Six years ago, Nikki Bratt opened her laptop and noticed a new notification in her inbox. Unaware of the impact she would make on Revere, the golf program’s future and her husband’s future, she clicked on the notification.

Before the fall of 2019, the Revere High School (RHS) men’s Varsity golf coach position became vacant. As a result, Revere sent out an email for those interested in taking over the position, and Nikki Bratt immediately thought of one person: her husband David Archer.

“We had an email via the HR department at the school, and I . . . forwarded it to David and said ‘You know, this might be something you should think about.’ . . . He is an amazing golfer. He’s a very, very good golfer, and he loves it. I thought it might be an interesting way for him not only to spend his time but to be able to give back to the community,” Bratt said.

Knowing the deep love and care that Archer has for golf, Bratt could not help but think of him upon seeing the email. Despite her suggestions, however, Archer noted that he still had a full-time job, and he was unsure whether or not he could provide the golf program the proper time and effort it deserved. Not only did Archer have no experience coaching, he also had no personal experience working in education. The men’s Junior Varsity golf coach Jed McKnight, however, works as a history teacher at Revere Middle School (RMS) and could assist Archer in learning the ropes of the job. Finding comfort in McKnight’s stay, Archer knew he had the resources available that would enable him to properly curate a successful golf program.

“I [didn’t] have any coaching experience. I have management experience, and I’ve run a business. And [that’s] kind of been my approach. . . . One of my first [questions] when they offered me the job was ‘Is the Junior Varsity coach going to stay?’ I need[ed] to know that Jed McKnight [was] going to stay. I don’t know anything about school systems and how the schools work. I can run a business, but education is different, and I need[ed] to have somebody . . . who [was] in the schools on a day-to-day [basis] so I [could have] someone to rely upon for communication and everything else. That was a big determining factor for me in taking the position,” Archer said.

In specific, the administrative and logistical aspects of the school system were the elements that McKnight assisted Archer with. Whether it be asking permission from the school to participate in certain activities, filling out paperwork before collecting fundraising money, becoming a registered visitor with the middle school or ensuring proper communication between parents and coaches, McKnight assisted Archer in better understanding the school system.

“[I helped with] the administrative and logistics of how things would work. . . . [The coaches] know golf, but they didn’t necessarily know all the intangibles between the school and a team and parents and transportation and all those other little things that are part of [the school system],” McKnight said.

It was made official; David Archer was now Coach David Archer. Not long after acquiring the position, however, Archer and Bratt discovered that their first child was on the way. Knowing he would need some further assistance due to his busy life, Archer asked Scott Altman, John Bernatovicz and Michael Riley if they could join Archer on this new journey. Scott Altman has golfed for 38 years and is a Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School graduate. Revere alumni John Bernatovicz is the Director of Player Development at Revere, and he works closely with the newly established middle school club program. Bernatovicz played high-level golf throughout his childhood as well, receiving a Division I college scholarship for golf and playing in the national championship during his college career. Michael Riley, another Revere alumni, has golfed for over thirty years, playing both in high school and in college before playing in the Ohio Senior Open in 2022.

“[I reached out to] Scott Altman, who was my mentor in business early in my career, and then [we] add[ed] John Bernatovicz, who . . . is one of the best golfers ever to come out of Revere High School. . . . And then we added Mike Riley who’s also a Revere grad[uate] [and] who’s a very, very good golfer who has similar experiences. . . . We have a wealth of knowledge and diverse knowledge [for our golfers] to draw from,” Archer said.

Taking over the program proved more difficult than it seemed, however. In Archer’s first season as coach, there were only five golfers on the team, and the Revere community was not very involved. Now, however, the program’s changes and the team’s development have increased the community’s interest in the sport and in the players.

“When I took the golf team over in 2019, we had five kids and no money in our budget. This year, we had [about] 28 [students] coming out for tryouts. . . . Every year we’ve gotten better, gotten more competitive. We’ve grown that community. . . . [And] five years later, . . . we [now have] a presence in districts for our third year in a row—because we had an individual qualifier three years ago in Jack Kinder—and then this year we had our first state qualifier [since] 2009. . . . You build the community, you build the team,” Archer said.

