Nick Yagnik might not get out on the golf course as much as he did last summer, but only because he’s invested in so many other opportunities.
Last month Yagnik began a whirlwind tour that has him traveling as far as Japan, where he is one of four selected to represent the United States as a youth ambassador with the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
His junior year at High School South hadn’t even finished when he attended summer seminar at the United States Naval Academy. Then it was off to the American Legion Boys State, followed by summer training in Wisconsin with the Sea Cadet Corps, a Junior Navy volunteer program that teaches cadets community service, respect, honor and the Navy way. They also selected him for the Japan experience that he’ll head to in August.
“I’m a little busy,” Yagnik said. “And I do have some stuff I’m doing. I am all over the place.”
Yagnik started to get involved with many of those opportunities in middle school. He also joined the Civil Air Patrol, which advanced him to the Air Force Auxiliary. He also took up Scouts in middle school, and last December was awarded Eagle Scout after finishing his project that built a walkway over a muddy portion of a local park.
“He’s very multifaceted,” said WW-P South coach Mike Hussong.
Through all that he does, Yagnik follows tenets that he picked up when he started playing golf with First Tee of Greater Trenton 10 years ago.
“They’ve taught me pretty much everything I know about golf, and they have nine core values which I kind of model my everyday life with,” Yagnik said. “I’ve used those same core values to help me improve my golf game and also my leadership skills, and I learned things like confidence, judgment, responsibility and values like that. I try to live up to them in in my everyday life.”
First Tee lists its nine values as: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment. With each year, Yagnik has gotten to understand the importance of the values that he follows.
“I started using those values, and I started understanding the meaning behind those values before I realized how important they were and how prevalent they are in my life,” he said. “I can’t really put an exact date or time to it, but as I stepped out of my comfort zone and into different leadership positions, whether it be for school teams or for these different organizations, taking these values and living my life by these values has been pretty important.”
Yagnik tries to keep his values in mind in all aspects of his life, whether it’s on the golf course, in school, at home, or any number of extracurricular activities, many of which he started because of the influence of his older brother, Aaron.
“I definitely feel like there’s a correlation between the things I’ve taken away from that program to my golf game,” Yagnik said. “So it means I’m giving my 100 percent at practice, making sure that I’m focused during practice and helping my teammates stay focused as well. But also being honest out on the course and holding myself and others accountable, but ultimately just having fun and meeting new people.”
Yagnik enjoyed golf this spring more than either previous year with the South boys team. He finished his third year of high school golf on a huge high when he captured the Central Jersey, Group 4 Championship at Charleston Springs Golf Berkshire Golf Course in Jefferson.
Yagnik posted a 4-under 68 to win by two strokes over Freehold Township’s Christian Klemanowicz. Yagnik had placed third as a sophomore to spark this year’s improvement.
“I had set the goal coming into this season to win the tournament,” he said. “Obviously shooting 68, I had never done that before, so [playing well] on such an important day was a great confidence booster.”
Yagnik was equally thrilled that the Pirates team had the chance to play. WW-P South hadn’t played in the sectional as a team in either of his first two years. He set the pace with the best round of his career.
“He was putting the ball really well, which usually in golf if you’re rolling the ball well, your score is going to show that,” said Hussong. “He wasn’t hitting too many errant tee shots or finding himself in trouble. He was just finding ways to score par or even better, and in his matchup, the overall tournament winner was also in there so I think that kind of helped him elevate his game a little bit.”
Yagnik showed some resilience early on in the round that reflected his maturity and experience. He needed three putts on the second hole, but instead of letting that discourage him going forward, he birdied the next three holes.
“I was glad I was able to mentally reset after that and continue moving forward and once my putter started rolling on No. 4, there was no stopping,” Yagnik said. “On hole seven, I made a crucial par putt from about 10 feet. That green slopes a lot left to right and that par putt slid in the right side of the cup and it propelled me forward to a great first nine.”
Right in the midst of his string of birdies was an important chip in for birdie on the fifth hole.
“I’ve played that course twice before and I had very bad experiences freshman and sophomore year on that hole,” Yagnik said. “So chipping in for birdie on that hole was huge for my confidence and then birdieing number six again to go three birdies in a row set me at 3-under. That’s where I felt I had a chance.”
Hussong has been Pirates coach the past two seasons and he saw a growth in Yagnik overall. It showed in how he navigated the ups and downs of golf.
“I felt like his confidence in his game was a lot different than last year and I think that showed in his ability to score,” Hussong said. “He really went about attacking each course and each matchup. Every match he was aggressive when he needed to be, but also played some really great golf down the stretch where he was kind of just catering to the course and trying to find the spots where you could miss or could not miss.”
Yagnik also improved in his second trip to the Tournament of Champions. He shot a 5-over 77 at Raritan Valley Country Club to finish off a season highlighted by his sectional crown.
“Having played competitive golf the summer prior I was kind of used to being in contention to win,” Yagnik said. “Being in those situations before helped me stay focused on my game instead of the leaderboard, or my score. That definitely helped my mental game and my focus.”
Yagnik is equally focused during his extracurricular pursuits. He has been through a variety of experiences that have helped to shape him. When he was at the summer seminar at Navy, it gave him an up-close look at their lifestyle. At the Boys State, attendees were challenged in a leadership development program for juniors where they simulated American government and politics.
“I do enjoy giving back to the community,” Yagnik said, “but I’m not sure what my future holds, whether it be continuing service through organizations like these or going into the military.”
Hussong said he is glad that Yagnik’s future includes another season of golf with the Pirates. Yagnik has exhibited some of the same traits with the team that he holds so important in other aspects of his life.
“From a leadership standpoint, Nick is really great,” Hussong said. “He uses his previous golf experience because he played a lot as a junior golfer in tournament settings. He uses that to help elevate our team. So when we’re at practice days, I usually pair him with younger players and allow him to kind of walk them through some of the things that he’s seeing on the course while he’s out there and some of the things that he’s thinking about as he’s approaching his next shot. He has really helped our team tremendously.”
Hussong expects more of the same leadership out of Nick Yagnik next year. As for his play, Hussong is hopeful that he can be even more consistent in shooting closer to the way he did at sectionals throughout the season.
“I’m definitely going to get out and play some golf,” Yagnik said. “I’m not sure competitively, but I’m definitely going to play some golf, probably just with friends. That’s my plan right now. I’m not sure if I’m going to play competitively this summer.”
South golfer Nick Yagnik, a rising senior, was chosen as a youth ambassador with the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.,
