The girls golf team has had a few changes this year with getting a new head coach, Jake Watson. The team has gotten a spike in players trying out, having 16 total on the team, almost doubling their numbers from previous years.
One reason the amount of players doubled over a year was due to the grant the girls golf program was awarded. This allowed more girls the chance to be on a team.
This didn’t mean an automatic spot on the team though, since Eagle Hills Golf Course is home to many golf teams and clubs, Watson had to be sure to watch his numbers.
Watson was previously the head girls soccer coach. “I love soccer. It was actually a very hard decision. It was something that I had to talk to my wife about and try and focus in on some family priorities,” Watson said.
With most golf matches being during the day, Watson said it was more compatible with his schedule.
This year wasn’t his first time ever coaching golf, as he was an assistant coach last year with Pete Goecke. “[Goecke] took me under his wing, helped me a lot with the drill side of golf,” Watson explained.
Goecke played golf at the Division 2 school, Northwest Missouri state. He has since stepped down from the position of coach since he moved to Lincoln, making the commute too difficult to manage.
One of Watson’s soccer players, Senior Iyah Aguer, tried out for the team but got cut on the second day of tryouts.
Playing soccer her junior year and going out for the fall sport her senior year, Aguer said, “I wanted to try something new and the golf was looking for new girls to try out”.
Aguer explained that her only previous experience with the sport was going to Topgolf once or twice, and playing a few holes.
Despite the cuts, Coach Troy Ackerman, appreciates the level of interest. “I know this year we had 24 girls try out which was the most, like, in a long time – and we kept 16, so that’s our highest numbers in a long time,” Ackerman said.
