Team makes the most of inexperience

Photo by Nayeli Lara
Senior Sam Michiels takes aim on the last hole of the Wildcat Open on Sept. 16.

By Nayeli Lara, Online Production Editor

With a new coach and an almost new roster, the girls golf team is figuring out how to compete.

Starting this year, the team is coached by English teacher Nicole Osborne.

Osborne has been golfing since age 5, played through high school, and participates in women’s leagues.

Being a new coach comes with challenges to overcome.  

“I am trying to figure out what the girls need in terms of mental support and how hard to push them,” Osborne said.

As well as a new coach, the girls golf team has only one returning player, senior Sam Michiels who was voted captain.

“It’s a really fun sport, even though it’s not very physically difficult,” Michiels said.

Golf may not be like other school sports, but it does have its advantages according to Michiels.

“You can always get better at golf. That’s one of the things I keep in my head, I can always improve,” Michiels said.  

The team earned their first win early in the season against Larkin High School.

With nine girls golfing for the first time on the team, the learning curve is not daunting. Sophomore Meghan Koester believes more girls should consider the sport.

“A lot of us just started so girls shouldn’t be scared to join just because they think we’re better than them,” Koester said.  

Osborne also thinks more girls should join, regardless of athletic background.

“I think the idea that you have to have played so many years prior to this has become a misconception,” Osborne said. “There is kind of a sense that you have to join a country club or be part of a certain culture which overshadows the sport. Really if you come out, if you want to have fun, you will learn a lot.”