GREAT FALLS — Lance Olson is set to enter his 13th season as head coach of the Great Falls High golf program, but for the first time in his tenure he's taking on a dual responsibility this fall.
Earlier this summer, it was announced that Olson was hired as interim head coach of the Providence program.
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"With doing both sports this year, I have not run in to, 'Hey, you can't do this,'" Olson said Thursday at Anaconda Hills Golf Club during Great Falls High's practice. "It's all been 100% positive support, encouraging me to do what I need to do."
Olson has yet to coach at the college level, so this fall will be a steep learning curve, he said.
"I've never had to deal with that piece of it," Olson said. "It's definitely a different egg between, you know high school with some beginning golfers, then college kids have a little more golf experience and more of a desire to . . . be competitive, I guess."
A big reason Olson decided to take the role with Providence is because his youngest son played for the Argos.
"Watching him play college golf and watching the college program got me thinking maybe, you know, it'd be a good thing later on if . . . it came up I would definitely go for it," Olson said.
Although a shared season means that both programs will have tournaments to compete in simultaneously, Olson said that he reached a common ground with the two entities for when that scenario does arise.
"They've allowed me the flexibility to focus on high school golf and run the tournaments," Olson said. "If there's a tournament for high school, that takes priority, I'm going to be at that tournament. If it's a tournament for college, the athletic directors will be the chaperons for that piece of it."
Olson said he's preparing for long days now that he'll be leading two programs.
"I'll probably get to work 6:30 (a.m.) teaching, get through that. Once that's over, I'll get here to the course with the high school kids about 3:45, 4 (p.m.)," Olson said. "We'll go through either a range day or nine holes, and then as those kids are leaving — probably about six o'clock — that's when my college is going to start.
"But it'll be good."
Thursday was the first day of practice for the Bison golf team, while the Argos won't begin their sessions until Aug. 25.
