An Unlikely Double Life
The scent of stale popcorn and worn leather basketballs hangs heavy in the air of the Northwood High School gymnasium. Under the harsh fluorescent lights, the rhythmic squeak of sneakers on polished hardwood provides the soundtrack as Coach Brian Doherty barks out instructions for a defensive drill. His voice, honed by years of projecting over cheering crowds and blaring buzzers, is a familiar and respected sound in this small Massachusetts town. He is the architect of the Northwood Chargers’ basketball program, a figure of authority and mentorship for the student-athletes who look to him for guidance.
But when the last player has left the gym and the lights are dimmed, Doherty’s work is often just beginning. He trades his clipboard and whistle for a laptop and a different kind of playbook. In the quiet of his study, surrounded by books on offensive sets and biographies of coaching legends, he delves into another world—one of pristine fairways, manicured greens, and multimillion-dollar purses. Brian Doherty, the respected high school basketball coach, leads an improbable second life: he is a writer and content creator for LIV Golf, the ambitious, deep-pocketed, and polarizing tour that has fractured the world of professional golf.
His story is a fascinating study in contrasts, a testament to the modern gig economy’s reach into even the most traditional professions. It’s a narrative about juggling two demanding and seemingly unrelated passions, navigating the complex dynamics of amateur and professional sports, and finding a unique voice in the middle of one of the biggest disruptions in sports history. How does a man dedicated to the fundamentals of a high-school pick-and-roll also craft compelling narratives about golf superstars like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau for a tour backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund? The answer lies in a deep-seated love for the art of competition, an insatiable curiosity, and a work ethic that bridges two vastly different sporting cultures.
The Man on the Hardwood: A Coach’s Calling
To understand Brian Doherty the golf writer, one must first understand Coach Doherty the basketball mentor. His identity is forged in the crucible of high school athletics, a world where success is measured not just in wins and losses, but in the development of character, discipline, and teamwork. For nearly two decades, the gymnasium has been his sanctuary and his classroom.
From Player to Mentor: The Genesis of a Coaching Philosophy
Doherty’s journey in basketball began long before he picked up a whistle. A scrappy, high-IQ point guard in his own high school days, he played Division III college ball at a small liberal arts school in New England. He wasn’t the most athletically gifted player on the floor, but he was often the smartest, a “coach on the court” who understood spacing, timing, and the intricate chess match unfolding between possessions. It was during these years that the seeds of his coaching career were planted.
“I was never going to play in the NBA,” Doherty says with a self-deprecating laugh during a brief break between practices. “But I loved the strategy. I loved breaking down film, understanding why a certain defensive rotation worked or why a set play failed. My college coach saw that in me and encouraged it. He’d have me help scout opponents, and that’s when I realized my real passion wasn’t just playing the game, but teaching it.”
After graduating with a degree in education, he returned to his Massachusetts roots, taking an assistant coaching job before landing the head position at Northwood High a decade ago. His philosophy is built on the same principles that defined his playing career: discipline, relentless preparation, and a team-first mentality. He preaches defense, ball movement, and accountability—tenets that resonate in the blue-collar community the school serves.
Building a Program and a Community
When Doherty took over the Northwood Chargers, they were a middling program with sporadic success. Over the past ten years, he has transformed them into a perennial contender for the district title. The banners hanging in the gym, including three from the last five years, are a testament to his impact. But for parents and school administrators, his value extends far beyond the scoreboard.
“Coach Doherty teaches these kids about life,” says Sarah Jenkins, the mother of a former team captain. “He holds them accountable in the classroom, he checks in on their home lives, and he instills a sense of responsibility that they carry with them long after they graduate. He’s more than a coach; he’s a pillar of this community.”
His practices are intense and meticulously planned. Every drill has a purpose, every minute is accounted for. He is demanding yet fair, earning the respect of his players by investing in them as individuals. He helps them with college applications, offers a listening ear for personal problems, and celebrates their academic achievements as fervently as he does a game-winning shot.
The Relentless Grind of a High School Season
The life of a dedicated high school coach is an all-consuming affair. From November through March, Doherty’s life is a whirlwind of activity. The day starts with reviewing game film from the previous night’s opponent. After a full day of teaching history classes, he heads straight to the gym for a two-hour practice. Evenings are spent scouting future opponents, planning the next day’s practice, and communicating with players and parents. Weekends are devoured by games, tournaments, and film sessions.
It’s a demanding schedule that leaves little room for anything else. The emotional investment is just as taxing as the temporal one. The euphoria of a hard-fought victory is often followed by the painstaking analysis of a crushing defeat. He carries the weight of his team’s aspirations, feeling every missed free throw and costly turnover as if it were his own. This deep immersion in the world of traditional, community-based sports makes his other professional pursuit all the more remarkable.
