I Was the Only Girl, but I Was Determined to Make the Golf Team

Learning and Golf- Personal Narrative It just always seemed like something that I had to do. Ever since I was ten years old I’ve been playing, practicing, and talking about golf. I always have had a love for the game, but I never really thought about how stressful and painful it made my life. Even at ten I thought my future had already been planned for me. I was already thinking of life as a professional golfer. I was certain that I would go play golf for a big college, and instant fame would soon follow. It wasn’t until the last couple of years that life has changed for me.

Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I’ve played since I was little and I still play the game today. I played basketball at my elementary school, St. Cecilia, from Kindergarten till 8th Grade and also played AAU basketball for about 2 years before entering High School. Going into my freshmen year of High School, the first sport I played was basketball. Tryouts began in about the start of November and ended about 2 weeks after. I had made the Freshmen A team. I was excited and as the season progressed, we didn’t win many games but I still had fun playing. Nearing the end of the season, golf was another sport coming up that I also wanted to try and play. I say “try and play” because at the time, I was also going to play AAU basketball. I had set in my mind that I was going to play basketball for all of my four years of high school, but my parents pushed me to tryout for golf. When the basketball season ended, golf tryouts started. Tryouts lasted for about 2 weeks, and I made the JV team. When I found out I made the team, I was very surprised. I hadn’t put in the hard work as others before tryouts came around, but the coach saw potential in me and that I can become a great player. The coach saw so much potential in me, that every week, I kept progressing in skill and fine tuning my mechanics. Halfway through the season, about 4 or 5 weeks after I made the team, my coach gave me the chance to play with the Varsity Golf team for a couple days. I was excited and eager to

I did not care much about golf before I decided to come to United States, so my score was not good enough for competing. Although I had several achievements during my freshman year, I knew that my scores, usually ranging around 100, were average for my age and not remarkable. After this first season in Tallulah Falls School, I found a new determination for the sport. I practiced hard during the next summer and prepared for my sophomore year. The golf course had become my second home. When the sophomore season started, I was ready to improve my golf skills and also make some great friends. I started loving this sport with my fantastic teammates, who improved a lot-some from knowing nothing about golf to finishing eighteen holes in a match. Refusing to be slack at practices, our team worked hard to continue our path of improvement-even the harshest of weather would not stop our passionate practices. I remember once, right after the snow, we played the next day. Although the snow had melted by the

I played competitive soccer for a very long time, and right before one outdoor season, I got the news that I was dropping a level, and it shattered my heart. I thought I wasn’t good enough for the competitive team. When I showed up to the first practice, I thought to myself, ‘This is going to be a long season’. These girls couldn’t quite play like how I was used to; quick, intense, and losing wasn’t an option. I acted like I was better than them because I had played at a higher level for most of my life. I thought that if the coach would see how much of a better player I was, they would send me back up to the more competitive team. However with each practice and game, my frustration grew and I started yelling on the field, things like what to do, what we should have done, and if we messed up, I made it quite obvious that I was frustrated. I just really wanted to get back to my old team, that was my only goal. When my coach called me off of the field for a “substitution”, I was utterly confused. I was doing the best out there so shouldn’t I stay on? When I got off the field my coach sat me down and told me to smarten up and shut up or I wouldn’t be getting on the field again. He told me that he knows I played on a better team, but my attitude needed to improve because this was my

As I put off opportunities to improve my skills, and my character, the toll only became harsher and more difficult to overcome. In turn, my status among the other athletes began to deteriorate. Witnessing my peers expedite their game as I still struggled did not phase me so much at the time. In fact, I was sure that my role on the team would remain the same. This was obviously false, as within the matter of weeks I was pushed back further in the batting lineup, and committing more errors in the field than ever before. It was during our playoff run that I had realized the resulting detriment, when each player was counted on more than ever before. We ended up making it to the championship, only being one run short of winning. Although our team was able to accomplish that much, I felt short handed when it came to the successful

When I first came to Lake Highland in seventh grade my parents wanted me to be on a team to get to know people and the only sport I knew was golf. I came to the tryouts with no experience of tournaments, hammy down clubs from my sister, and not appropriate golf attire. I tried very hard for the team, but I did I didn't have the skills to make it on. It was very devastating for me because I have never been turned down before, but I knew that I had to change. After this failure I decided that I should try harder in golf. I never did take the sport seriously and barely practiced, but after being turned down I decided to step up my game. I started to practice harder and more often by my own choice. I also started to play in tournaments, which I

Being ranked number one on the Vacaville High School Varsity Tennis Team was one of the most mentally challenging events during high school. I love tennis, but it was very difficult balancing all of my Advanced Placement classes, trying to having some sort of a social life and playing tennis year-round all at the same time. The only reason being number one was mentally challenging was because I was losing most of of my matches. I thought about quitting the tennis team more times than I could count. It was my first year playing in the number one spot and I was not ready to play against such high-level tennis players. I knew that if I didn't show up we would lose because the rest of the team would have to play against a player that is one level