When Archer took over the golf program, he was unaware of a key part of a coach’s job: the paycheck. Though he knew coaches in other sports got paid, the golf program—especially due to its small size when Archer took over—seemed like an exception. When former Revere athletic director Tom McKinnon handed Archer his first paycheck, Archer was incredibly confused. That confusion turned to shock, however, as Archer realized that the golf program had no funding.

“I didn’t know that you got paid to be a high school coach. I’d never done it. I didn’t know that was a thing, especially [for] a golf coach. I was aware that football coaches got paid, . . . [but] when Tom McKinnon offered me the position and said ‘You’re going to have a stipend of whatever dollars,’ I was like, ‘Oh, is that my budget?’ And he said ‘No, that’s what you get paid.’ I said ‘I didn’t realize that you got paid for this, but you just told me I have five kids [in the golf program] and no money in my budget? How am I supposed to build the program I want to build with no kids and no money?’,” Archer said.

When Archer realized the situation and the state that the program was in, he knew he had to do something. Archer’s mission and reason for taking this position was to improve the golf program and foster a positive community around the sport. Without funding, however, this dream would prove significantly more difficult than Archer initially anticipated. To combat the lack of funding, Archer instead asked to do something that took McKinnon by surprise: to move all of the money that Revere was meant to pay Archer and place it into the golf team’s budget instead.

“I asked, ‘Can I decline to receive the income, and can the school just move the money . . . to part of the budget so I can actually put that money to good use to build the program?’ He looked at me like I had nine heads. He was like, ‘Well, I don’t know. I’ve never had that question. We’re going to have to ask.’ I said, ‘Well, here’s the deal; if you can’t [put my paycheck money into the program], you’re going to pay me the money, and then after I pay taxes, I’m going to give you back fifty cents on the dollar’,” Archer said.

Archer’s mind was set; he would prioritize transforming the program itself over anything else. And, over the next few years, Archer would continue to prioritize the program and the students in the program. His first demonstration of his priority, Archer has never and will never collect a paycheck from Revere. Following in his footsteps, Coach Jeremy Harpley began placing his paycheck back into the golf program before he retired from Revere Local Schools this year.

“It is true that I have never taken the compensation, but I never did this [with] the intent to receive compensation. I [see] it as I’m not really giving any money back; it’s money I never expected to receive, so it’s not that big of a deal. . . . I once told [the athletic department head] Don Seeker . . . [that] I would be fine with [him] asking me [if I would take the stipend this year] every year. The year that I say ‘Yes, I’m going to take the compensation’ [is the year that] you need to fire me and tell me to go back to work because it’d be so obvious at that point that I need to go back to my office. If I’m doing this for the money, I’m doing it for the wrong reason. I understand that I’m also very, very fortunate to be in a financial situation where I have the opportunity to [put my paycheck back into the program], and I acknowledge that [so] I don’t want that to be a focal point,” Archer said.

As Revere Local Schools is a public organization, Revere must publicize Archer’s fund transfers. Revere’s Treasurer Rick Berdine detailed the process that he and the school must go through to transfer Archer’s paycheck to the golf program.

“Normally, a person would fulfill their contractual duties and we would pay him or her. In Mr. Archer’s case, the board transfers the same amount of money as his contract would be over to his team accounts. So, there’s a public authorization that [the board conducts] to allow me to do this. [Archer] requested that the equivalent amount of money be placed [in] the team account for boy’s golf so that he could use it for further development of the program and for the needs of his student athletes. Instead of paying [Archer], I ask the board at the conclusion of each season [to transfer the funds],” Berdine said.

With these additional funds, the golf program could now focus on upgrading equipment and providing the golfers with as many tools as possible. One of Archer’s primary goals when he first took the job was to place a golf simulator inside the high school that the golfers could easily access. Not only does an indoor simulator allow the team the opportunity to practice golf in the off-season, but it also provides feedback to the students by analyzing various aspects of their swing through digital and electronic means.

“I wanted to make sure that we had access to the right tools. . . . I told Tom McKinnon at the time [that] I [was] going to save up money and [that] I [was] going to put a simulator in this high school. [I thought] ‘It’s going to give us the ability to do things in the off-season.

