All Sports Coaching Culture

How A Coach Funded Everything His Team Needed In An Hour

Oct 9, 2026

3 min Read

Darin Hostetter knows every kid in the building by name. Here’s how a one-hour fundraiser is helping him give them more opportunities.

If you ask Marshall Community Schools Director of Technology and Golf Coach Darin Hostetter what drives his program, he’ll only give you two answers: attitude and effort.

"You give me those," Hostetter said, "and I'll never complain about your score."

That philosophy is the bedrock of his leadership. He uses it to shape character in his community, both on the golf course and far beyond it.

Hostetter knows every student by name, greeting each one in the hallway with a smile and a “How are you doing?” When the golf program needed a head coach, Hostetter stepped up without hesitation. Although he’d never played a round, he didn’t need that experience to be a dedicated mentor to his golfers. He just needed to give them unconditional support.

The program quickly grew from 12 golfers to 30 under his leadership. Some of them had never even held a club. Coaching quickly became the highlight of his career. Hostetter was centered on a single mission: ensuring every athlete on the roster receives the belief, support and opportunities they need to thrive.

The One Thing He Couldn't Give Them

There was only one thing all of Hostetter’s care and effort couldn't produce: the money. Thirty kids need uniforms. Tournaments call for fresh golf balls. The whole team needs range time his nine-hole course can't offer. He'd hand them all of it if he could. However, all of those things require money. And for a small golf program, the school budget can only stretch so far.

Then an email came through about a different kind of fundraiser, and when Hostetter heard how it worked, one aspect sold him: It only took one hour. No more two weeks of selling popcorn and coupons. No more ordering and distributing and chasing down checks.

Just One Hour

What he didn't expect was that the fundraiser only needed his kids to bring the exact two things he's always asking for — attitude and effort. He set up in the school library with a laptop, a webcam and the room's big panel so everyone could see the live leaderboard. Then he turned them loose. They competed. They rallied their families. When they realized teachers were still in the building, six of them bolted down the hall to track them down in person. The whole room was lit up.

"If I'd known it was this easy to motivate them," Hostetter said. "Holy cow."

Not only did it help the golf team raise funds, but it also served as a team bonding activity.

And in about an hour, they'd raised more than $5,100. Just one hour had brought in about three times their budget.

Another coach in the building has already mentioned they want to do the same for their team.

See how much your program could earn.

Every Kid, Every Opportunity

Now Hostetter gets to do the thing he's wanted to do all along: give every kid in the building the shot they deserve. All thirty of his golfers got uniforms, golf balls and access to the driving range.

"I can't take my top six and leave the freshmen behind," he said.

Hostetter knows coaching is more than just trying to get the lowest score on the green. He knows it’s also about building up his entire squad and making sure everyone gets the most out of their experience.

If you're not doing this, you're shooting yourself in the foot. It's that effective. I don't know of a downside. Darin Hostetter, Golf Coach, Marshall Community Schools (IN)

That mindset has been working on the course, too. They just won their first home match, the first team win since he started coaching. But for Hostetter that's not the headline. The headline is having thirty kids who feel seen. Who feel like they have all they need to succeed. He asks them for attitude and effort. He gives them whatever it takes. And now — after just an hour of time — he finally has the resource to give them more.

See what Hudl Fundraising can do your your program.