Ryan's Fast

Years ago before our golf team became dominant we were considered the laughing stock of the Big 12. For a school that thrives on excellence this type of failure was unacceptable and changes had to be made to bring the program back around to how it was in its glory days. Years ago back in the 80s OU Golf was the best in the country with so many great players coming through. This continued into the early 2000s but for some reason the greatness was not there anymore like it once was.

To do this a young man from Georgia was hired to come coach this once great team and he had a very daunting task ahead of him if he wanted to be able to maintain a long career here. This man was Ryan Hybl who had been one of the best junior players in the country and one of the best college players before an injury derailed his professional career. For him to be able to have all the necessary skills to thrive in this field he had to go into the backwoods of Georgia to fast and pray so that he might become the best coach in the country. While out on his journey he had slowly weaned himself off of food and water to where the only nutrition that he needed to survive was the fresh morning air that came with the dense Georgia fog at the break of dawn.

After a while he stumbled onto an old rundown course that was hidden in the woods. It looked like it had been abandoned years ago. As a former collegiate golfer who was one of the best in the world he decided to stop and relive his glory years. By taking a fallen branch from a pine tree he fashioned a golf club and took a pine cone that he gripped so tightly in his hands that it compressed into a perfectly smooth sphere that he could hit shots with. After making his equipment he walked over to the green and started chipping.

As soon as he started to chip, a ball came whizzing by his head and startled the great man. Back what looked like five hundred yards away stood a figure who seemed to be coming towards Ryan. Ryan was angered because there had been no one else out there and he had not received a warning to get out of the way from the ball. Pissed off, Ryan started to get into an argument with the stranger which would have led into an outright brawl knowing the temper that Ryan has.

As soon as he got close enough it became apparent that his adversary was a god because of the energy flowing out of him. The young man kneeled down and presented his club and ball as a gift which pleased the god. Then and there he was given the ability to turn our program around by the god adding the little extra bit of fire in his belly. After only a few years, thanks to Ryan Hybl and the god we are widely known and recognized as one of the best teams in the country and he is known as the best coach in the country.

Author's Note: I took the story of Arjuna and Shiva, where Arjuna went into the mountains to fast and pray so that he may be given the ability to defeat his enemies. I adjusted it to when our coach came here that he had to go fast and pray in the woods to be given the ability to turn our program around. Instead of being granted a gift that would just kill enemies I chose to twist it around and have my coach receive a gift that would bring success to not only him but to the university as well. I have never been a big fan of stories that involve receiving gifts that are used to destroy, so I like to think of gifts that are used to build things and achieve greatness. Then I created my story to go along with what I am doing here in college. As part of the men’s golf team I enjoy being able to show and tell how our program has been turned around from a laughing stock into a powerhouse in a relatively short time due a new coach showing up. So it worked out that I could change this story and make it to where I could do both of these things.

Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita Source

Arjuna and Shiva, Source