped dancing when I went to Florida three years ago, but it is definitely something that I would love to get back into. In fact, I think that it would be extremely beneficial for my golf game because it keeps you flexible and limber. Theater has been an interest of mine for a while, as well. The last production that I was in was about two years ago but I would love to try to get into some plays here at Furman, even if they are just small shows. It’s difficult in the fall and the spring because our schedule with golf is so time consuming, but I am hoping that I have a little bit of time in the winter to pursue some of these activities a little more seriously.

What serves as your best emotional outlet? The game of golf? One of the aforementioned activities? Other?

Golf is definitely a great emotional outlet for me. I feel so at home on the golf course that I tend to forget about whatever is happening off the course. One of my favorite emotional outlets besides golf though is definitely writing. Whether it’s just scribbling down my thoughts or taking those thoughts and forming them into poetry, I feel like writing allows me to release my emotions, happy or sad, and put them into a useful and creative form.

You have been involved in a number of community service activities as well. Can you talk a little bit about those activities and why you do them? Are there similar types of activities you hope to be involved with at Furman?

Community service is very important to me. I have been given so much in my 18 years, from my parents, grandparents, school and even people that I don’t know. I feel extremely fortunate to have been given all the opportunities that I have had and I feel that through community service, I can give some of that back. I’ve helped out with Habitat for Humanity before and I think that’s one of my favorite service activities because it’s extremely hands on and you have a clear visual of the work that you are doing to help somebody else. I also really enjoy working with kids. I’ve helped out with the First Tee and a few other junior golf clinics for girls and those have been incredibly enjoyable. My team just did a clinic for young girls a week ago and it was great to see the interest that the girls had in golf at such a young age. Jen, my coach, is very big on community service and giving back so we already have some activities planned for the year. Actually, one of the reasons why I loved Furman so much when I came on my official visit was because I built a doghouse with the team for a charity that rescues neglected and abused dogs. My golf team, and Furman in general, puts a huge emphasis on giving back to the community.

Do you think golf as a game has helped you become a better person? A better student academically? If so how?

It definitely has. Golf is a game of honestly and integrity and I think that to become a successful golfer it demands that you have a certain level of maturity. The game of golf teaches you to accept responsibility for your actions, because whether you play well or you play badly, it lies completely in your own hands. To play at the competitive level that I am now at, you have to have diligence and focus and a desire to better yourself on and off the golf course. So yes, I believe that golf has helped me develop into a stronger individual which has in turn helped me on the course and in the classroom.

You have a number of accomplishments thus far in your young life. Which one has brought you the greatest satisfaction and why?

I think it’s a draw between two moments. Getting a full scholarship to college has been one of my greatest moments so far. It was extremely satisfying for me because it was a goal that I had been working towards since my freshman year of high school and it felt very good to have achieved it. Also, my parents sacrificed so much for me in order to allow me the opportunity to pursue golf and it felt great to be able to tell them that my college education would not cost them a penny. Also at the top of my list though is when I qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur this past summer. My goal is to play on the LPGA Tour and for me, qualifying for the Amateur, one of the most prestigious tournaments at the amateur level, helped to show me that I am on the right track to achieving my goals in golf. Plus, I had so much support from friends and family and even from people that I didn’t know personally. It was amazing experience to go to St. Louis and compete, knowing that I had so much support back home in Maine.