J-Club Hall of Honor
If there was a moment that showed Josh Sherlin had the belief in himself needed to compete at the college level, it was this:
Early in the fall of his freshman season, the Minnewaska High School graduate – who'd won a Class A state title as a junior in the spring of 2000 – was struggling with his short game.
"We were at practice at Rich Spring (in Cold Spring) and I was watching him on the putting green," recalled longtime SJU head coach Bob Alpers '82, who is joining Sherlin in this year's class of SJU J-Club Hall of Honor inductees.
"He had a really long backswing going, which is not what you usually want when you're putting. I walked up and said 'Josh, I was thinking a lot about you and maybe we could tighten up that putting stroke of yours.' He listened respectfully, then he looked at me and said 'Coach, I'm a really good putter. I'd rather not change anything. The shots will start to fall.'
"I just thought 'OK then. You go do your thing.' I walked away, and he went on to become one of the best putters we ever had."
Sherlin also remembers that moment, and everything that happened after.
"I think he tells that story almost any time he's introducing me to one of the newer players (at SJU)," Sherlin said with a chuckle. "He's even told my two boys that story a couple of times now.
"I was struggling with my short game, which had always been my saving grace. But I knew it would eventually come around. I wasn't saying it to be arrogant or anything like that. I just knew it was a stretch I'd come out of. And Bob gave me an amazing opportunity not long after that. I still wasn't playing my best, and I was on the second team at the time, but he gave me a shot with the first group, which was a big boost for my confidence. I played well and I never really looked back."
Indeed he didn't. Sherlin went on to finish tied for fifth at that season's MIAC meet, earning all-conference honors for the first of two times in his career. He also went on to become a two-time All-American – as a junior in the spring of 2004 and a senior in the spring of 2005.
And he was the MIAC player of the year in both 2004 and '05, as well as making the watch list for the 2004 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the nation's top college golfer at any level.
"He was a fantastic player and just a great guy," Alpers said. "He was a great teammate, a great leader and a friend to all the other players on the team. He was a big role model for some of the younger guys who went on to help us win national championships (in 2007 and '08)."
Sherlin – also a two-time Academic All-American - helped SJU cement its status as a national power, playing a big role as the Johnnies reached the NCAA Division III national meet in all four of his seasons in Collegeville (part of a stretch of 12 straight national appearances, and 21 in 24 seasons).
As a sophomore in 2003, he was on the SJU team that finished tied for third overall – the program's highest finish to that point.
But it isn't a meet he looks back on fondly.
"I was very disappointed in my play," said Sherlin, who shot a four-round score of 314 and tied for 88th overall. "I did the math because I'm a numbers guy. If I had shot even my average from that season, we'd have been right there battling for first place. But I didn't and I took it personally. I spent that whole summer trying to better myself."
That set the stage for one of the most remarkable stretches of golf by an individual player in school history during the fall of his junior season. Sherlin shot a 220 to tie with teammate Kyle Frederickson atop the leader board at the Twin Cities Classic, then followed up by winning the MIAC Championships with a two-round score of 140.
Next on the docket was the prestigious Gordin Collegiate Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – gathering of all the top teams at the Division III level. Sherlin shot a two-round score of 137 to earn medalist honors as the Johnnies took home the team title for the first time.
"The first meet that season was the Bemidji State Invitational, and I shot a lackluster 75 in the first round," he recalled.
"The next day, I parred the first two holes. But after that I got going. Bob was always out and about checking on us, and if things were going well, we'd give him the thumbs up and he'd move on to the next guy. He came up to me at hole No. 13 and asked how I was doing. I told him I hadn't parred a hole since No. 2. He said 'But you've been giving me the thumbs up.' I told him that's because I was playing really well (finishing the day seven-under-par). I ended up sharing medalist honors with (Fredrickson) and kept building momentum from there."
The momentum continued into nationals in the spring of 2004 when he tied for 10th overall and earned All-American honors for the first time. He then earned All-American honors as a senior as well.
"That's part of what set Josh apart," Alpers said. "He had such an amazing junior year, then came back and played so well as a senior too. He was consistent."
After graduation, Sherlin worked as a golf pro for a time, then spent 12 years with Henry's Foods out of Alexandria. He recently switched jobs and works in account management and sales at Pepper, a tech software company.
He and his wife Breanna (his high school sweetheart) live in Glenwood and have two sons – Odin and Thatcher. Both of whom are excelling in golf at the varsity level for Minnewaska.
"We live close to the golf course I played on growing up, and it's been fun to see them getting out there to play," he said. "They're living the same kind of lifestyle I did growing up."
Sherlin has even begun playing competitively again, including alongside his sons at the prestigious Resorters Tournament the past two summers in Alexandria.
"The boys have gotten me back into it a little bit and that's been fun," he said. "I still love the game as much as I ever did."