It was a Monday morning on June 13, 2016 and I was not ready for what was to come of today. I was practicing for my tournaments all summer long and this day was the day for me to show that my work has paid off. Even though It was a qualifier into a high skilled tournament I need my game this summer to be one of my best years so I can send my resumes to coaches around the country. So now the round Is about to start and I was nervous. Playing against kids much older and much stronger than you is intimidating, but i knew that was not supposed to change what was going to happen today. This golf course is a tricky one with lots of trees and hills but that should change my mindset of trying to win this qualifier. And we were off, I striped my drive

When my mom told me that my first game is soon, I was excited. The first and only position I played was right field. The ball did not go towards my direction often when I was on the field. I often watched my teammates chase after the ball that went to the other side of the field. I daydreamed about what I was going to eat after the game constantly when I was on the field. My mom always asked after the game why I was daydreaming. Batting was very difficult for me. It is very difficult to miss the baseball in tee ball. Unfortunately, I managed to make easy things look difficult. One swing changed my life forever. My team was down one run and I was the last person at bat. My coach was nervous because I managed to get two strikes. On the first swing, I missed everything but the air. Next, I hit the tee that held the ball. On the last attempt, I listened to my family's advice. I hit the ball all way to the fence and everyone cheered in excitement. I almost scored an inside the park homerun. The only reason I did not score is that I forgot that the tee covered home plate. I could not find the plate even though the crowd told me where to find it. Therefore, the catcher tagged me. On the bright side, I received two RBI's on one

Once, a very long time ago, Vincent Van Gogh was said to have drunk yellow paint, hoping to gain happiness. Three years ago, I joined my school’s golf team for the same reason. I found myself isolated at school, realizing that I was pushing school work over my social life during my sophomore year. It was when I desperately struggled to surround myself with positivity that I found myself at the Santa Teresa Golf Course. The first few practices at a sport I had never touched was more upsetting than enjoyable. Unexpectedly, golf requires a mentality where the confidence to overcome obstacles is essential to successive progression in the sport. Being compared to my older sister at home, and then struggling to fit in at school, made self-doubt a

The ball floats above the grass, heading towards the hole. Then the ball drops, then so does my confidence. I had missed, being just a couple feet shy, of getting my first hole-in-one. I started to beat myself up, by thinking that I SUCKED. Bummed about what happened, I begin to drag my feet and sloppily finish the hole. My low self esteem, showed at the second hole, as I got a horrible score. My dad tries to reassure me, by stating “Don’t worry about, I didn’t get my first hole-in-one until I was

As a member of the Varsity tennis team, I am no stranger to facing what seem to be impossible odds. Being a singles player, during a match it is all on me to figure out what is going wrong and make the adjustments to fix it. Halfway through a match, I found myself down one set to none against the seventh ranked team in the state. The break in between sets is time to reflect on the same thus far, and to think about what you are doing right and what you aren’t doing so well. At this point in the game, I was down on myself and I couldn’t get anything in my arsenal of shots going. Instead of continuing to try to hit shots that I hadn’t hit all game, I decided to go back to the basics and try to gain some confidence in my shots. My main goal was

I had spent most of my childhood happy, without much pain or adversity; as a result, the moment I learned I did not make the Junior Varsity volleyball team my freshman year, I was especially devastated. When I showed up on our first day of tryouts I was excited. I looked forward to playing volleyball all summer with my friends. I worked hard, and I felt really confident at the end of the two weeks; certain that I had made the Junior Varsity team. The coaches took me to a secluded room and sat me down to explain which team I had made. I was almost already thanking them, not realizing that they were telling me, "We think that your skills at the moment would shine best on JV2; work on your technique and practice being a leader.”

“McClure, you are a waste of oxygen and life”, my verbally abusive coach spit from him flaming mouth one last time as I walked out of his office. I was numb, and in shock, but relaxed, oddly feeling at peace with myself and my decision. Soccer had brought so much confidence, passion, work ethic, and pure joy to my life, it was something so stable and rewarding for 15 years. 15 years of endless passion enwrapped in pain and sweat, accompanied by life lessons I could not have gone on without, yet within 2 years, this wonderful aspect of my existence collapsed.

Four years ago I would have never expected to be a golf team captain. Due to my variety of hobbies and interests, I like to consider myself a jack of all trades so it was hard to decide on what sports to play in high school. Upon asking my father if he had any recommendations, he told me that if I could learn the fundamentals of golf I would have a tool that could benefit me for a lifetime. I wrote down golf on the dotted registration line and, well, forgot about it.