Lillian Crays '23 Recruiting Profile

Golf has always been a major part of my life.  I started my golf journey when I was only a baby.  My dad would strap me into a pumpkin seat and then into a golf cart and away we would go for the day!  I was six years old when I truly started to play golf.  Of course, I started with First Tee and JrPGA.  I even got to go with my brother and his JrPGA team to TPC Sawgrass in Atlanta, GA to watch him play in the JrPGA National Championships!  When my brother and I both started playing at a higher level of competitiveness, my dad purchased everything needed to start a golf simulator business.  (I actually don’t mind playing in the cold, but golf courses tend to close when it snows!)  Up to this time in my life, my brother has been my inspiration, and my mom and dad have been my biggest supports in playing golf and creating the person I am today.

A crucial part of who I am is that I’m a selective mute.  No, it doesn’t mean I choose who I do and don’t want to speak to daily.  It simply means that my anxiety is so severe at times I physically and mentally cannot bring myself to speak in front of people.  I have battled my anxiety since I could…. well…. speak!  I did not speak in front of anyone except my parents and siblings until my final days of second grade.  From then on, though, I remained the “weird kid”.  I was “weird” because I didn’t talk and play with kids my age.  If I was in the presence of classmates, I tried to get their attention by yanking on their hair or bumping into them on purpose.  When I did start to try to speak, I used what the kids called a “monster voice”.  I also used very adult-like language when I would speak.  Then, I was “weird” because I loved playing golf.  When I started playing on my middle school team, I wasn’t into wearing big frilly bows in my hair that would match my uniform—the uniform in which I didn’t care about how cute it was either.  I was there to play!  I was called names, ostracized, and made the butt of many jokes.  One night, though, I decided I was done with all of it, and I was going to take back my power.

Golf was the answer!

Through golf I gained the courage and confidence to like and appreciate the person I see looking back at me in the mirror today.  Golf has given me a safe space to find my strengths that empower me.  The minute I hit the course, it’s time to get to work.  I put my game face on (which I’ve been told can be intimidating) and make a personal commitment to give my best work effort to myself and my team.   When I step up to my ball, nothing else matters.  It is just me and my ball in that space.  Everyone and everything are just background noise.  Golf is my calm, my quiet, my peace—my safe space.

This past year, my first year of playing collegiate level golf, was a great learning experience.  I found that I loved and was able to handle the rigor of a packed schedule filled with lifts, workouts, practices, classes, friends, and service-learning projects.  I stayed committed to learning how to play golf in a completely new environment—Midwestern loam and clay vs. Western desert rock and sand.  I loved the challenge of learning how to play golf on completely unfamiliar terrain.  I gained so many new experiences this year through service-learning projects that enlisted the help of student-athlete volunteers. My favorite service-learning experience this past year was when I was a volunteer “buddy” to a 12-year-old girl at the National Down Syndrome Foundation’s annual Gala and fashion show.  I even learned some hard lessons this year through my personal observations in honesty, integrity, and judgement as my first collegiate golf experience slowly crumbled away and was ultimately defunded.

My goal right now is to find a new school, coaching staff, and team to proudly call home and family.  I’m looking for a hands-on coach who would be willing to develop me into a great player—a coach who would confidently approach me and let me know where I could make improvements in my swing, course management, etc.  I love positive energy, so I also work well with positive and uplifting coaches.  I’ve been told by many coaches in Indiana that I am very coachable.  Though I might not be very vocal and/or coming up to chat a lot, I’m a good listener, am observant, and will do what I’m asked; if you guide me, I’ll follow.  I’m looking for a coach that has strong leadership, consistency in style, and follow-through.  I am a willing learner and hard worker which makes me a good student to be led by a great coach.  I believe that if communication and expectations are clear and understood between player and coach, great successes will be achieved.  Something else people who know me would say, and that is I have a formidable amount of integrity.  I work diligently on staying true to my word, being honest, and staying out of any kind of drama. 

As a player, I’m known for certain attributes amongst Indiana players, coaches, and families who know me.   If you would ask anyone, they’d tell you that I have a tough mental game.  I’ve had a lot of adversity throughout my short life, but I have not allowed any of it take the game I love away.  I’m very thick-skinned, and people can’t rattle me much.  I went to school with my bully from 2^nd grade until my senior year, played golf with her for six years, and got to a point in high school that I really just didn’t care what others thought of me anymore.  What’s most important is what I think of myself and my self-worth.  This development of a tough mental attitude has served me well because I can grind like nobody’s business!  I have played in 102-degree weather with 98% humidity walking up and down large hills for 18 holes and not once considered quitting.  Competition fuels the fire inside of me; I love to compete!  Once I start a season and competing, I only get better, and I have the stats to prove it.  My strength is in my putting and short game; I’m very protective of my putter!  I’m always working on improving my ball-striking accuracy.  I am very thankful to my mom and dad for raising me with these values and supporting me in the development of my golf game every step of the way.

In looking at teams and thinking about teammates, this past year is going to be tough to beat!  I loved my teammates my freshman year of college.  I felt comfortable around them because they were always so inclusive and encouraging.  I made huge growth in strength and conditioning this year because of my teammates’ encouraging words and undying support for me.  If you would ask my teammates from middle school, high school, and my time at Regis University, they would all tell you I have a formidable amount of integrity.  I work diligently on staying true to my word, being honest, and staying out of any kind of drama.  My teammates would also tell you that I’m always kind and welcoming to my opponents, and that I will always make sure that everyone feels seen, heard, and included.

My goal for the future is to become a Biomedical Engineer.  I’ve always had a love of science.  After job shadowing at the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly in Indiana, I decided that I want to be a part of that kind of innovative thinking and collaboration amongst creative scientists who improve and/or extend the lives of others.  Therefore, when I’m looking at schools, I’m also looking for a biological sciences program that will afford me many different opportunities and choices.  I want to work with professors who will challenge and push me to my limits—that will engage me in conversations and collaborative learning.  Not only do I hope to be encouraged to foster my curiosities, I’m looking for a program and group of professors that will encourage me to follow my intuitions and make new discoveries.   At the end of my college days, I want to be able to take the lessons I’ve learned through both my education and golf and apply them to my future. 

I would love to speak with you!  I feel that there is more to be learned about me that cannot be interpreted just by reading something about me.  I love action movies, fast cars, and roller coasters!  I will eat most anything with the word “cheesecake” in it!  I cannot cook at all—don’t even ask me to make toast!  Give me some knitting needles or crochet hooks, and I will figure out a way to create a golf head cover of some kind!  Seriously, though, I feel strongly I am ready to play at the most competitive of levels.  I proved it to myself this past year at Regis.  If given the opportunity to work with you, you will not regret it because I will give you my 110%.  Please, feel free to call me any time.  If I don’t answer, please just leave a message as I am most likely on the course practicing or competing!  Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you!