Jorge Martinez
Staff Writer
Eric Riehle, head men’s and women’s golf coach, talked about the lessons he has learned as a coach and how he plans on applying them to his future career plans beyond the University of La Verne on Tuesday during his lecture titled “My Last Dialogue,” via Zoom before a virtual audience of about 20.
Riehle announced in December 2020 that he will be stepping down as head golf coach, a post he held for about nine years, from 2009 to 2012, and 2015-2020.
During his time at La Verne, Riehle led the Leopards to four Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, five NCAA Division III Championships, seven All-American honors and nine All-Region accolades. He also coached three SCIAC Athletes of the Year.
Riehle said one of his strengths was his willingness to improvise.
“Improvisation … works well, and one must know how to use it,” Riehle said. “I took underdog teams and made them come back.”
Riehle also talked about his recruitment process at La Verne and how he brought talent from all over the world.
He said that in his recruitment process he also considered students’ charisma and personality.
Nick Tuzzolino, freshman history major, said he enjoyed the lecture.
“I think one of the biggest things to remember about him is students’ mindsets comes first.”
Riehle said he is not sure exactly what his next chapter will be, but he added: “I got some ideas to fix the community.”
Jorge Martinez can be reached at jorge.martinez4@laverne.edu.
Jorge Martinez
