Maxoutopoulis Brings Competitive Spirit To MSU

Spirited. Energetic. Positive. Competitor.

    Those are attributes that can be used to describe Kortnie Maxoutopoulis. They are also ones that Mississippi State head coach Ginger Brown-Lemm saw in the up-and-coming young assistant coach when she asked her to make the move to Starkville and join the Bulldog program.

    They have always been the driving force for Maxoutopoulis since she first took up the game at age nine when her father and grandfather introduced her to it.

    She was definitely a multi-sport athlete, excelling in tennis, soccer, basketball, softball and even baseball.

    While she loved playing those other sports, there was just something different about golf that appealed to her personality.

    "There's the individual aspect, but it's also a team aspect," she said. "I've always been independent, and with golf there is a unique opportunity in that you have an individual aspect where you bring what you have to the table, but you're completely responsible for what you do. In baseball or softball, for example, if you strike out you have another person to back you up. In golf, if you have a bad hole you have to be able to redeem yourself because your total score is going to make an impact on the team."

    While golf might have had some differences from the other sports she grew up playing, there was still the competitive factor that she embraced.

    "I loved to get out there and compete and play," Maxoutopoulis said. "I carried that competitiveness into my golf game."

    Her competitive nature helped her rise in the junior and high school ranks to the point where she started to realize that she could take her golf game to the collegiate level.

    After putting together a stellar career first at Rutgers, then at TCU, golf had become such an important part of her life that she decided to use the sport as her platform and help mold young women as a coach.

    Although there have been many experiences that have helped shape her coaching, one of the biggest came from her father during her junior golf days.

    Playing her first 18-hole tournament, Maxoutopoulis found the going rough. After playing her first nine holes in around four hours, thoughts of giving up crept into her mind. Her tough resolve shone through, however, and she gutted out the final nine holes of her round.

    "I thought my dad would be upset with me," she said of the round. "He always wants the best for me, but he's always still pushing me to be my best. I'll never forget that he said 'Good job. I know it was a long day out there, so let's go to dinner.'  It brought me so much comfort because I realized he would love me regardless of how I play.

    "That has transformed me as a coach because you witness these girls going out and giving it their all," Maxoutopoulis said of the players she has coached. "There's never a time when they give up. Sometimes in golf it doesn't go as you plan, but it's all about being able to persevere and commit yourself and give it your all. We are always  pushing for results and obviously want to win, yet there's so many things we can win in along the way. It's being able to celebrate some of those successes. Also, realizing it's the character and development that makes a difference in the way we love, encourage and build up our players that is going to produce success. That was a small point in time for me, but it was a transformational life lesson that we are more than what we shoot."

    That instance was integral in helping her to begin molding the values that she wanted to see in teams she coached. At her early coaching stops, she had the opportunity to both help programs mold their values and also see those already in place in action.

    One of the things that drew her to Mississippi State was the core values instilled by Brown-Lemm.

D.A.W.G.S. – Discipline, Attitude, Will, Gratitude and Selflessness.

    "I can't speak highly enough of Ginger and the values she has for this program," Maxoutopoulis said. "If you don't have something you stand for, then what are you working for anyway. I remember coming here and seeing their values spelled out as D.A.W.G.S. on the wall. What they already had established here was what I found to be important.

    "Working with Ginger, from my phone interview to my in-person interview to working together even long distance, has shown me just how much we align in our values and morals, and in a head coach and assistant coach pairing, it is so important to be on the same page and heading in the same direction. I knew I wanted to be under a coach who got it. Throughout my four different coaching experiences, I was able to draw things from each place I worked. To see how Ginger runs her program, I couldn't be more in awe and all in with what she believes. It is the perfect partnership."

    Even in the short time she has been on the Bulldog staff, Maxoutopoulis has seen the impact of those core values.

    "Being able to witness how the girls, even from afar, call each other sisters is incredible," she said. "Everyone wants to be a family, whether it's a sports team or a university, yet since my time of arriving here, I have felt nothing short of a family. I have felt welcomed as a member into the Mississippi State family, and it's also great to see the girls and the way they invest in and love each other."

    Having worked from afar most of the first month, Maxoutopoulis made the cross-country move to Starkville at the end of July and has already seen first-hand how the family atmosphere at Mississippi State is not limited to just the golf team, but the community as a whole.

    "Coming here, I had a list of some things that were important to me," Maxoutopoulis said. "First, was Ginger and what she stands for. Another was spirit and community backing. It  has been stunning how Starkville has not only checked the box, but has blown it out of the water. Community backing is something you can't take for granted, and it's so cool to watch just how much energy there is even without the students here yet. I've been so impressed. It's been nothing short of extraordinary."

    The feeling is reciprocated by Brown-Lemm, who has seen Maxoutopoulis make an immediate impact on the program.

    "We aced the search finding Kortnie," the Bulldogs' head coach said of her new assistant. "She is a seasoned competitor, with a desire to get us back in the upper tier of the SEC and collegiate golf."

    "We have such incredible commitments coming in from the 2018s all the way out to 2021s. They know there is something special about this program and Mississippi State University, and want to be a part of the D.A.W.G.S."

    One of the things, according to Maxoutopoulis, that has made Mississippi State special in her eyes is the kindness she has experienced from those in the program, the athletic department, and the Mississippi State and Starkville communities.

    "No matter where I've been, this has been the most welcoming and kind environment," Maxoutopoulis said. "No matter where you come from, the same language everyone speaks is kindness. I've been in hectic areas like Los Angeles and New Jersey, and I've been in places like Georgia.

    "The one thing we are all looking for is kindness. With the kindness I have witnessed here, this is a place where people can thrive."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Maxoutopoulis Brings Competitive Spirit To MSU

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