A Swing into a New Arena: The Accidental Golf Writer
While the squeak of sneakers defines his winter, the gentle thwack of a golf ball has always been the sound of his summer. Golf was Doherty’s escape, a mental challenge that offered a different kind of strategic satisfaction. It was a passion he never expected to turn into a profession, until the most disruptive force in modern golf created an unexpected opportunity.
A Lifelong Passion for the Links
Doherty learned the game from his father, a weekend regular at the local municipal course. While basketball was his primary sport, golf provided a necessary counterbalance. It was a game of individual accountability, a stark contrast to the team dynamics of basketball. He was fascinated by the physics of the swing, the psychology of course management, and the rich history of the sport.
“In basketball, you can rely on your teammates to cover a mistake,” he explains. “In golf, it’s just you, the ball, and the course. There’s a purity and a mental toughness to it that I’ve always admired. It’s the ultimate test of self-control and resilience.”
For years, his engagement with professional golf was that of a dedicated fan. He consumed everything he could—reading magazines, watching tournaments, and diving into the burgeoning world of golf analytics blogs and podcasts. He started a small blog of his own, “The Crossover Cut,” a clever nod to his two sporting worlds, where he wrote detailed analytical breakdowns of major championships and player performance, applying a coach’s eye to the game.
The Leap into Professional Writing and the LIV Connection
His blog, while niche, gained a small but dedicated following for its sharp insights and unique perspective. He wasn’t a former pro or a credentialed journalist, but his analysis was fresh and intelligent. When LIV Golf launched in 2022, it sent shockwaves through the sport. Doherty, like many, was fascinated by the upheaval. He began writing extensively about the new tour—not just the controversy, but the strategic implications of its team format, the shotgun starts, and its aggressive pursuit of top-tier talent.
One of his articles, a deep dive into the strategic benefits of the team component in a traditionally individual sport, was shared on social media and caught the eye of a content strategist for the new league. They were in the process of building their digital media team and were looking for writers who could offer a fresh perspective, untethered to the traditional golf media establishment.
“I got an email completely out of the blue,” Doherty recalls. “At first, I thought it was a prank from one of my coaching buddies. They said they appreciated my analytical approach and my focus on the on-course product. They were looking for freelance content creators to help build out their tournament previews, player profiles, and analytical pieces for their website and app. It was a surreal opportunity.”
After a series of remote interviews, he was offered a freelance contract. Suddenly, his summer hobby had become a serious, paid side hustle, aligning him with the most talked-about entity in the golf world.
Crafting the Narrative for a Disruptor
His role at LIV is to produce data-driven and narrative-focused content. He writes tournament previews that break down the course and highlight key players. He pens feature articles on golfers like Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith, exploring their playing styles and their roles as team captains. He leverages the tour’s emphasis on statistics, creating content that explains the “smash factor” or analyzes team scoring dynamics.
His coaching background gives him a unique advantage. He understands how to break down complex strategies into digestible information. He can analyze player performance with a coach’s critical eye, identifying strengths and weaknesses that a casual observer might miss. He approaches a profile of Brooks Koepka’s “Smash GC” team with the same analytical rigor he would use to scout an opposing basketball team, looking for synergies, leadership styles, and competitive advantages.
The Great Balancing Act: Juggling Clipboards and Keyboards
For Brian Doherty, the calendar is a complex tapestry woven from two different seasons that increasingly overlap. The challenge is not merely one of time management; it’s a mental and emotional marathon that requires constant context-switching between two high-pressure environments.
A Day in the Life: From Dawn Patrol to the Final Buzzer
A typical Tuesday during the school year encapsulates his dual existence. His alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. While his family sleeps, he spends two hours researching and writing. With LIV tournaments taking place across the globe, from Miami to Singapore, he has to be an expert on different time zones, courses, and player conditions. He might be finishing a piece on the analytics of Torque GC’s performance in Adelaide before switching gears to prepare for his first-period history class.
The school day is dedicated entirely to his students and players. From 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., he is Mr. Doherty, the teacher. From 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., he is Coach Doherty, running drills and orchestrating practice. When he gets home, after dinner and family time, the laptop often comes out again. He might have edits to review from his LIV editor or need to conduct a phone interview with a golf analyst for an upcoming feature. This packed schedule leaves little room for rest, but for Doherty, the work is invigorating.
“Some people unwind by watching TV or reading a book,” he says. “I unwind by digging into ShotLink data or breaking down a player’s performance on par-5s. Both jobs are demanding, but they engage different parts of my brain. The coaching is very hands-on, interpersonal, and immediate. The writing is analytical, solitary, and creative. The variety keeps me energized.”
Finding Synergy in Disparate Worlds
On the surface, coaching teenage basketball players and writing about millionaire professional golfers could not be more different. Yet, Doherty has found surprising synergies between his two roles. His experience in crafting a game plan in basketball has sharpened his ability to analyze course strategy in golf. He sees the team captains in LIV, like Bryson DeChambeau, through the lens of a coach managing different personalities and skill sets to create a cohesive unit.
