At the age of 12, Ball State University men's golfer Eric Steger made a decision that forever changed his athletic career.
Up until the eighth grade, Steger looked more like a baseball player than a golfer. However, because baseball and golf are both spring sports, he could only choose one sport to play.
"I played a lot of sports growing up," Steger said. "I mainly played golf for fun, but when I was 12 I had to make a decision between baseball and golf and ended up choosing golf. Since then, the past seven years of my life has been straight golf."
As the son of two Ball State alumni golfers, Steger grew up in a golf family. His father, Scott, played golf from 1975-78 and was inducted to the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.
"All my life has been about golf," Steger said. "I live on a golf course. My mom has a golf cart business. Everything I do has to do with golf."
Living next to Pebble Brook Golf Course in Noblesville, Steger made the best of his golf opportunities. Now as a collegiate golfer, his father could not be more proud.
"It's a lot more fun being a father than being a player," said Scott Steger. "It has been more enjoyable seeing him grow up and play than my own career. I thought he was going to make his mark on baseball, but he got frustrated with baseball and switched to golf. I thought he started too late and told him he couldn't make it, but he said he would show me. I think he has used it as a challenge. He has done a lot more at his age than I ever did."
During high school, Steger won the 2006 Indianapolis Amateur, tied for 21st at the 2006 Indiana State Open and placed 20th at the 2007 Indiana Open. As a senior, several schools were interested in Steger's potential. Even though Steger had an offers to go south to play for the University of Central Florida, he decided to attend Ball State.
"Golf was my No. 1 reason for coming here. It is a good school and not far from Noblesville," Steger said. "I knew I wanted to play golf in college, and Ball State presented an opportunity to gain experience and get better. When I was in high school, I knew Ball State would graduate five seniors, and that was most important to me because I had a good opportunity to play right away. I could have walked on at Indiana or Purdue, but it only matters if you can get that experience and a chance to play."
Although Steger's parents graduated from Ball State, there was no pressure to follow in his dad's steps. Scott Steger just wanted Eric to go somewhere where he could play a lot.
"A lot of golfers go to top schools and aren't good enough to play right away," Scott Steger said. "I would tell anyone to go and play where you can right away."
Head coach Mike Fleck was in the perfect situation because he could offer Steger an opportunity to play in the fall.
"It was nice because of the situation we had in graduating a high number of kids in 2007," Fleck said. "The general idea was that if he came in and played hard there would be a lot of opportunities for him. So far, he has taken advantage of those opportunities and has had a successful career as a freshman."
With his freshman year almost complete, Steger said he is glad he chose Ball State.
"When I came to Ball State I didn't know what to expect," Steger said. "In high school I was the star. I was the big fish in the little pond. Now I am the little fish in the big pond. It has certainly been a difficult transition, but I am pretty satisfied with my performance."
As coach of the men's golf team, Fleck has seen two things that make Steger stand out.
"His competitiveness spirit is impressive, and his ability to play this sport is good as well," Fleck said. "Combine those two things and you have the mix for success at the collegiate level."
Because Steger's father earned All-America honors in golf in 1977 and 1978 and competed in the PGA tour after his senior year at Ball State, Steger understands the pressure to do well.
"From the way I played in the summer I expected to be in the top five," Steger said. "I think I have proven myself. I made four straight tournaments this spring, and I just have to continue working on that."
When recruiting Steger, Fleck said, he never considered what his dad accomplished but only what Eric did in high school.
"First and foremost, I recruited Eric because he was a heck of a golfer," Fleck said. "He had qualities I looked for. I knew he could help accomplish what the men's golf team wanted to accomplish. I was recruiting Eric because of what he could do and not because of what his dad did. It's nice that his family is familiar with Ball State athletics, but that did not factor in recruiting Eric to play golf. The bottom line is that he is a good student and very competitive."
In fact, Steger showed Fleck what a good student he is by making the dean's list his first semester.
"That is really impressive," Scott Steger said. "I never made the dean's list, and I thought that was neater than any shot or anything he did in a tournament this year."
Without any senior leadership, Steger has looked to all his teammates this year for advice. Spending a lot of the time on the road, Steger has bonded well with his team.
"Being that I am the lowest on the totem pole, I look up to everyone," Steger said. "I just try and relate to all my teammates. Everyone on the team is awesome. I have learned to be a team player, whereas before I was worried about my own scores. All my teammates are good guys, and hopefully I can improve and get to where they are one day."
Another person Steger admires is his dad, who played professionally on the PGA Tour in 1979, 1980 and 1982. Currently, Steger's father is the head PGA golf professional at Pebble Brook Golf Course.
"Before and after every tournament I call my father," Steger said. "He has been through everything. I know it is hard being a freshman to learn the ropes and expectations, but he has helped me out with my confidence."
As Steger's freshman season comes to a close, he said he has been fortunate to have the opportunity to play as much as he has. Looking ahead to next year, Steger understands the importance of experience.
"Having the opportunity to play in as many tournaments as I have will help me a lot," Steger said. "Freshmen at IU or Purdue sit on the bench for two years and really miss out. You only get better by playing the best of the best and not a lot of freshmen get that chance. Every tournament I learn something new and get a little better. I have learned that you have to take the bad for what it is and let it go. Nobody is perfect. I just have to play with a mind-set that I am good enough to win."
With his best golf ahead of him, Scott Steger said, he thinks his son has not even realized how good he is.
"Everything he has done is amazing," Scott Steger said. "He puts a lot of pressure on himself, but he is only a freshman. He has a bright future ahead of him. I have really helped him very little, and he has done it all on his own. He has just reached the tip of the iceberg. I just keep telling him that he is Eric Steger and not Scott Steger. Hopefully he will be better than me. That is what I want."
In golf, Fleck said, it doesn't matter how old you are as long as you can compete.
"If you can come in as a freshman and put up numbers, it doesn't matter how big you are," Fleck said. "It is a sport that if you are productive and beating everyone else you are going to be in the lineup regardless of class or what you have done in the past. Golf is a never-ending learning experience. Eric just needs to focus on what he can do to improve on an everyday basis and have an even more productive season next year."
Seven years ago, Eric made a decision to focus on golf. Today, he can confidently say that he proved his father wrong.
"I told him six years ago there was no way he could play competitive golf," Scott Steger said. "But he has proved me wrong. He got tired of baseball and said he wanted to play golf. He lives on a golf course, has all the equipment and has taken advantage of opportunities. As far as becoming a golfer, though, he has done it himself. He wasn't a real golf player until 11 or 12, but he told me he would show me he could. All of sudden, here he is, and it has certainly been fun to watch."
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