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Aug. 17, 2010
Graham steps down as golf coach
ROCHESTER - After eight immensely successful seasons, John Graham has stepped down as head coach of the Monroe Community College golf team.
Graham, 39, will focus his time on his family. He and his wife Kristin have four children, ages 7, 6, 4, and a year and a half. He is also the Director of Instruction at Webster Golf Club. His students have won numerous national junior and collegiate  events.
“There was a time crunch due to family and needing to work,” said Graham, a five-time Region III Coach of the Year. “I wasn't able to spend enough time with the team as I feel should be spent.”
Graham’s legacy includes five regional championships and National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national titles in 2006, 2009, and 2010. His Tribune teams placed first in every tournament they entered the past two seasons.
“John is a great teacher of the game and he was able to get the best out of each one of his players,” said MCC athletic director Skip Bailey. “He always had a calming influence on his players and gave them the confidence to handle any pressure situation.
“John is greatly respected by MCC golfers and his peers in Region III. He is a true gentleman.”
Graham guided the Tribunes to a fourth-place finish at the 2004 nationals in just his second year with the college. The 2005 squad finished runner-up at nationals before the ’06 team rewrote the record books en route to the program’s first national championship.
That year MCC established a new national mark with a four-day team score of 1,168, winning the tournament by an incredible 26 strokes.
After a two-year hiatus from nationals, the 2009 team started a winning streak that is still alive today. MCC won 11 straight tournaments that year, as well as all 12 it entered this year on its way to back-to-back national titles.
Fourteen of his players earned All-American status from the NJCAA, and many others were named All-Region III. Two former golfers, Mike Colosi in 2006 and Chris Malec in 2009, were medalist at the national tournament.
“Saying goodbye to the players was very hard for me,” said Graham. “I felt like I was letting them down. I know in the long run it will be in the best interest to get a coach in there that has the time for the team without all the distractions I had.
“I feel like I left the team in good shape with a very good recruiting class coming in to continue the play we've had the last two years.”
Graham’s teams provided an annual boost for the Tribunes in the race for the NATYCAA Cup, which recognizes overall athletic program excellence at the national level. The Tribunes won the award in 2006 and 2007 and have placed second the past three years.
“It meant a lot being part of a department where excellence is expected,” Graham said. “I never felt the pressure to perform, but rather it encouraged me to do things in a way that would allow the team to excel.”
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