Pictured is Stoch Nodine and his son Jayden at a family reunion in 2010.
(Canastota, NY – June 2015) The annual Strike Back for Stoch Golf Tournament will be held Aug. 15 at Casolwood Golf Course.
The tournament, which is now in its fourth year, supports three athletic scholarships named for Stanley “Stoch” Nodine who lost his battle to colorectal cancer in 2012 at the age of 39. He left behind a wife, two children and three step-children.
Nodine, who was born and raised in Oneida had coached Little League Baseball and was an Oneida Pop Warner coach. During high school he played on the Oneida High School baseball team.
“Stoch loved coaching kids,” said Margo Frink, his sister and co-organizer of the golf tournament. “We got the idea to raise money for scholarships after he died. Numerous kids were coming up to my family during the calling hours telling us Stoch coached them and many said he was their favorite coach. I knew he coached but I had no idea the impact he had on the kids. The scholarships were a way to preserve his memory for his children. They were so young when he died.”
A baseball and softball scholarship is given to a high school senior who best represents the criteria chosen by the family. Last year the family purchased two plaques signifying the awards that are now hung at the high school. Each year the winner’s names will be engraved on the plaques.
At the family’s request, the Oneida Pop Warner Association also created a scholarship fund in Nodine’s name. The money is to be used to help children pay to play, for uniforms or other items required if they are unable to do so.
“This is really a big deal for us,” Frink said. “We would not be able to come up with the money for these three scholarships without fundraising of some kind. A golf tournament seemed the obvious answer to raise the amount we needed to support it.”
The tournament is a captain and crew format (4 men or women team). It’s a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Prize money and trophies are awarded, food and drink at the turn and a chicken barbecue included after golf is complete. There will also be a 50/50 and other items raffled.
Hole sponsorship is appreciated. To sponsor a hole or donate an item to raffle, or to attend the dinner only at $20 per person, call Margo Frink at 315-481-8731.
Golf is $75 per person or $300 per team. Those interested in golfing, can call the golf course at 315-697-9164 or Jeff Frink at 315-877-1764.
“You don’t have to be an avid golfer to play,” Frink said. “Over the last several years I’ve noticed that our family and friends come to support the cause and everyone seems to have a really good time.”