Even though it has been a year since men's golf coach Mike Fleck lost one of Ball State University's most productive freshmen golfers, there is not a day in which he does not admire Travis J. Smith.
When Smith became a member of the golf team in 2006, Fleck knew he was an exceptional recruit. On Jan. 27, 2007, however, Smith lost his life in a automobile accident.
"It is still very challenging because of the fact that everything we do as a team reminds us of what Smith did," Fleck said. "I am not going to lie, there isn't a day that goes by without thinking about Travis. It is definitely a challenge."
Since Smith's death, Fleck and his team have tried to cope with the loss by doing what Smith loved best: playing golf.
"We are trying to move on in the best way we can," Fleck said. "But Smith's name has come up a lot and it is all memory-related. Whether we are on the road traveling to a tournament or reminiscing about a story, Smith is always in our minds."
In addition to Smith's death, Fleck lost golfer Justin Cross in 2005 to leukemia. The golf program sold "Audience of I" bracelets in Cross' honor. Now the team also wears bracelets that read "Forever In Our Hearts, Travis J. Smith."
"It's the things we do within our program that helps us the most," Fleck said. "Before every tournament round we honor both Justin and Travis."
Sophomore golfer Ross Cosat, who was in the same recruiting class as Smith, said he became a close friend to the freshman.
"He was a lot more successful than I was at the beginning of our freshman year but we grew into college together," Cosat said. "We had a lot of things in common and there isn't a day I go by playing collegiate golf that I don't think about Smith."
Furthermore, Smith was Cosat's closest teammate.
"It is definitely different without Smith here," Cosat said. "Since his death, I have looked after the freshmen this year and tried to make them safe. The weekend Travis died, coach Fleck told the team to be safe. Since then I have lived by those words."
On Sunday the men's golf team will travel to Smith's hometown of Terre Haute and visit the cemetery. Smith's family and the Terre Haute community will gather, as they did one year ago, to honor the life of Smith.
"We are going down as a group," Fleck said. "Not just as a current team, but last year's seniors as well. We will be visiting with family and going to the cemetery to see the gravesite. All of us are connected to Travis in one way or another."
While in Terre Haute, the team will visit Mulligan's Pub & Restaurant, which named its driving range in Smith's memory.
"The restaurant has an area all about Travis with newspapers and rewards," Fleck said. "It will be neat for the team to see it and reinforce how special the kid was."
For junior golfer Ben Lakoff, he said he can't believe it has been a year since the car accident.
"Even though he was on our team for less than a year, Smith made such an impact," Lakoff said. "I am happy that coach Fleck arranged for all of us to see Smith's family. He was as much a part of our team as anyone ever has."
For Lakoff and Cosat, Sunday will be a day to honor one of their closest teammates.
"I will never forget when Travis and I were freshmen playing the seniors in two on two tournaments for bragging rights," Cosat said. "He always had my back and I told him to give me another year and I will have his back someday. That has stuck with me. And always will."
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