‘I don’t want to miss Maggie growing up’: Schrage puts family first, resigns as C-SC men’s golf coach

QUINCY — Tim Schrage marvels at his 3-year-old daughter’s ever-present smile.

“She’s the happiest kid I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Schrage doesn’t want to squander the chance to see that smile as often as possible. That explains why he resigned Monday as the Culver-Stockton College men’s golf coach after 11 seasons at the helm.

“I love coaching,” Schrage said. “It was a very tough decision. In the end, I can’t be gone that much. I don’t want to miss Maggie growing up.”

Her interest in golf ensures his coaching days aren’t over. She’s already learning from dad.

“When she was watching me hit, she was like, ‘I want to hit,’” said Schrage, who is a territory sales manager for Refreshment Services Pepsi. “It turned into a little bit more and a little bit more. … People saw she played in Little People’s (Golf Championships). She loved it. It was something fun for her to do and she met a new friend.

“Since then, it’s intrigued her a little more. She’s starting to hit the ball pretty good, too.”

So did the Wildcats under his watch.

Schrage led the men’s team to back-to-back Heart of America Athletic Conference championships in 2014 and 2015, qualifying for the NAIA national championships each season. In addition, the Wildcats, C-SC’s Tyler Barr (2014) and Ryan Keller (2015) won Heart individual championships.

Schrage twice was named the Heart Men’s Coach of the Year. 

He also coached the C-SC women’s team for eight seasons.

“I figured I’d coach for a year or two,” said Schrage, who was 25 years old when he was hired. “Then we started getting better. I was like, ‘Hey, this is fun.’ Really, when I first got hired, I don’t think I grasped what it would turn into.

“Winning the first conference championship was something that will last with me forever. The fun that team had was great. Winning Coach of the Year is stuff I never would have thought would happen.”

But it’s the relationships he built with his players that will last.

“That’s what made it hard to finally give it up,” Schrage said. “I still stay in touch with those teams. We play a lot of golf together and have fun together. Those guys are more than just former players. They’re friends.”