Playing a round: BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham bring spotlight to kidney foundation efforts
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his putt head toward the hole during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake and Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham walk toward the start of the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024.
-
- Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake hits a drive during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his putt during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake (left) and Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham laugh during the banquet after the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham prepares to hit a drive during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham watches his putt during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU golfer Zac Jones watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake (right) and Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham talk before the start of the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake watches his putt during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake putts the ball during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU golfer Zac Jones hits his tee shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- BYU golfer Zac Jones watches his shot during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
-
- Golfers pose for a photo during the Coaches Legacy Tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper on Monday, June 3, 2024/
What is it like to play a round of golf with the two most well-known college football coaches in Utah?
Former Utah State Amateur champion Dan Horner has hit the links with Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham quite a few times, while BYU senior Zac Jones experienced being in a scramble on a team with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake for the first time at Monday’s Coaches Legacy Invitational benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper.
Both Jones and Horner said that while golf isn’t the main sport for either Sitake or Whittingham, they enjoyed competing with the coaches.
“You definitely see instantly why people love him as a coach and why the players love him,” Jones said of Sitake. “He’s super funny. Even when he hits bad shots, he’s just having a good time. You see him on the football field in his element and he’s a competitor. He’s super passionate and driven but it seems like he treats life that way. It was really cool just playing with him and seeing him outside of his element. He’s still passionate, still funny, still fired up but a super nice guy. It was just a good time.”
Horner smiled as he talked about how he’d gotten to know Whittingham and so he teases him a little bit to keep him humble when they golf, but overall it’s a lot of fun.
“I like playing with him,” Horner said. “He’s fun. He’s engaging, he remembers things and he cares about people. He asks about your family and how they are doing. He’s just a good dude.”
Both Sitake and Whittingham have been playing in this charity tournament since they became head coaches, something that has become part of their annual schedule and one of the few times they pull out their golf clubs.
“It’s for great cause,” Whittingham said. “The key is that it’s got value and it serves a purpose for the Kidney Foundation, which is awesome.”
It has become a tradition, one passed down from previous coaches at both schools including LaVell Edwards, Gary Crowton and Bronco Mendenhall at BYU, and Jim Fassel, Ron McBride and Urban Meyer at Utah.
“There is a legacy,” Sitake said. “The fact that Lavell Edwards was part of this and that other coaches from Utah were part of this and Kyle has been part of this and Urban Meyer and Ron McBride and all those guys, it’s been really cool to be here. I remember seeing Lavell was here when I was a player. I’m just really honored to be here more than anything and just thankful that I have the opportunity to come play golf and to just be in this position.”
Deen Vetterli, founder and CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho, has seen each of the coaches honor the efforts of the coaches who have come before and continue the tradition.
“It’s always been unbelievable that we have been able to get these coaches since 1989,” Vetterli said. “We’ve gotten calls from other affiliates around the country who say, ‘how do you do it?’ It says something about the culture of Utah because others have tried and haven’t been able to do it in other states. It’s so gratifying.”
Both Sitake and Whittingham shrugged when asked about whether they were focused on trying to beat the other coach’s team, saying that while they are competitors and want to win, having fun is the most important part of it.
Thanks in part to Jones hitting the ball extremely well, Sitake’s team shot a 58 (14-under-par) and was just able to edge Whittingham’s squad (59, 13-under-par).
“The teams that we get, I just want to see how these guys golf,” Sitake said. “I think probably the last four years have been college golfers from BYU and that’s just been really cool to watch them play. I am shocked at how good they are. I know they’re good but to be just calling their shots and things like that, it’s really cool. I get nervous around it, but at least I can brag about them when I see them at the next level. That’s going to be the cool part for me.”
The bottom line, though, is that the charity event isn’t about winning or losing or even really about golf for Sitake and Whittingham. It is a chance for the coaches to serve the community by highlighting the efforts of the kidney foundation.
“You learn a little bit about how to help people by listening to Deen (Vetterli) and everyone speak about it,” Sitake said. “Anything we can do to help people is good. We talked about the gospel quite a bit at BYU. We talk about following Jesus Christ and charity is a big part of that. Being able to help others helps us and so I’m all about that. There have been a lot of people who helped me along in life and so I’m hoping that we can help others as well. It’s nice that we get this many people and all the sponsors involved to do that.”
Vetterli expressed her gratitude to all of the participants and sponsors who made the charity tournament possible and helped raise money to benefit those who suffer with kidney disease.
For nearly 40 years, she has been on a mission to help raise awareness and aid those in need. The National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho will use the funds donated to help dialysis and transplant patients by providing financial assistance for necessities such as food, utilities, rent and transportation, as well as for research, education, screening efforts and promotion of organ donation.
Without the support of coaches like Sitake and Whittingham and their predecessors, Vetterli’s task would’ve been much more difficult.
“The fact that these coaches have come together has really made a difference in improving the quality of life for hundreds of dialysis and transplant centers throughout Utah,” Vetterli said.
For more information about the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho or to find ways to donate, go to http://www.KidneyUT.org.
