With 17 collegiate teams on campus and over 40% of undergraduate students participating, Bushnell University Athletics is a significant part of life as a Beacon. The Tri-Athlete model encourages students to excel in competition and in the classroom while at the same time growing in character. Teams become family and coaches are often the most impactful mentors and teachers in the lives of student-athletes. For many coaches and their players, the relationship they build during the college years is just the beginning of a lifelong friendship. This series explores the impact being made by current and former members of the Bushnell Community in the world of coaching. 
 
She was one of the best women's golfers in Bushnell history. Now Sarah (Crofcheck) Shinkle has become one of the best high school golf coaches in Oregon.
 
Shinkle was a member of the Bushnell women's golf teams from 2010-2013, and is one of just two players to earn All-Cascade Conference honors in three seasons, earning it as a sophomore, junior, and senior. She was also a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a third-team CoSIDA Academic All-America selection as a senior. She holds the Bushnell record for winning percentage (80.2%) and is second in school history with an 82.4 career stroke average.
 
Fast forward ten years and Shinkle is still heavily involved in the sports she loves, serving as the head girls golf coach for her alma mater, Crook County High School. This season the Cowgirls dominated the field at the OSAA 4A State Championships to win their first ever state title, something that Shinkle came close to with second and fourth-place finishes during her high school career. She was named the Crook County High School Coach of the Year for her efforts.
 
Shinkle is also a kindergarten teacher and the Academic Coach at Crooked River Elementary, and the coordinator for Kindergarten JumpStart for the district. She also coaches the eighth-grade team at Crook County Middle School.
 
Coaching and teaching is in her blood and she credits her mom as one of the main reasons she became a coach. She said, "I wanted to become a coach because of the influential people and coaches in my life, and my mom is the most influential coach that I have had. She has coached me since I was in first grade. My mom and her friend started our travel team SPURs youth basketball in Prineville, which is still going strong. She has coached many sports while I was participating, for SPURs, Rimrock Volleyball club, Crook County Middle School and High School in volleyball, basketball, soccer, golf, and tennis. She is also my JV coach for CCHS and I still look up to her and ask her for guidance all the time. She was one of the people that made me want to play golf in college and she has now made me want to coach and strive to be the best I can be."
 
Reflecting on your time as a collegiate golfer, Shinkle believes her time with the Beacons helped to shape her coaching philosophy. "I want my teams to be competitive, cohesive, and not just focused on one sport or activity," she said. "I love coaching student-athletes that do other sports or activities. Those athletes are leaders and are well-rounded. When I was attending NCU, the school wanted you to be a part of other activities, sports, and extracurricular activities, to grow holistically. I also take pride in my teams focusing on being STUDENT-athletes. Putting your education first is very important to me because you are not always going to have your sport but will always have your education."
 
Shinkle is married to her high-school sweetheart, Jake Shinkle, who was also a golfer at Bushnell. Jake is teaching eighth-grade language arts and leadership at CCMS. He is also a coach, having led the CCMS boys and girls wrestling teams to state titles in each of the last two years. He also coaches the JV boys golf team and continues to work at Meadow Lakes Golf Course in the summer, where he has worked since he was 15.
 
While she may not know what all the future holds for her, Shinkle knows coaching will always be a part of it. She said, "I just want to keep getting better, to make sure I am learning new techniques and coaching styles to help my teams be competitive and continue to win."