This week the Lewis Cass Girls Golf team is kicking off the new season. The nerves are high and the clubs are cleaned. The Lady Kings have been practicing since the start of June. All summer long, they would meet at the range, break in new clubs, and play a hole or two. The hopes are high for this season and the Lay Kings are ready to kick off an amazing season.
The team looks a lot different than it did last year with lots of new faces and lots of beginners. The varsity lineup this year consists of returning players, sophomore – Maddy Willis, and junior – Alisha Toops. The new additions to the team are freshman – Aaryah Coffman, freshman – Alexis Collins, senior – Olivia Jackson, senior – Sydney Holmquist, sophomore – Sophie Holmquist, and senior – Heidi Frey. Also, do not forget about the head coach, Mrs. Amy Densborn. Coach Densborn has been working with the team left and right, going from perfecting the returners swing, to teaching girls how to hold a club. Coach Densborn was asked about her expectations for the 24’ season while thinking about the team’s lineup. Densborn says, “I hope to break 500 this season. I have two returning golfers, Alisha Toops and Maddy Willis, that are talented enough to make up for any shortcomings we might have on the lower end of the roster.” In the 2023 golf season, Lewis Cass was moved into a new conference. This is the TRC conference which features schools such as Northwestern, Maconaquah, Peru, Manchester, Rochester, Southwood, Whitko, Northfield, and Wabash. When asked about what teams in this conference will be our toughest match or our biggest rivals, Densborn says, “Within the TRC conference Maconaquah and Rochester have a lot of very talented golfers.” The season last year looked very different compared to this year. First of all, the team was a lot smaller, with only five being on the team, and three of them being seniors. This year the team has eight girls, two freshmen, two sophomores, one junior, and three seniors. With this enlargement, comes new scores, and outcomes of each match. Coach Densborn was asked, “Do you think there will be big differences in scores and outcomes?” Densborn responds by saying, “I fully expect our scores to be lower this year. Especially with Alisha and Maddy shooting in the forties for the first match of the year. Our overall team score was 217 for the first match, last year’s first match with many returning golfers was much higher. I am very optimistic about the season.” With the large amount of new skills to learn, the girls have been practicing overcoming the hard things and getting over obstacles. For Densborn, she believes, “Patience will be the biggest challenge for our team this year. Golf can be extremely trying at times. It is a game that can’t be hurried. For the girls to let their clubs do work and play in a confident, relaxed state will be an obstacle to overcome. I think the girls are realizing when we rush our putts it can be extremely costly to their score and the team as a whole.” With optimism and plenty of practice, the Lady Kings Golf team should have an amazing season ahead.
The Lady Kings Golf Team has three new seniors, one of them being Sydney Holmquist. Sydney was asked, as a new golfer, what is she most nervous about for the golf season. Sydney’s response was, “Right now I am most nervous for the matches. I am still just beginning at the sport and am not completely confident with it yet.” Golf may be perceived as a sport that is easy. Most people think it is just swinging a club and hitting a ball. In reality, it is so much more than that. Not only do you have to know the fundamentals, but you also have to know your distances, how to keep score, and one of the most proven hardest things to do in golf is to not get in your head. A positive mental state is important in any sport. If you have a bad game or match, you have to be able to take the negatives of that and turn them into something you can improve on. Now imagine having to learn all of these things in the span of one season. Holmquist would know as she joined the Lewis Cass Golf team as a senior. “It’s very different starting a sport so late in high school since I joined not knowing anything about golf nor having ever played it before. It was pretty difficult at the beginning but I think I am slowly starting to get the hang of it.” Joining a sport later in your high school career can be very challenging from many perspectives. A person always has an explanation as to why they would want to join a sport or a club, especially as a senior. Sydney mentions, “I decided to play golf mainly because I wanted to try something new and fun for my senior year. I was thinking about joining last year but still wasn’t too sure about it, so I talked to a couple of my friends about it and we decided to all join together this year.” Lastly, Holmquist was asked about what she is looking forward to in the new golf season. She said, “I am most looking forward to improving at golf throughout the season. Even though I’m not the greatest at it, I still enjoy playing it for fun and getting better and better each day. I am also excited to build new friendships with all the girls on the team.” New teammates bring new skills and opportunities.
The Lady Kings are continuing to prepare for the next season. Little by little, the skill grows, and so does the team bond. Slowly, but surely the team is seeing improvement and continues to work for more. The home course is prepared for their first match approaching and the girls are gaining confidence. With one of the shortest seasons, the Lady Kings have stayed outgoing, and dedicated throughout the whole summer preparation. Good luck to our Lady Kings golf team this season!
