The fall of 2015 was a frustrating sports season that never truly lived up to its potential for the five juniors on St. Ed’s varsity girls golf team.
They were able to play just one competitive round against another high school team in early September before nasty weather forced a series of cancellations affecting just about every attempt to get out on the course. Practices were regularly washed out along with three matches scheduled through last week.
A borrowed line from a summer camp parody that hit the charts decades ago says it all: Golf is very – entertaining – and they say that we’ll have fun if it stops raining.
The season seemed to just fade away. It was going to be short to begin with as interest in the program was once again lukewarm at best. However, five adventurous girls decided to give it a try, basically on a lark.
The scores from the lone match don’t really matter because this venture was never about that. More to the point, it appears as if some of the newcomers to the golf team may have established a commitment to the sport, and to the varsity team next year.
That is what Head Coach Tom Thornton wanted to create from the outset. He is also the Head Golf Pro at The Moorings – the home course for St. Ed’s girls team – where the only two matches scheduled for this year were cancelled.
“I just want to say that this is really a great bunch of girls.” Thornton said. “They are funny, they are smart, and they are talented. They don’t have a lot of background or experience in golf, but somehow they all have really good swings.
“If we could have just spent more time on the range and on the course, I would have loved to see them improve. They would start to hit the ball better and I know they all want to score better. They have the ability to do it. I mean every single one of them has the ability to be a nice golfer.”
Thornton is an enthusiastic ambassador for the sport and wants to see some of that rub off on any girl at St. Ed’s curious and bold enough to give it a shot.
“That’s what we’re trying to do here,” he said. “I want to connect with them in a way where they like the game and want to play it forever. For me the game has been a lifetime of joy and happiness and I want them to experience that.”
The 2015 varsity golf team of Sandie Altaras, Alex Marshall, Isabella Campione, Ryan Deri and Nikki Jankowski emerged in a somewhat unorthodox fashion.
“There really wasn’t a golf team before we decided to step up,” Marshall explained. “Last year the whole team was seniors and they all went off to college. So during an assembly one day there was an announcement about a meeting for the girls golf team.
“So we (all five) figured why not stop by and see how it is. We decided to join after that. I thought golf was a good skill to pick up and why not do it since I have this great opportunity. The atmosphere at The Moorings is very friendly and it’s also really convenient.
“One great thing about this varsity sport is there’s not really a lot of pressure. It’s very casual. And I was with my friends. This is really a fun group. Since we are only juniors, next year we can get even better because we will have more time together as a team.”
Marshall is a star-quality soccer and lacrosse player. She will play for those teams again this year, but would also like to squeeze in some informal outings with her new golf partners if the opportunity arises. Altaras decided to give up varsity swimming in favor of trying something different.
“This is brand new for me and I don’t believe I really excel in any aspect of the game just yet,” the candid Altaras told us. “But I’m giving it my best. The game is really hard, but I still like it. I decided to join because it’s really fun and I wanted to be with my friends. And that makes it even more fun.
“I plan on continuing with the game and I want to play golf for my entire life. I believe this is the type of sport where I can do that.”
That’s music to Thornton’s ears and sums up why he’s coaching girls golf at St. Ed’s for a second year.
“Last year we got things started with all seniors and I felt like they had a lot of fun and enjoyed it. I believe those girls will continue with golf as part of their lives. That’s my mission here.
“With inexperienced golfers I would love to start a foot from the hole, but in reality they all want to hit the ball. So we got started on the range. But there’s more to this sport than just hitting the ball. It’s about teaching rules, etiquette and courtesies.
“Being courteous and respectful is always very important. These kids have all of those qualities, and that’s really great to see.”
