Oct. 21, 2010

WASHINGTON - Before the Georgetown men's golf team teed off at the Georgetown Intercollegiate this past weekend, the team had a chance to meet another legend from another sport, National Football League Hall of Famer Roger Staubach.

As the Hoyas made their way back from a tournament in Virginia last week, they stopped in downtown Washington and met with Staubach for approximately an hour at The Fairmont Hotel on M Street. Staubach was in town for business for his own company, The Staubach Company, and the meeting was arranged through Barry Dorfman, the father of current Hoya golfer Brian Dorfman (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek).

"It was a memorable 45 minutes with him," Head Coach Tommy Hunter said. "He was very engaging and shared a number of stories from his days with the (Dallas) Cowboys and his time at the Naval Academy (where he attended college).

"His main message was 'confidence is a by-product of hard work.' The only way you can really know you can accomplish something is to know you have put a great deal of time and effort in preparing to get the job done."

Members of the team also expressed their personal thoughts on meeting Staubach.

"Meeting Roger was really cool," senior Danny Hathway (Rockville, Md./Georgetown Prep) said. "The way he carried himself signaled success. He gave us some insight on overcoming adversity and related some of his success stories on the football field to the golf course. He was very engaged in the conversation and gave no indication that he didn't have time for us even though he is on a busy schedule."

"I found it pretty interesting when he said that losing two of the four Super Bowls was a good thing because it kept him hungry and humble," junior Taylor Hall (Roswell, Ga./Blessed Trinity) said. "I would think that losing would make such a competitive guy angry; but Mr. Staubach used his losses and failures to fuel his future success."

"Meeting Staubach was pretty cool," sophomore Curtis Loop (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) said. "Specifically, I liked what he had to say about the correlation between hard work and confidence. He basically said that when he put in the extra hours of hard work and dedication, he was able to draw on that hard work as confidence during big games and pressure moments."

"I think we would all agree that meeting Mr. Staubach was a special opportunity," freshman Charlie von Arentschildt (Scottsdale, Ariz./Deerfield [Conn.] Academy) said. "He found a unique way to parallel two dissimilar sports and help relate some of the lessons he learned as a Hall of Fame quarterback to our play on the course.

"The two things that he most impressed upon me were first, a champion always wants the ball. He always wants to be the one under pressure, who can prove himself to both his teammates, and everyone watching. Second, he paralleled throwing an interception to making a bogey on a hole. He said he always wanted to get back on the field, put the bad behind him, and strive to do better. The actual experience of meeting him was unique and special. Even by sitting around the same table as Mr. Staubach you could sense a presence of someone who was a true champion."