In the cult-classic cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Master Splinter guides weapon-wielding turtles on their missions to protect the city of Manhattan.
Imaginatively, if coach Bob Cooley were Master Splinter, then graduate assistant coach Michael Lamping would be Leonardo — the veteran and oldest of the four Turtles.
“He’s been a big help,” freshman Peyton White said. “He’s a good guy. He’s an alumni here and he walks the courses with us and helps out a lot during practices.”
Lamping, a Dublin native, began his first season with the coaching staff this semester, but had been a student-athlete on the team since his sophomore year in 2010-11. He transferred to Ohio from Flagler College.
He bolstered the team’s play the next year, recording the third-lowest stroke total on the team and placing sixth overall at the Mid-American Conference Championships later in the spring.
As Lamping made the move from putting on the green to the coaching realm, he noted that he has found comfort in his new role, while continuing to travel and practice with Ohio.
“I think I’d rather be on this side of the game,” Lamping said. “I always enjoyed shooting birdies and bogeys, but I’ve really enjoyed coming back (to Athens) and helping Cooley and this team out.”
Since Lamping talked to Cooley last September at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate about returning to the program, the dynamic between him, Cooley and the Bobcats has changed.
“Things are a little different,” Lamping said. “I wouldn’t say I have authority over these guys, I try to give them pointers and walk the course with them, but it’s a different type of relationship now.”
Despite the change in positioning from being a student-athlete less than a year ago, Lamping has remained a key asset to the Bobcats while still attending Ohio to double major in financial and business economics.
“He’s finishing his master’s here, and it’s nice to have two people talking to the players,” Cooley said during Ohio’s 16th place finish at the Wexford Plantation Invitational last week. “He gives good feedback and it’s nice because I can be on par-3 helping someone and he’s on par-5 helping the kids with their shots.”
Also during the Bobcats’ four-day trip in Hilton Head, S.C. last week, junior Andrew Mlynarski said that Lamping’s advice enhanced about five shots he attempted during competition.
“He’s definitely my mentor,” Mlynarski said. “There’s no one better to have then him. He’ll be absolutely pivotal to our success this spring season.”
With three more tournaments coming up for the Bobcats, Mlynarski and the rest of the team already have benefitted from Lamping’s time with the coaching staff.
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