Sister Lynn Winsor Shares Thoughts on Legendary Coaching Career

Sister Lynn Winsor, BVM, CMAA, is a living legend in Arizona and in golf circles nationally for her amazing career as the girls golf coach at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. In a 48-year career that started in 1974, Winsor has led her Xavier teams to a national record 37 state championships through the Arizona Interscholastic Association. In the past 44 years, Winsor’s teams at Xavier have finished first 37 times and second the other seven years.

From 1980 to 1995, Winsor’s teams set a national record with 16 consecutive state championships, and she has the No. 2 mark with 12 consecutive titles from 1998 to 2009. Perhaps her teams’ dominance is summarized best this way: Since 1996, her teams have not lost a regular-season match to another school – 285 and counting. Xavier grads include several who have excelled at higher levels such as Cheyenne Woods, Heather and Missy Farr, Grace Park and Amanda Blumenherst.

Since 1977, Winsor has also served as athletic director at Xavier Prep and has been a pioneer and leader in women’s equity in sports and is a founding member of the AIA’s Girls Equity and Sports Committee. Winsor has been a leader in the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) since the mid-1980s, serving a term on the NIAAA Board of Directors and a year as president in 1994. She is co-founder and charter member of the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA) and served on the AIAAA Executive Board for 10 years.

Question: Did you win a state championship in your first year of coaching at Xavier College Preparatory? If not, when did you win your first one? What was that experience like the first time?
Winsor: “I took over the golf team in 1974. We were always in the tournament, but we never took first or second. In 1979, we took second place. And from then on, we’ve been so fortunate that God has blessed us, we won state championships or (took) second place all those years. We’ve won 37 (AIA state titles) and seven runners- up since then. So, it’s been a wonderful, wonderful run.”

Question: What has led to your success as golf coach at Xavier? What would you say is your coaching philosophy?
Winsor: “My coaching philosophy from Day 1 is to let our girls have a good time and enjoy it; make it fun. They did a survey many years ago that said girls like competing, but the thing they like the most is the fun. So, making friends, learning the ropes of the game, making friends with your coaches, listening, learning. Respect the game, respect each other, respect your parents, the officials – that’s what my coaching philosophy is, and I’ve followed that pretty much ever since 1974 when I came here to Xavier Prep. And, you know, it works. It works.”

Question: You started coaching not long after Title IX was passed. How has the interest in girls playing sports increased since you first started coaching? What do you see as the major benefits for girls participating in high school sports?
Winsor: “Well, girls have really, really gotten involved in sports now. I can tell you from my own personal experience the number of girls trying out for sports teams, in the fall, we maybe have 80 trying out for volleyball, maybe 30 for badminton; even golf, we have maybe 25 or 30 trying out. The word is, ‘sports is the way to learn. It’s the place to be.’ And I think since Title IX came through there’s such an emphasis on it now that I think all the schools are really working at it. I’ve seen a lot more participation from girls in Arizona and nationally. I know when I was president of the (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association) I went to so many states, and the number of girls playing has really increased. And I think that national publicity has really helped. Nobody really even knew what Title IX was in 1972. Now, everybody knows it. That’s the way for girls to get ahead. That’s the way for girls to participate in sports.”

Question: In addition to coaching girls golf, you’ve been the school’s athletic director since 1977. Tell us about some of your accomplishments in that role the past 46 years.
Winsor: “Right now, there’s a huge officials shortage, and this (past) year, Xavier (won) the Arizona Interscholastic Association Sportsmanship Award. That is the biggest award you could ever win. That’s more important than any number of state championships. When referees and officials and umpires vote your school as having great sportsmanship, then I know that we’re doing a good job.”

Question: You have coached a lot of kids in 48 years. Tell us about some of the kids you’ve coached. Do you have a special story you could share – perhaps a special player or touching experience?
Winsor: “It was in 1979 that Heather Farr came to Xavier. She had won every junior championship; she was nationally known. And she really put Xavier on the map in regard to golf. So, we’re at the state tournament and she was doing terribly. I mean, she had a 41 or 42 (through the first nine holes) and she usually shot 36, 35. So, I thought, ‘what am I going to do to motivate this young lady?’ In those days, you could only talk to (the athletes) after nine (holes); you couldn’t follow them on the course like you can now. So, she came in and I said, ‘Heather, what did you shoot for the front nine?’ And she said, ‘I shot a 41.’ I pretended I fainted right on the ground. I mean, everybody thought I collapsed. All these people came running over, and (Heather) looked down and she says, ‘Sister Lynn, Sister Lynn, what’s the matter?’ I said, ‘Heather, I know you can do better than a 41. You can shoot a 31. Let’s get out there and win this game.’ And she took state. She won the individual, and that was our first time we took second. We were state runner-up. Sometimes you have to go out of your way to motivate people.”

Question: You’ve had several consecutive championship streaks. Tell us about those. How have you been able to maintain this consistency over 48 years?
Winsor: “I wake up in the morning, first thing, and I thank God that I woke up. That’s always a good thing. The second thing is working with young people, I think, keeps you young. And I’ve worked with wonderful coaches, wonderful parents, the administration has been supportive, but those kids – the way they love each other and the way they love the school and the way they love the sport – it keeps you going. And as an athletic director, I see this on the whole scale of the school. We have over 620 kids involved in sports out of our 1,200, and then we have all the other sports and activities like robotics, eSports, (clay target) shooting, archery, mountain biking. We have all these things to get kids involved. Our girls have so many opportunities but that’s how you learn. You learn to be a friend. You learn the ropes of sports. You learn to compete and do it fairly. And that, to me, is what keeps me motivated. As a coach, I love it!

Question: What does your induction into the National High School Hall of Fame mean to you?
Winsor: Well, first of all, I’d like to thank the AIA and David Hines for nominating me for this award – I’m humbled by it. I’d also like to thank the Xavier community, our (president Sister Joan Fitzgerald and principal Sister Joan Nuckols), my staff and all the coaches that I’ve worked with for all these years, and the order, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – they’ve been so supportive as I’ve pursued this career in athletics. So, I really owe them a lot. And the entirety of the community – our families, our teachers, faculty, staff, and the kids. All the girls have been wonderful. So, I thank all of them. That’s how you win an award like this. You don’t do it; it’s the people who are helping you that are with you. And lastly, I’d like to thank the NFHS for this extremely wonderful award. And I’d like to congratulate all the other winners. This is a huge, huge honor. To be selected for this is an amazing honor and I thank God every day that I’ve been blessed by having so many people in my life that have empowered me to become the person I am.”