Pairs of siblings attending the same university or college are not all that rare. Having a brother and a sister play in the same sport at the same school is nearly unheard of.
Will and Eleanor Schuitema compete for the men’s and women’s golf teams. While they both play for Taylor, their paths to TU golf couldn’t be more different.
“Ultimately, it was our grandfather that got us into the sport,” Will said. “He (grandfather) would let me drive the cart and buy me a Snickers at the halfway house and I just thought it was the coolest thing.”
With Will’s love of golf starting at such a young age, he began competing at the age of 12. He soon realized that golf wasn’t just a pastime, it was his passion.
Eleanor’s path to TU golf could not have been more different. Unlike her brother, she did not take to golf right away.
“My grandfather also used the same tactics on me, but instead of enticing me with a Snickers, it was a Butterfinger,” Eleanor said. “However, I was not as good at driving the golf cart. I crashed a couple more times than Will did.”
Eleanor’s grandpa also gifted her a set of pink golf clubs and all the gear she would need to succeed at golf, but Eleanor says she was just not that into it. She says she much rather enjoyed staying with her grandmother and baking.
Another one of Eleanor’s interests was dance, which she participated in for 12 years. However, during a junior league match her brothers were participating in, she says she decided right then that she wanted to give golf a shot.
“I am really competitive,” Eleanor said. “After watching Will and my younger brother compete in this junior league event, I was done. I wasn’t going to just watch anymore.”
She then signed up for the junior league herself and started playing golf competitively. Soon after her decision, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and shut down her dance studio. While it was a sad moment, she says the circumstances allowed her to dedicate more time to golf and grow in the sport.
During the pandemic, Will estimated that he, Eleanor and their family played over 100 rounds of golf. During this time, Eleanor and Will honed their skills and started gaining attention from college coaches.
“I actually reached out to Taylor and asked them if they would be interested in having me on their golf team,” Will said. “Taylor was one of the teams that reached back out and said they wanted me to take a visit.”
Other schools that Will considered were Wheaton College, Huntington University and Indiana Wesleyan University. Ultimately, Will says, Taylor reached out early in the process, and that connection played a role in his commitment to Taylor.
Eleanor’s road to Upland was bumpier than her brother’s. She had originally committed to the University of Indianapolis between her junior and senior year of high school.
“They had won the (NCAA Division II) National Championship the previous year, they had the major I wanted and I really liked the campus,” Eleanor said. “I really felt like the Lord was leading me there.”
However, Eleanor was not destined to become a Greyhound. She was informed via a Zoom call that the UINDY coach was leaving the program and taking a job as the head coach of Grand Canyon University. Along with the head coach, the assistant coaches and several of the top golfers all left the program.
Eleanor says that her previous relationships with the coaches at Taylor and knowing that her brother was enjoying his time on campus ultimately led to her decision to join the TU women’s golf team.
Will and Eleanor Schuitema arrived at Taylor University in different ways, but both found their place on the golf course. Their story shows how separate experiences and a shared connection to the sport can lead to the same destination, even if the journey looks different for each of them.