Archer, as a board member for the golfing range Fairlawn Country Club, wished to make the range the home of the RHS golf teams. Though he could not vote on the matter himself as it was a conflict of interest, Archer achieved his goal and now, the golf teams’ home is the Fairlawn Country Club range.

“[The simulator is] going to give us the ability to have access to something [where] . . . we aren’t at the whim of someone else. In other words, if Fairlawn says they don’t want Revere folk there that day, . . . we will always have access to something golf-related. It also gives us a year-round presence. . . . It was really important to me for Fairlawn [Country Club] to be the home of Revere golf, . . . [and it is now] our home course,” Archer said.

This has not been the only change made to the program, however. In fact, the program added another branch entirely; the middle school club.

“So we didn’t have a formalized middle school program until last year when we started it,” Archer said.

Two years into Archer’s coaching career, he decided to begin an annual tradition: The Friday Night Lights. Revere’s Friday Night Lights is based on the movie of the same name, a movie about a high school football team in Texas. Wanting to recreate the film’s atmosphere in golf, Revere now hosts an annual get-together named after the 2004 movie that brings the Revere golf community together. This is not the only tradition, however, as Revere golf holds banquets at the conclusion of each season to celebrate the final standings and awards for each individual golfer.

“There was a famous movie called Friday Night Lights. The movie itself is about football in Texas, high school football, which is like a religion. . . . Every Friday night, everybody’s at the [football] game. . . . And so, sort of on a whim, we said, ‘How do we do this in golf?’ And what better way than to invite all the members of the Fairlawn Country Club to an event where we have some food? . . . [It brought] all the kids from the Junior Varsity and high school and girls’ programs all together,” Bernatovicz said.

Community investment serves as a key motivator for Archer and for the decision behind the middle school program.

“If you don’t have people interested in golf, you don’t have a golf team. Once you have people interested in golf, you have to build that community up to where there’s enough notoriety. . . . That’s why we added a middle school club program this year,” Archer said.

There is always something more to improve, however. Though the team has money, Revere Local Schools does not fund all aspects of the golf teams, and Archer hopes to encourage the community to donate to the program.

“One thing that I would love to do is a club team. The school doesn’t buy . . . any equipment or anything like that, so raising money to fund the ability to have golf shirts and golf bags for . . . our club team would probably be next,” Archer said.

With a young son at home, Archer had to rely more on his co-coaches to keep the program alive and stable. Despite the hardships that come along with working long hours and raising a child, Archer still makes time for the program, and he continues to do as much as possible to care for and tend to the program’s development. According to Altman, the golf program itself acts as another child to Archer.

“[Archer] loves this program, so it’s almost like his other child now because it has morphed [so much],” Altman said.

Through all of the struggles and hardships over the years, the program truly has morphed into something brand new. Not only has the sport itself changed immensely over the last several decades, but the Revere program has seemingly changed just as much over the last six years under Archer and the other coaches’ guidance. According to Coach Riley, the differences between golfers in the past compared to Revere golfers today are like night and day.

“[The program] has changed in every sense of the word. I mean, before we had a hard time even finding a team. Now, we have twenty-some people showing up for tryouts. Same with [the] girls [team]. And the kids are getting better. And there’s more continuity in the team; they all support each other, they’re all around each other more often. They have a better sense of commitment to each other, not just themselves and learning how to play the sport. It’s a night and day transformation. . . . Golf wasn’t a big program until David Archer got involved, and it’s been a complete 180,” Riley said.

Though Archer’s hiring kickstarted the program’s advancements, without the help of all the Revere golf coaches, the program would not thrive the same way it does today.

“It is amazing what we have built. I didn’t build anything that didn’t include [the other coaches]. That’s ultimately what it boils down to. It’s not about one person. It’s not about one experience. It’s not even about one team. It is our entire program. . . . It can only help if people are talking about Revere golf. . . . It doesn’t hurt us whether they’re talking about [the] boys or girls or the middle school [golfers]; it’s the fact that they’re talking about Revere golf,” Archer said.

Throughout the last six years, the Revere golf program has grown and changed as a result of all the work the coaches put in. Whether it be the growing number of students interested in golf, the community involvement or the development of the middle school club, Archer, Bernatovicz, Altman, Harpley, McKnight and Riley have contributed time, energy and even money to advance the golf program, and they will continue to do so over the next several years.