Now that the school year is in full swing, so is the Warren Central girls golf season. This season is immensely different from last year in many ways. With the loss of three seniors, the girls golf program lost a large part of their team. Luckily, four new golfers, one junior and three freshmen, joined the team this year.
With the addition of these new golfers, the coaches also have to adjust and learn how to work with them and help them improve their skills. With most of the new team members being freshmen, adjusting to high school golf or high school in general can be challenging.
“I was apprehensive going in, but the freshmen came to conditioning this summer, and that helped speed up their development,” head coach Steve Crumlin said.
Not only has the team gained new players, they have also gained a new assistant coach. Coach Hunter Edwards has joined the girls golf coaching staff after a successful season as the assistant coach for the boys golf team during the 2023-2024 school year. She hopes that she can help the team improve in many ways.
“Right now we are working on mental attitudes, not necessarily [their] golf game, getting through things, staying calm, how to work through difficult shots, difficult situations, making the best decisions on where to hit too, what club to use and all those things,” Edwards said.
The girls have set many goals for themselves this season as a team and individually. Whether it be improving their own game, learning the rules or connecting with their teammates, they are trying their best to enhance their skills and have fun.
“A personal goal that I cemented for myself this season has to be, make myself proud,” junior Michaela Smith said. “Feeling like I have accomplished something has always been a good feeling to me, and I just want to have fun and enjoy new experiences since it’s my first season on Warren’s girls golf team.”
While some newcomers hope to make their first season great, other golfers are looking forward to and preparing for important tournaments like invites such as the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (M.I.C.) tournament, Marion County tournament and sectionals.
“Personally, how I prepare is to just stay calm, practice as much as I can before the matches, mostly targeting my weaknesses and getting them better first,” Smith said.
Freshman Teagan Pierce, another new golfer, also has begun to prepare for the upcoming tournaments this season.
“I'm personally preparing for the bigger matches by putting the most effort I can and trying my best,” Pierce said.
So, despite the significant changes to the girls golf team this season, the desire to succeed has not wavered. Even though the team lost three seniors, they gained four new golfers and a new coach with the potential to have an amazing season. With these new members, the team not only hopes to set up a great season but also set up the girls golf program for years to come.