WICHITA, Kan. – 3-5 years, that's the typical response you'll get when you try to estimate how long it will take to establish a competitive program from the ground up. And for programs that hadn't been active for six years, you may get an even longer projection.
But when estimating specific timelines, one must factor in that most programs don't employ a coach with the energy and sunny disposition of a Dustin Galyon who just led the Falcons to their third straight conference championship.
The most recent title saw the Falcons pull away in the second round for a comfortable victory by 11 strokes.
But to truly appreciate the dynasty the Falcons currently enjoy, one must start at the beginning and how the program was meticulously built.
"The most crucial aspect of restarting the golf program was making sure we had players that would embody what we wanted the program to be on-and-off the golf course," said Galyon. "Guys who wanted to be part of something bigger than golf!"
After not having a men's golf team on campus since 2015, Friends University VP of Athletics & Strategic Expansion Dr. Rob Ramseyer revived the program and entrusted Galyon to lead it.
Having worked with Galyon at Hesston College, Ramseyer felt he was the perfect fit to anchor the restarted program.
"Dustin was appealing for two reasons," said Ramseyer. "First, he fit missionally and philosophically with who we are and he's a mentor to students who deeply wants help and to grow in all areas of their lives...especially their faith. Second, he is one of the best recruiters I have ever met. There was no doubt in my mind he could build a program quickly. We had worked together previously and become great friends, and I had all the trust in the world he would do these two things well."
Galyon, a faith-driven coach with strong leadership skills, didn't feel the need to put a ceiling on how much the team could accomplish in a short period of time.
"I think when you have talented players that are willing to sacrifice and do hard things together you always have a chance to do something special," said Galyon. "We have and continue to talk about being FOR EACH OTHER. What that looks like for our program is servant leadership. When you talk about faith it is the bedrock of our program and what we continue to talk about and hopefully what we continue to model. It is important to note that we have been honest about who we are as a school and program and communicated with each player and their family that we will meet them where they are at and continue to talk and model who this Jesus guy is!!"
The 2021-22 season provided a quick glimpse into how quickly the Falcons could become competitive, with the team immediately winning the Clash of the Conferences tournament in their first competition of the fall campaign.
Friends would come out on top in two more tournaments in the 2021-22 campaign before Trenton Sutherland, arguably the "face" of the new program, made a statement that the Falcons would be a major factor both in the conference and nationally far sooner than expected.
Sutherland not only captured the KCAC individual championship but gave the fans a moment to remember by sinking a 30+-foot birdie on the 72nd hole to clinch the title and earn a spot in the NAIA National Championships.
The success of Sutherland not only provided immediate gratification but was critical in establishing the Falcons as an attractive destination for top recruits across the country.
"Trent has been MONUMENTAL, HUGE, FOUNDATIONAL...Trent Sutherland is our eagle," said Galyon. "Point blank he started all of this, like any young man Trent is not perfect and has grown in so many awesome ways here at Friends, but our program has been the beneficiary of the amazing parents and homelife Trent has had. He walked into our program READY TO STAND on his own two feet and lead. That is incredibly rare and again a huge compliment to his parents and people."
By the 2022-23 season, Galyon had built a squad that won the KCAC team championship by 19 strokes, leaving no doubt that the Falcons had not only arrived but were primed to dominate for the foreseeable future. The only drama in that tourney came out in the Falcons' favor when Gerardo Alemany won on a playoff hole to secure another individual title for Friends.
In 2023-2024, Galyon and the Falcons kept rolling with another KCAC championship, this time in even more convincing fashion by besting second-place Kansas Wesleyan University by a whopping 24 strokes. On a national level, the Falcons placed in the Top 10 of the NAIA National Championships, led by top 20 individual finishes from KCAC Player of the Year Trinton Nobles (T-8th) and Alemany (T-20th).
This year catapulted the Falcons into rare air with a third straight championship, but to know Galyon is to realize that winning on the golf course actually ranks down the list of what makes a successful program, behind things such as his player's faith journey and mental well-being along with the importance of team culture and camaraderie.
Galyon lets his players know that he cares much more about them developing as people than as golfers and puts that into practice on a daily basis. He sees every student-athlete that comes to Friends to play golf as someone God has entrusted him to lead and shepherd throughout their time here.
"Coach Galyon is not only is a great coach/mentor but since the beginning of my freshman year he has been a great leader of men," said Sutherland. "He not only wants us to succeed as a golfer but more importantly he wants to see us thrive as a human. I believe that is a big culture piece Coach Galyon has instilled since the very beginning and a huge reason why we have been successful so quickly. The team is competitive yet rooting for each other and I believe that all stems from Coach Galyon."
Another aspect of Galyon's vibrant coaching style is the implementation of the 3D Coaching Institute, which provides a model for coaches to deeper strategize how they manage every detail of their program from practices, games, character building, and personal interactions.
"The structure of 3D is fantastic and working to coach in the 2nd and 3rd dimension is lifechanging for both coach and player!" said Galyon.
Outside of golf, Galyon co-rounded the "Impactful Coaching Project", a program initiated with Ramseyer that launched in January of 2024 and focuses on training coaches to develop the whole person. In other words, a project tailor-made for Galyon to be involved in. Galyon has also co-authored with Ramseyer a book entitled "Coaching the 21st Century Athlete."
"Golf is the vehicle," said Galyon. "We are crazy about golf and crazy about trying to be excellent, and I believe we are as competitive of a group of humans that you can be around. But golf is the vehicle for something way bigger. It is our prayer and surrender that the Lord will use golf to have a real encounter with each of our guys. That said, we are going to love our guys and encourage and challenge them in and out of golf!"
With Galyon at the helm, the Falcons can anticipate continued success on and off the links that the university and entire community can be proud of.
