A short trip down I-80, in southern Lincoln, Coach Kyle Slusher’s childhood was planted. He stayed nearby and grew up there, which led to him attending and graduating from Norris High School, where his love for the game of golf was sparked.
“Back when Gretna was a really small town, we came up here and played basketball against them,” Coach Slusher said. “I also played at Tiburon Golf Course right away when it opened.”
Slusher will take over as girls golf head coach during the 2023-24 school year.
After receiving his undergraduate at Dana College in Blair, Coach Slusher moved to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he participated in different variations of research. He ended up taking his talents to UNO where he earned his teaching certificate. Despite spending numerous years in school beforehand, he ended it by spending some time at Kearney to finish up getting credits for his administration degree.
“My family always jokes that I will not ever stop going to school,” Coach Slusher said.
Prior to obtaining his job in the science field at GHS six years ago, Coach Slusher taught at an Omaha Public Schools high school for 11 years where he began his coaching career. He was a head girls golf coach, and later took over as the boys coach too. Coach Slusher has assisted behind Scott Boehler over the last four years at Gretna for the boys golf team. On top of that, this past season he was also assistant coach behind Mark Jones on the girls side. Without doubt, Coach Slusher has been all over the game throughout his life.
When he is not on the golf course, Coach Slusher can be found in the movie theaters or at the Orpheum theater accompanied by family. He and his wife, Nicole, have three children, seniors Maggie and Addy, and fifth grader Carsten.
“My wife and I are season ticket holders at the Orpheum Theater, the Omaha Performing Arts,” Coach Slusher said. “So we see a lot of plays, musicals and symphonies.”
Coach Slusher doesn’t just coach golf to pass the time away, it’s one of his strongest passions. He shows this by spending a lot of time around the younger players, trying to expand the love for the game across the community. Coach Slusher also helps out with the First Tee program, which is for kids who are searching to develop their golfing skills.
“I think golf is a great sport because you can continually get better,” Coach Slusher said. “Some people pick it up as a hobby, then they’re just quickly addicted to it because they see how quick it takes to get good at it. Even when you get to the elite levels, there’s still little areas that still need to be improved on.”