In 2005, Derrik Goodwin got the golf bug and it hasn't left him ever since.

"My dad was always into golf, but I never really liked it all that much. But as I got into my older teens, I started watching Tiger Woods," he says.

"Tiger won The Masters [in 2005] in a playoff over Chris DiMarco and I started to become a big fan and got into the game from there. I had never played more than four or five times a year, and I actually made my dad a bit of a bet that year, because I told him I'd like to get a golf membership and he said 'no you're not going to use it.'

I made him a deal, I said if I go try out for the high school golf team and if I make the team, you have to give me a golf membership. He said 'okay deal.' I had never broken 90 before, I went out for tryouts and shot an 82 and made the team."

The rest, as they say, is history. Goodwin earned a golf membership to The Wildewood Club, where he honed his craft.

"Pretty much moving forward from then, every day all day I was that classic junior golfer where I'd get dropped off at the golf course first thing in the morning and get picked up at dark. I just lived at the course."

Goodwin's abilities landed him a spot on the Lethbridge College golf team, where he thrived.

In his second and third year, he was the recipient of the Frank Lindsay First Place Scholarship Award based on the previous year's GPA as well as 36 holes of stroke play.

He was also named captain of the golf team in his third year, where the squad qualified to compete in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship for the first time in over ten years. In 2012, Goodwin graduated with his Professional Golf Management Certificate and also turned pro.

He's been a fixture in the local golf scene ever since, both as a player and coach, being named the PGA of Manitoba Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2018, as well as the PGA of Manitoba Junior Leader of the Year and Teacher of the Year in 2017 and 2018.

"My goal as I got into the golf industry was to become more and more of a teacher and a coach. And I feel that in order to be a good teacher and a good coach, you have to be able to play as well," he says.

"My long-term goal is to teach, coach and play full-time and I'm slowly working towards that. I set out a goal for myself in late 2015 that in 2016, I wanted to win Player of the Year here in Manitoba, just to prove to myself that I have the ability. The fact that I was able to put in a lot of hard work over the winter and was able to reach that goal was extremely exciting."

Goodwin's path to the Bisons occurred a few years ago, when program founder and Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame member Garth Goodbrandson brought him in as an assistant.

Over time, Goodbrandson started working on a succession plan which will start to take effect this year as Goodwin begins his first season as head coach for Manitoba. Goodbrandson will still be around with the program, however he will largely be dealing with administrative tasks such as fundraising.

Goodwin is a student of the game with a wealth of knowledge that he's excited to bring to the team, such as golf psychology and managing your emotions. He's learned a number of tactics over the years from valued teachers such as Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, who have coached players to well over 100 victories on the LPGA tour, PGA Tour, European Tour, Ladies European Tour and Japan Tour.

"It's about understanding that you can't go out there and focus on how to swing the club, you've more so got to go out there and focus on the things that you have complete control over. I stress that a lot with anybody that I work with, is you can't worry about the things that you don't have any control over. You need to focus on the things you do have control over, that being your pre-shot routine, your mindset, the way you react to certain shots and stuff like that."

Goodwin describes his coaching style as "hands off." He feels that the sport is very individualistic but has a goal of helping his players figure out what their personality styles are in order to help them play their best golf.

"I'm going to be spending a lot of time listening to them, asking questions and getting to know them so that they understand that I'm there to support them regardless of the results. As long as they're putting in the work the results will come, and I'll be happy as long as they continue with the process."