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04/27/2022 12:00 AM

Harger Starts First Season as Valley’s Golf Coach


Longtime golf coach Scott Harger is the new head coach of the golf program at Valley Regional High School. Photo courtesy of Scott Harger

When Scott Harger took the reins as head coach of the Valley Regional golf team, he had a specific vision in mind. Harger wanted to give Valley’s athletes a sense of stability following a series of coaching changes over the past several years, and he also wanted to see his golfers simply improve their games.

Scott begins his tenure as Valley’s head coach for the 2022 spring season. Scott has a lot of history on the links and looks forward to leading the Warriors.

“I’ve been coaching high school golf now for 21 years, and it doesn’t get old for me,” says Scott. “I worked at Stonington Country Club for the last 14 years, and I just opened up a golf simulator center, so golf is my passion.”

Scott had previously coached golf at St. Bernard High School for the past 17 years, including an 11-year stint as the program’s head coach. He’s also been a member of the CIAC Golf Committee for the last five years.

“I definitely enjoyed my time at St. Bernard’s, and I had more than 25 golfers when I coached there,” Scott says. “Having that many golfers is tough, because you want to get some of the inexperienced players enough time on the course where they are competing in matches, but at the same time, you want to be able to put your best five golfers out there on a daily basis.”

Scott, a Rockville native who currently lives in Ivoryton, has become fonder of golf as he’s grown older. The 57 year-old has been an avid golfer since the age of 14 and loves giving back to the game that he grew to appreciate as a child.

“Teaching is what I love to do. I like being able to see my athletes improve over the years,” says Scott. “The best part about golf is I can still play with these kids once they move on from high school. Golf is a sport that is ageless. You can play for as long as you want, and it’s all about having fun and enjoying the outdoors.”

Scott feels that golf is unique in the sense that golfers aren’t necessarily competing against each other, but more against the course itself.

“I’m always rooting for everyone to do well. It’s more so that we are all battling the course, and that’s the task at hand,” Scott says. “When you have a bad day, it’s not that a player got you out or tackled you—it’s that the course was difficult.”

The Valley Regional golf team features 25 athletes this season, including nine females. Scott is hoping that the Warriors can field both a boys’ golf team and a girls’ golf team at Valley in the coming years.

“I’m on the CIAC golf committee, and I’m pushing to move the boys’ golf team to the fall season,” Scott says. “That way, the girls can have their own time in the spring, and I can coach both teams.”

Scott says that sophomore Tyler Ruel has been playing some solid golf early on for Valley this year. Valley’s new coach also notes that junior Kevin King is someone who the Warriors will be relying on going forward.

Looking ahead to the rest of this season, Scott wants to see Valley make a push to qualify for states. Overall, Scott feels optimistic about what the future holds for the Warriors on the golf course.

“We have a chance to qualify for the state tournament this year. We just need to be a little more consistent,” says Scott. “I’m confident that we can get there.”