Le 1er salon de l - Association des Surintendants de Golf du Québec

Community Involvement AwardBernard Lefebvre,the Man Who Gives BackBy François HuotWhen summer is in full swing, this superintendent is hard at work, like his colleagues. But his evenings are devoted toyoung football players for whom football is a school of life and, sometimes, a way to get back on track.“You don’t know Bernard Lefebvre? Not a problem:see the group over there? He’s the tallest and thebeefiest one, you can’t miss him.” It’s true. With hisimposing physique and decidedly pleasant air, Bernardis easy to pick out. If he was in the movies, he’dbe a good choice to play Friar Tuck, one of RobinHood’s merry men who, in addition to being a manof the church, was also a lover of good food anddrink as well as an excellent fighter; handling hisstaff with skill, he delighted in giving the Sheriff ofNottingham’s men a good thrashing. Although BernardLefebvre is no actor, Golf Mag columnist andaward ceremony emcee Daniel Melançon thoughthe bore a resemblance to James Gandolfini, aliasTony Soprano, and Bernard is certainly adept atjuggling several different activities at the same time.In addition to his responsibilities as Country Clubof Montreal’s Superintendent for the last five years,Bernard spends many of his summer evenings servingas Head Coach of the “Les diablos de Laprairie”football club. It was that role that earned himthe QGSA’s Community-involved SuperintendentAward on February 22.Being a football coach is not something you learnas you go: not only is the sport physically demanding,but it can be dangerous if poorly taught. Butrest assured, that’s not the case here: in the prime ofhis youth, Bernard Lefebvre had his own career asa football player and nearly joined the world of Canadianprofessional football, having worked for twoyears (1982 and 1983) for the Montreal Concordesschool club.Reflecting on the highlights of a sports career inwhich his six-foot, two-inch (1.88-m) frame moveda 225-lb mass (100% muscle, obviously!), BernardLefebvre recalls that he had to learn to thinkfast, stay focused and “think teamwork,” becauseif a linebacker messes up, it’s everyone who paysthe price. “A linebacker never knows in advancewhether, two seconds later, he will have to chargestraight ahead towards the opposing quarterbackor run off somewhere else to tackle the personcarrying the ball,” Bernard explains. “One misstep,one split second of inattention, and the game is lostfor the whole team. Even more than in many othersports, football is a real team effort: you can have allthe stars you like, but if a secondary player comesup short, it’s the entire team that suffers. Maintaininga golf course is a little like that too: to succeed, everybodyhas to give it their all.”For Bernard, that commitment goes beyond theteam of 15-odd people who work under his supervisionand extends, at least informally, to a numberof other superintendents with whom he discussesissues regularly by telephone. “It’s very useful,” hesays. “If a problem comes up early in the spring, Ican warn a superintendent on a course up north ofMontreal where spring comes two or three weekslater. Similarly, if a problem comes up in the earlyfall, my colleagues up north can give me advancewarning.”Sylvain Charpentier, Superintendent at Club de golfBoucherville, is one of Bernard’s frequent phonecontacts. Although he does not consider himself tobe a close friend, he notes that Bernard “is genuinelymotivated by the desire to give golfers a perfectcourse.” As for the Country Club of Montreal superintendent’s“personality,” Sylvain says that “he hasloads of it, and he’s a man of action,” meaning thatin the heat of the moment, Bernard Lefebvre is ableto make important decisions quickly. One eloquentexample is his reaction to the hurricane that struckMontreal’s south shore in 2008: in just a few minutes,the course sustained significant damage withuprooted trees, thousands of branches littering theground, large pools of water on the course, downedpower lines and more. But even before the stormwas over, and knowing that equipment rental firmswere going to be overwhelmed with demands in thenext few hours, Bernard picked up the phone to reservelift trucks and other materials and hire 30 orso people to pick up the branches. The payoff? Thetournament scheduled for two days later was ableto proceed, avoiding any further losses for the club.Thinking back to the experience, Bernard draws acomparison with football: “It’s like when there’s onlya minute left on the clock and you have to make abig decision that will make you either a hero, or azero!”That time, Bernard was a hero. No doubt that’s somethingBernard owes to his character and extensiveexperience. At the age of 48, he already has along track record as superintendent, having held thepost for 10 years in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, fiveyears in Napierville, and two years in Orford (Manoirdes Sables).Generous, patient,but demanding too …At the QGSA Award Ceremony last February 22, itwas “Les diablos de Laprairie” vice-president RichardLeblanc who introduced Bernard Lefebvre.Coincidentally, he too is a former football playerwho, just like the recipient of the Community InvolvementAward, once played for the Saint-JeanGiants, whose slogan is “Once a Giant, always aGiant!”Richard Leblanc was delighted to speak aboutBernard Lefebvre. He described Bernard as a leadershipfigure with numerous strengths: patient,determined, persistent (“We started it, we’re goingto finish it!”), passionate and most importantly, generouswith his time and expertise. But does the leaderfly off the handle now and then? Here’s RichardLeblanc’s answer: “Contrary to many other coacheswho are quick to get angry, Bernard is remarkablypatient. However, when faced with an obvious lackof effort, discipline or attention, he’ll raise his tonedramatically. But he always puts things in perspectiveand explains to his young players why a lack ofeffort is bad. That’s why you can say he is a goodeducator.”For this educator of children and golf courses, thecoaching season begins in February and ends in thefall. During that time he devotes scores of hours tohis players—with great success, too, because hisyoung charges go from victory to victory. That’s verysatisfying for the defensive coach, who also derivessatisfaction from the collective accomplishmentsof the team of people that guide and oversee theplayers: “Everyone here helps one another, andwhen a young person is having difficulties with hisschoolwork or drugs, we’re there to help him. Makeno mistake about it, it makes me very happy whenwe manage to get one of our kids back on track.Football was very good to me, and now it’s my turnto give back.”Printemps 2011 43