Wildcats savor key links moments following conclusion of golf season
Effort, strategy, grit - all key components to the game of golf. The girls’ season was filled with promising achievements, like the 255-298 August match and an almost-tied conference meet in September marking highlights for the year.
Mathew Footit, the assistant golf coach, enjoyed his first year of coaching.
“I kind of knew a little bit about the other players, but this was my first experience actually coaching the team,” he said. “I love just interacting with the team, because I teach elementary school, so I deal with a lot of little kids all day long. It’s nice to have some more adult type conversations and interactions with them."
On August 21, the Wildcats dominated Fond du Lac by an astounding 43 strokes. Senior Kennedy Footit enjoyed a year of success..
“I think it went well compared to other years with involvement,” she said. “Everybody showed up for the team.”
Varsity senior Hailey Hammen appreciated the work the team put into the season.
“I think that we performed well because we didn’t go in overconfident,” she said. “We kind of played the way that we should play all the time. We just didn't get in our heads and played our way through.”
During conference meet action on September 26, the girls were nearly tied against North High School, scoring 455 to 439. Despite the loss, the team still found this match a helpful experience. Coach Footit believes the key lies in childlike appreciation.
“I think it’s going out and having a fun time, because if you’re not having a good time, you don’t want to get better and really don’t want to be there,” he said. “Trying to get a little bit better at golf is important, but you gotta have fun while you're doing it."
A complicated sport, golf requires patience and zealous commitment and practice is an essential element. Kennedy Footit was one player that took great pride in her efforts.
“I would probably practice more over the summer and put in some more work then just to improve my score,” she said. “I think practice can be great if you take it seriously and if you have people to help you improve your swing”
Practice definitely paid off for Hammen.
“Instead of doing a lot of little work, I mostly just played a lot of holes,” she said. “I played 18 at the course the day before, I played nine the day before that. So, I played a lot of holes because it’s a lot easier to get a good, rounded big picture of gold instead of nitpicking the small things right before a big meet.”
Hammen found sectionals a positive experience, even with a bit of challenge.
“I played my personal best, so I was happy,” she said. “I know I had a few rough holes, but either way I knew I probably wasn’t going to move on. I still went out there and tried my best. You golf by yourself with a lot of different schools and you all are pretty much within the same skill level, so it’s always a tight battle. You’re always a stroke behind, a stroke ahead. Having good sportsmanship and encouraging other people too as long as you're encouraging yourself as well.”
Kennedy Footitt appreciates that her final year was defined by teamwork.
“This year was definitely better than last year because last year we struggled to get people to show up and couldn’t have people go to all the matches,” she said. “This year, people were very committed to coming."
by Samreen Chahal
Published November 4th, 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue II