Václav Tichý - NCAA Golf

He is considered a great talent among Czech golfers. He has won the junior championship of the republic twice and took fifth place at the Youth Olympics four years ago. This year, 20-year-old Václav Tichý set off to play golf in the United States. During his four-year stay at James Madison University in Virginia, he would like to work his way up to the world elite.

He started playing golf early, and when he was moving on to eight-year grammar school, he started to really enjoy it. He regularly went to tournaments, traveled, and also started to miss school more often. In the second grade of grammar school, he had to arrange an individual lesson, although he still couldn't miss it. Before the tournament, he always went around to the teachers and agreed with them when he would make up the material and when he would finish the tests.

How did the teachers like this?

Golf started to interfere with my studies a lot, but luckily they all understood. No one gave me a test the day after I returned, they gave me a few days to catch up on the material. My classmates sent me notes and I tried to catch up on everything and keep my grades up. Thanks to that, I didn't really have any problems with the teachers.

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How did you manage school in this individual mode, in addition to golf tournaments?

It took organizational skills, getting everything ready before leaving for the tournament and being able to supplement everything afterwards, but I did well. As for the difficulty, I honestly expected it to be worse than it actually was. I originally thought I would have to study during tournaments between games to keep up with everything, but in the end it wasn't necessary and I still managed to keep good grades.

Where did you study?
I attended the eight-year grammar school above Alejí in Prague. I always enjoyed math and physics, which we had at a high level at the grammar school.

What was your relationship like with your classmates? Didn't you feel a bit out of place in the group because of your individuality?

I felt it a little during the Covid period. My classmates spent a lot of time online, practically playing different games together and calling each other. I was training a lot at that time and didn't have time for these activities. When we returned to the benches, the guys had various jokes and sayings that I didn't understand, because they originated during that time. But it definitely wasn't like I was outside the team and didn't have friends. On the contrary, I'm still in touch with my friends from high school.

When did you decide to go to an American university?‍

I had known for a long time that I wanted to go overseas. Most golfers from the Czech Republic at my level go to study in America because golf is played at a completely different level there and there are also more options. The first such conversation took place in the fall of 2018, so actually at the beginning of the second year of high school. Later, I was in contact with Robert Sovík and USA Sport & Study, an organization that helps Czech athletes transfer to universities overseas. They connected me with an American who took care of studying golfers directly, which was great because he had information about almost every school that came into consideration. He helped me with the selection and I am sure that without this help I would not have been able to choose the ideal option myself.

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So what made you choose the specific school?

In the beginning, it was mainly about golf, I followed various rankings and found out information from this environment. When I then called individual coaches, I paid attention to the feeling. They are always nice during interviews, but I think that is mainly because they need to get new players to their team, it is a business for them, so I didn't attach much importance to it in the end. In the end, the visits to individual schools decided for me. James Madison University in Virginia made the best impression on me. The school radiated a great atmosphere and the American who helped me with the choice blessed the school for me because he had also attended it before. Today I am very happy with that choice, we have a great team on the team and it is definitely a place where I want to live for at least the next four years.

So you went overseas right after graduating from high school. What major are you studying at school?

I was originally going for mathematics and physics, but a few days ago I finally decided on quantitative finance. There's a lot of mathematics there, and an older teammate is studying the field and recommended it to me.

In high school you were more used to playing golf, there was less studying. How is it now with the transition to university? Isn't there a lot more studying than you were used to?

I have to say that there isn't as much school as I worried at first. But that's how the first years are. We have a lot of general subjects. For example, math is a kind of repetition of the most important things from high school. We had it at a good level in high school, so it's fine for now, but I'm sure that the second semester or the next year will look different and that the curriculum will be more demanding. I have about sixteen hours of school a week.

What does your day look like?

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I always have school in the morning, then we play and train in the afternoon. On Tuesday and Thursday there are morning trainings. I also go to the gym six times a week. So there are about sixteen hours of school and about twenty-five hours of training per week. Now our season is ending, so there will be less tournament playing, so I will train a lot individually on the indoor court.

Are you on scholarship?
I have a partial scholarship and I'm happy with it. Full scholarships are not common among golfers here, the golf team doesn't have any to give away, so it wouldn't be fair for one player to get a full scholarship at the expense of the others when we're all at a similar level here.

How do you perceive the competition in the team? You are one team, but on the other hand, you are certainly competing with each other, both in terms of a place in the university team and in terms of other competitors?

I like that we have guys on the team who take it seriously. We all think about the PGA Tour and the path to the world elite is here, of course, so we all work hard. Of course, we compete with each other. I'm not in ideal shape right now, for a while I was somewhere between fourth and fifth place in a five-man team, it wasn't exactly pleasant. So it's competitive and there's always something to play for, but on the other hand, it's healthy competition, thanks to which we can grow together.

You also talk about the mental side of your sport. How do you work on that?

We have a team psychologist who we meet with together. In America, it's mostly about team spirit, understanding your own role in the team. We haven't had an individual session yet, but I definitely want to schedule one over the winter. It's great that these opportunities for development are here.

You are in your early twenties, far from home, in a different country with a different culture. How do you cope with this aspect?

I think I'm doing pretty well, I'm pretty independent. Of course it's a change, but I see it as a kind of throw in the towel and an adventure. That will be even more so when I live with the other members of the golf team in a house off campus next year, which I'm really looking forward to. I miss my family, but we call each other and I'm glad I have someone to speak Czech with regularly.

What are your college expectations?

I haven't completely decided yet whether I want to devote the rest of my life to sports or a career. I'm gradually developing both directions and giving my best to golf and school. I enjoy school, I like to continue my education in my free time, I read interesting books, listen to podcasts and develop myself in this area. Golf, on the other hand, gives me joy and meaning. So I haven't decided yet, but I have another four years to make that decision, and that's exactly what makes the American university system great. If I had to make a final choice today, I wouldn't be sure about my choice, but in four years I believe I will be sure.

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