Conversely, the deep analytical work he does for LIV has influenced his coaching. He’s become more data-driven in his approach to basketball, using advanced statistics to evaluate player efficiency and optimize lineups. “Studying the analytics of how a golfer manages risk and reward has made me think differently about late-game situations in basketball. It’s all about playing the percentages,” he notes.
The primary conflict, of course, is time. The basketball season’s peak often coincides with the start of the LIV Golf schedule. A Friday night away game followed by a Saturday deadline for a tournament preview in Jeddah can be a grueling turnaround. He has had to become a master of efficiency, utilizing every spare moment—a free period at school, the bus ride to a game—to stay on top of his dual responsibilities.
Navigating the Fairways of Controversy
Working for LIV Golf comes with inherent complexities. The tour’s financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has made it a lightning rod for criticism, with accusations of “sportswashing.” For a public school teacher and community figure, this association could be fraught with peril.
Doherty handles this with a measured and professional approach. He sees his role as that of a sportswriter, not a geopolitical analyst. His focus is on the competition, the athletes, and the evolution of the game itself.
“My job is to cover the sport,” he states plainly. “I write about what happens inside the ropes. I’m fascinated by the team format, the global schedule, and the personalities involved. I understand the larger conversations happening around the tour, and I respect that people have strong opinions. But my lane is to analyze the golf. I focus on the players as competitors and the tour as a sporting product. I leave the political commentary to others.”
He has had a few conversations with his school’s athletic director, who was initially curious about the arrangement. But Doherty’s long-standing reputation in the community and his clear-eyed focus on his coaching duties have allayed any concerns. To his players, he’s simply “Coach.” Most are more interested in his advice on their jump shot than his opinion on professional golf’s civil war.
A Unique Perspective on the Future of the Game(s)
Straddling these two worlds has given Brian Doherty a rare vantage point on the state of modern sports, media, and athleticism. He is a direct participant in both the grassroots, community level of sport and the hyper-commercialized, globalized frontier of a professional league.
Lessons Learned from Two Demanding Arenas
The experience has reinforced his core belief in the universal nature of competition. Whether it’s a nervous 17-year-old stepping to the free-throw line with the game on the line or a major champion facing a treacherous 6-foot putt to win a tournament, the psychological pressures are remarkably similar. “It’s all about process, focus, and managing the moment,” he says. “My work with LIV has given me new language and new frameworks to talk about mental toughness with my basketball players.”
He’s also gained a deeper appreciation for the different paths an athlete’s career can take. He coaches kids who are dreaming of a college scholarship, a goal that requires immense sacrifice and dedication. At the same time, he writes about athletes who have reached the pinnacle of their sport and are navigating the complex business and political landscape of professional athletics. This duality provides a humbling and grounding perspective.
A Microcosm of the Evolving Sports Media Landscape
Doherty’s story is also emblematic of a larger shift in sports media. The traditional path of journalism school and climbing the ladder at a local newspaper is no longer the only way. Leagues and teams are increasingly becoming their own media companies, hiring talented creators directly. Niche experts, like Doherty, who can provide authentic and insightful analysis, are now in high demand, regardless of their formal credentials.
His success demonstrates that a deep understanding of a sport and a strong voice can cut through the noise. In an era of content saturation, his unique position as a coach-turned-writer gives him an authority and perspective that is difficult to replicate.
What’s Next for the Coach and the Writer?
For now, Brian Doherty has no plans to choose one path over the other. He finds immense fulfillment in both roles. The visceral, immediate reward of coaching and mentoring young athletes provides a human connection that his solitary writing work cannot. At the same time, the intellectual challenge and global stage of writing for LIV Golf offer a professional thrill that high school sports cannot match.
“I’m in a very fortunate position,” he reflects. “I get to spend my days teaching a game I love to a great group of kids. And I get to spend my nights and weekends writing about another game I love at the highest level. As long as I can manage the schedule and continue to do both jobs well, I’m going to keep riding this wave.”
Conclusion: A Story of Passion and Pursuit
Brian Doherty’s life is a masterclass in compartmentalization and passion. He is a man who can meticulously design an inbounds play to beat a 2-3 zone and, just hours later, eloquently break down the Strokes Gained data of a LIV Golf champion. His story is more than a quirky anecdote about a coach with an unusual side gig. It is a reflection of a modern reality where careers are no longer linear and passion projects can become legitimate professions.
In the echo of the high school gym and the quiet hum of his laptop, Doherty has found a unique harmony. He is shaping the next generation of athletes on the basketball court while chronicling a revolution in professional golf. He is a man of two worlds, connected by a single, powerful thread: an unwavering love for the game, in all its forms.
