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07/13/2022 12:00 AMFor Matt Gagliardi, golf started out as a fun way to spend time with his brother on the driving range, even if they were slicing their shots. Over time, Matt began to take the sport more seriously and, through numerous hurdles, has become a key member of the Hand boys’ golf team who will lead the Tigers as a senior captain next year.
In the spring of Matt’s 8th-grade year, his brother John started taking him to the driving range. Their goal was to simply hit the ball as hard as they could. Matt’s passion for the game grew during those moments. Matt says that his brother helped plant the seeds of the golfer that he is today—someone who stays calm, cool, and collected on the course.
“My brother used to take me to the driving range. We would hit balls around and let out our energy, kind of just smack them around. Then it turned into something more serious,” says Matt. “To this day, he still just hits the ball, and where it goes, it goes. But he taught me to keep calm and take it one shot at a time when I’m playing.”
Matt played hockey and lacrosse while growing up and then picked up baseball a little later down the line. However, Matt faced a major roadblock when he was in 4th grade. Matt began experiencing seizures and had to spend five days in the hospital. He received medication and, following some time in the hospital, was free of seizures for two years. Now entering his senior year at Hand, Matt is fully healthy.
Despite the severity of the situation, Matt never wanted it to become a deterrent. Battling to get back on the course taught Matt a lot about who he is as a person. Matt never gives up and is always taking one step forward, focusing on how he can improve for the future, rather than looking back at the past.
“It taught me how to battle adversity and how to stick with it. Never giving up. That has been a huge part of me and my identity,” Matt says. “In my rounds of golf, I never give up. Leave what happened behind me and put one foot in front of the other and just keep going.”
While Matt planned to join the Tigers as a freshman, that season wound up getting canceled. However, rather than sit it out, Matt decided to keep working and spent hours upon hours on the links in an effort to improve his game. That effort paid off when Matt came back as a sophomore and earned a spot in Hand’s varsity lineup.
“It felt really rewarding, because of all the hard work I put in before that. During COVID, golf was really one of the only things you could do,” says Matt. “I spent six hours every day just grinding. I just kept practicing and earned my way on to the team and the starting lineup.”
Matt’s sophomore season marked the first time that he had participated in a high school sport. He already knew most of the upperclassmen on the team from having played golf with them. The connection that Matt had with his fellow Tigers gave him confidence when he competed.
Matt helped Hand win the Division II state title during his sophomore season, carding a score of 76 over 18 holes. Matt was the first Tiger to finish and then watched as his teammates completed their rounds. As the final scores were tallied, Matt felt ecstatic when he found out that Hand had claimed the state championship to cap off an undefeated season.
“After we were all done, we were crowding around where the scores were being posted. It was so exciting, and it’s something I’ll never be able to forget,” Matt says. “It’s something no one can take away from me.”
Matt was once again a featured member of the Tigers’ lineup in his junior season this spring. Matt helped Hand have another great campaign that saw the team take third place at the Division I State Championship, where he finished in 14th with a score of 79. As he was competing, Matt tried to maintain a strong mentality and knew that he needed to post a solid score to help the Tigers finish high on the leaderboard.
“It’s the same. It’s just 18 holes. Instead of playing with a teammate, you’re playing with somebody else,” says Matt. “You just have to figure things out by yourself and be more independent. It’s the same mentality. You just try and stay as focused as you can.”
During his junior season, Matt heeded the advice that his brother had given him about keeping his emotions on check on the golf course. Matt learned how to handle adversity and battle back from a bad hole.
Head Coach Jim Holleran took note of Matt’s demeanor as a junior this season. Holleran says that Matt set a great example for the team and showed how much he has grown as a leader.
“Matt has brought maturity beyond his years and has a neverending desire to improve the Hand boys’ golf team,” Matt says. “Matt inspires both me and his fellow teammates by overcoming obstacles in his life to become an excellent golfer and leader on our team.”
Heading into his senior year, Matt has been named one of Hand’s captains alongside Reese Scott, who was also a junior this year. Matt says that Scott has been one of his best friends since 8th grade and a golfer who he has always admired. Matt feels honored for the opportunity to lead the Tigers next season, especially since he will be doing so alongside a cohort with whom he’s grown close.
“It’s a real honor. Reese is someone I look up to every day. He’s such a great leader for our team,” Matt says. “To be in the same boat as him is a really special honor. He has been one of my best friends since 8th grade. It’s going to be really fun to be a captain with him.”
Matt has set numerous goals for both himself and his team for his senior season. He wants to play his way onto a college roster while helping the Tigers win another state title. Matt knows that it will be a challenge to claim state gold, but he also knows that the Hand boys’ golf program has excellent pedigree of success. Matt is hoping to help the team continue its winning tradition by hoisting another banner for Coach Holleran in his final year at the high school.
“It’s a special honor to play golf with Daniel Hand and Coach Holleran,” says Matt. “He has won state championships in the past. He knows what it takes to win, and he wants to win another one. We want to do it for him as much as we want to do it together.”