Teaching the Game
Somerset grad Leach growing sport of golf through academy
Adam Ripple, Daily American
Derek Leach has been around the game of golf in various capacities since he began playing at the age of 9.
Now, Leach, a 2004 Somerset Area High School graduate and current Bishop McCort Cathlic golf coach, along with Forest Hills golf coach Chad Cordek, are growing the game through the Laurel Highlands Golf Academy. They have two locations at Windber Country Club and a D&J Golf Haven on Somerset Pike to provide a unique opportunity to golfers.
“We both coach high school golf teams and we were both frustrated that our teams wouldn’t start playing until late July or August,” Leach, who played Division II golf at UPJ, said. “We really wanted to have some kind of training program that would exhibit the entire summer where they could train nad have a golf club in their hands on a weekly basis.”
Leach was recently elected into the PGA of America as a Class A PGA Professional. The program typically takes 3 to 4 years to complete. Seminars take place in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Bookwork and testing is completed virtually. Leach also had to complete a playing test as well. He and Cordek make for an ideal pairing to teach every facet of the game of golf.
“We’ve known each other for seven years now and I think the biggest thing is ... we both had the same vision,” Cordek said. “We want our students and golfers to do well and move to the next level. It was disappointing for us to not see our golfers out here all summer golfing with us. We hope our program this year gets someone to states, and that we are doing the right thing out here and these kids are succeeding.”
Leach was served as the head professional at Windber Country Club for two years. Because of the pandemic, the Country Club decided to only go with a general manager and eliminate the head pro position. Leach trained golfers part-time in 2020 at Windber Country Club, before embarking on the new adventure.
“It felt like a good market,” Leach said. “Part time, I gave close to 100 lessons, and that was basically from May to October. It felt like it could be a very positive move giving private lessons.”
Now, Leach and Cordek will have nearly 100 golfers participating in their high school and junior golf programs beginning in June. They are currently hosting an introduction to golf program with Divine Mercy Academy children ahead of the more in-depth programs.
“The curriculums are both very different for the junior and high school programs,” Leach said. “Juniors ... it is a lot more fun. We try to play games and make it a fun environment. The high school program, it is a little bit more technical. They are two-hour sessions weekly for nine weeks. We have a full-swing session and a short-game session.”
The duo did fundraising to bring in a short game area to Windber Country Club, which will be ideal for juniors and high school golfers. No matter the age, Leach and Cordek have established an academy that will benefit those looking to better themselves.
“We are basically trying to give everybody a toolbox on how to hit certain shots, how to execute certain shots on the golf course, and know why you’re doing that,” Leach said. “That way you’re not just walking up to a tee box saying, ‘I’m just going to hit it over here,’ but instead having a game plan.”
Creating, growing and expanding this academy has already given Cordek and Leach great rewards.
“The kids having fun and them wanting to succeed,” Cordek said of what is most rewarding for him. “At the beginning of the year when we started this program, we didn’t think we’d have the numbers that we do now. The motivation for these kids to want to get better motivates Derek and I to want to teach them and motivate them even more to take them to the next level.”
Leach and Cordek are already looking into renting or buying an indoor facility to help train golfers throughout the year. The Laurel Highlands Golf Academy is special because it is one of a kind in the area. Adding an indoor facility would only increase its lure.
“There’s nothing like this around here,” Leach said. “Every other sport, the way the transition is going, it is more of a concentration where you can play a sport like baseball 12 months out of the year and train for it. We thought ... why not golf? We saw with our numbers that 90-plus kids are interested in it. Golf should almost lead the forefront in that training because there’s a lot that goes into the sport to get better.”