East freshman golfer has exciting present, future
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The way the golf season began for Adam Krebs wasn’t overly exciting for him or his Columbus East teammates.
But the way the freshman has played the past two tournaments has the Olympians excited about the present and the future.
East will compete in today’s Providence Regional, where it hopes to be among the top three teams and advance to the state finals.
“I started out a little rough and had to get back into golf after playing basketball,” Krebs said. “Everything started to click these past couple weeks. I’ve been playing at the top of my ability right now, probably the best I’ve played in my career.”
Krebs has been the Olympians’ low scorer the past two tournaments. He fired a 76 to tie for fifth overall in the Providence Tournament of Champions at the same Champions Pointe course that will host the regional. Then, he carded a 78 to tie for fourth overall and lead East to a runner-up finish in the Greensburg Sectional.
“From where he started out at the beginning of the season, obviously, he’s had great improvement, so it was a surprise,” East coach Tom LaBarbera said. “He’s dropped 10 strokes, which is pretty significant in one high school season. He’s as good as any freshman I’ve had.”
Not only has Krebs excelled on the golf course this spring, he was a starting forward and midfielder on the Olympians’ soccer team in the fall. He finished with two goals and five assists.
“I know what’s required,” said LaBarbera, who coached soccer for 10 years before switching to golf. “That’s why I was so impressed that a freshman could step in and play varsity soccer. I didn’t have that many of them that could do that when I was coaching, so for him to be able to do that, then also be able to come and contribute on the golf team like he has is very unusual.”
In the winter, Krebs played on the freshman basketball team.
“I have a lot of favorites,” Krebs said. “Once I move on to another sport, I’m focused on that and don’t really commit to any others.” {p class=”News”}“That’s going to be his greatest challenge,” LaBarbera added. “Managing his time to be able to excel in all those endeavors, he’s going to have to be very focused. He can do it, but that’s going to be quite a challenge.” {p class=”News”}Right now, Krebs is squarely focused on golf. LaBarbera credits his season-long improvement to being able to put bad shots behind him. {p class=”News”}“He just deals with adversity better,” LaBarbera said. “He’s more focused. He’s able to stay in the moment, which is very important in golf. If he hits a bad shot, he focuses and he’ll bear down on the next shot. He just lets the other shot go, which is great and shows a lot of maturity.” {p class=”News”}Krebs, who plays No. 3 for the Olympians behind senior Konnor Kimmel and junior Sam Jackson, is looking for another low round today that he hopes can help East reach the state finals, which begin Tuesday at The Legends Golf Club. {p class=”News”}“Hopefully, we play well,” Krebs said. “There’s no pressure on our team. No one expects us to get out, so we’ll just play our best, and just hopefully, the day goes well. We just need to stay calm and hit golf shots. That’s all we need to worry about.” {p class=”News”}“I’m excited,” LaBarbera added. “Obviously, Columbus North is very strong, and so is Floyd Central. Those are the two most dominant teams, but after that, Bedford is very strong and Madison, but I think we’re right there nipping at their heels. If we play well, some exciting things could happen.”
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