Pleasant Valley junior Lydon Patascher’s journey to the PIAA state golf tournament came from a lot of hard work and determination.

Patascher won the last spot in the District 11 Class 3A playoff to get into states, and earned a trip to Penn State University to compete against the most talented high school golfers in Pennsylvania.

The state tournament appearance capped an outstanding junior year on the links for Patascher - one that earned him the 2023 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Golfer of the Year award.

“It was a great atmosphere. They have the putting green and chipping areas roped off. It was basically a pro event, which was really cool,” Patascher said about the state tournament. “My one disappointment about my time at states is I probably played the worst I played all year.

“My swing didn’t feel good the first day and I shot an 80. I was two strokes better on the second day, which achieved a goal I had to do better on day two. Overall, I finished in 57th place. I would have liked to do better, but it was still a great experience.” The journey of making it to states was a long time in the making for Patascher.

He remembers the first time he could hold a club, and the work it took to get where he is now.

“I basically played golf my entire life with my dad growing up,” Patascher said. “Ever since I could hold a club, I’ve held a club. I really didn’t start taking it seriously until my eighth grade year when my high school coach let me practice with the team because I wasn’t eligible to play yet.

“He let me practice, and that’s when I ended up seeing my potential, and knowing I could compete at a high level.”

Patascher practices all-year round, playing tournaments in the offseason.

“I put a lot of work in over the offseason,” Patascher said. “But this past summer, I was really struggling. Fortunately, my game came together before the start of the school season and it ended up showing.

“I still put multiple hours in a week during the school season, whether it was during practice time or on the weekends in my free time. I’d be at the range or the course working on my game.”

Patascher has high expectations for his final year of high school golf after the trip to Penn State this season.

“I’m going to be working extremely hard this offseason, whether it’s in the gym, or out on the range just to get my swing where I want it,” Patascher said. “Playing in two-day tournaments against nationally ranked players during the summer is a lot of pressure because you definitely have to be playing well to compete with those kids.

“But if I’m playing well in those tournaments over the summer, then the school season is going to feel like a breeze. Those matches, I’ll be able to relax and play loose.”

Head coach Steve Krechel has been at Pleasant Valley for 34 years coaching golf. Krechel has a good relationship with Patascher.

“He had been coming to intramurals before he was even in ninth grade,” Krechel said. “I’ve known Lydon for a long time, and he’s a very special kid and loves the game of golf.

“More importantly, he loves to work at his skills to get better.”

The relationship between the pair has helped Patascher’s performance on the course. Patascher said a big part of that is knowing he can lean back on Krechel if he’s not playing his best.

“He always brings so much energy to the team, and is so positive after I have a bad round or something,” Patascher said about Krechel. “He’s always telling me to keep my head up, move on and keep working, and I’ll get the results I want.

“Having that positive support has really helped me realize that I am good enough to play at a high level.”

There was a lot of growth for Pleasant Valley this past fall as a team. The Bears went 5-10, and posted some impressive victories.

“We did a lot better than we expected to,” Patascher said. “We haven’t been very good as a team the past few years, but this year we ended up winning some close matches that helped our record.

“I tried to play the role of a leader on the team this year. I would pick people up if they’d be down. I would ask people to go to the course all the time to work on stuff. I really feel like it made an impact on a lot of kids.”

Patascher also led by example. He finished the season with a 74 average - the lowest season average in school history. His low round of the season came in September against Pen Argyl when he fired a 69 to tie the school record.

He then went on to win the District 11 Class 3A qualifier, topping 32 other 3A golfers with a round of 72. That performance earned Patascher a berth in the District 11 championships one week later.

Patascher is hoping for even better results next season as an individual, and also for the Bears as a team.

“I’m working hard to earn another shot at states as an individual, and I’m hoping to help our team earn a berth in the EPC tournament,” he said.