Manchester High Students Receive Inaugural Manchester Country Club Golf Scholarship [VIDEO]

Two student athletes at Manchester High School, Brandon Barrett and Chelsey Tinson, were the first ever recipients of a pair of scholarships from the Manchester Country Club that will allow them to play the course as much as they want for free this year. 

The awards were presented to the students Friday morning at the on South Main Street.

"Back in March, we sat down with both coaches - Ben (Wry) and Bob (Healy) - and decided to develop a scholarship program to offer to one boy and one girl…based on leadership, academics in the classroom and performance on and off the golf course," said John Cook, the club's golf pro. 

The awards will allow each unlimited play on Manchester Country Club's greens throughout the remainder of the 2012 golf season. 

"I'm excited about the scholarship. It will improve my game," said Barrett, a freshmen at Manchester High and a member of the boys golf team. "I'm looking to come here probably every day." 

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Boys Coach Bob Wry said Barrett was selected to receive the award based on his "quite strength" and leadership he displayed throughout the past season. 

"The kids really look up to this leadership, mostly by example," said Boys Golf Coach Ben Wry. "Brandon's passion is clearly evident, it's almost like you can't pull him off the course. He loves to just chip and putt and hang around as much as possible. I really believe that this scholarship is going to provide him an opportunity to see the type of character and personality at this country club and what it takes to succeed in both golf and life." 

Tinson, a sophomore on the girls team this past season and one of its captains, was selected because of her strong academic performance in the classroom and because of her commitment to the game, according to Girls Coach Bob Healy. 

"She's a very dedicated golfer. Good leadership for our girls," said Healy. "She understands etiquette, course management and all the important things that we teach in our golf program here at the high school." 

Tinson said she was excited to receive the scholarship because it was going to allow her the opportunity to play much more than normal. 

"It's going to allow me to play a lot more golf than I normally can," said Tinson. "And it'll just improve my game and help me get better." 

Cook said he hoped this year's scholarships were the first in what would become a long tradition for both the Manchester Country Club and the Manchester High School golf team. 

"This is the first year we've started this program," said Cook. "We hope to carry on a long tradition for years to come, and we certainly look forward to seeing them out here a lot this summer." 

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