Journal Tribune Male Athlete of the Year: TA’s Angis state’s best

It’s easy to select the Male Fall Athlete of the Year with the season Brian Angis has had.

Angis, a senior at Thornton Academy, played a key role in the Golden Trojans success this fall, which included the team finishing with a perfect 10-0 record and capturing the Maine Class A Golf Championship.

Individually, Angis ended the year with an 8-1-1 record, as well as winning the individual state title, the first Thornton Academy golfer to do so since 1950.

“It was pretty cool because it was my senior year,” Angis said. “We worked pretty hard, and even since we were freshmen, we always had a pretty good team. After coming in second last year, which wasn’t that cool, it was nice to come back and win states. As for individual, it was pretty cool because all the hard work paid off in the end, and it was a pretty good feeling.”

The success might not come as a shock to those who know Angis, in fact, it might have even been preordained.

Angis comes from a golfing family. His late father, John, was a golf pro, and both of his uncles, Chris and Tim, are currently golf pros. His cousin, Megan Angis, is a former girls state champion and went on to play college golf at Siena College in New York. His brother, Eric, who was a part of the Trojans state championship team in 2007, currently plays for Methodist College in North Carolina.

In his early years, however, Angis was not interested in becoming the next great golfer in his family until the age of 12.

“I never really wanted to play golf,” Angis said. “I always wanted to play football, baseball and basketball. So I did that until I was 12. Then I picked up a club, and they had a junior clinic over at Biddeford-Saco [Country Club], and my brother went and he had a lot of fun so I decided to go. Since then I’ve just been hooked and just kept playing and practicing.”

Thornton Academy golf coach Mike Verrier said Angis’ golf background helps, but it’s also his work ethic that makes him successful.

“He’s what I call a ”˜golf rat,’” Verrier said. “He plays one sport, he puts his heart and soul into it. When the golf course opens in April he’s there, and keeps playing until the snow falls.”

Verrier said the work has paid off in the tougher aspect of every golfer’s game: consistency.

“A lot of times, you might have players who have a down year and then bounce around a bit,” Verrier said. “He’s gotten better every single year since the time that I’ve known him. It’s cultivated into the kind of season he’s had. You can’t write a script like this.”

Angis said the strengths of his game are his irons and his putting, but he said he needs to continue working on consistantly hitting accurate shots off the tee.

“Sometimes I get a little wild on the tee,” Angis said. “It doesn’t really matter where my ball goes as long as it’s in play. I can just hit my irons on the green and two putt for par.”

To continue his work on his game, Angis said he is looking into attending either Methodist or Siena next year, but he has one goal in mind; carry on the family tradition and become a professional golfer.

“I plan on going pro,” Angis said. “The rest of my family has already done it. I plan on pursuing golf the rest of my life.”

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