July 23, 2007

The Patriot League recently conducted a brief question and answer session with Lehigh Golf Head Coach Henry D'Alberto . D'Alberto has been the Mountain Hawks' mentor for the past two seasons and is a former Lehigh golf student-athlete. During his collegiate days, he was crowned the Patriot League individual champion in 1996, leading the Brown and White to their first-ever Patriot League Championship title.

PL: How did you get into coaching golf?

HD: In 2004 I moved back to the area and had always kept in touch with my coach Kelly Gutshall from Lehigh and things just evolved into me taking the job since he was soon to retire.

PL: What is it like coaching at the school you attended as an undergraduate? What was your experience at Lehigh like?

HD: It is a lot of fun. It's a definite break from my job as an investment advisor. I had a great experience at Lehigh especially the golf program. To this day I keep in touch with a lot of my teammates from college.

PL: Describe what it feels like to lead a team to a championship as you did in 1996 when you became Lehigh's first-ever individual Patriot League champion.

HD: It was a great experience something you take with you forever. It always feels great to win and in college that was the biggest tournament of the year for us.

PL: Share you thoughts in coaching in the Patriot League - a conference that prides itself on the scholar-athlete model.

HD: It's very neat to have a great balance of academics and athletics. My kids had the best GPA in our programs history last fall. It makes coaching that much easier when I don't have to worry that my players may be struggling in the classroom.

PL: Any special plans for the summer?

HD: I still play a few professional golf tournaments here and there, I still love to compete. I will continue to focus hard on my investment career as well as keep learning on how to grow as a golf coach and try to provide my players with the best experience possible both on and off the course.