Westerville South boys’ golf team has kicked off their season with mixed success, led this year by three junior golfers.
Head boys’ golf coach Michael Spatafore said, “We’re pretty young still; our top three guys are good players and have a lot of talent,” referring to the three juniors, Sam Stedke, Jacoby Pinion, and Christopher Stump.
“Our goal is to get at least one of them out of sectionals,” Spatafore said.
Stedke was very close to getting out of sectionals last year. Stedke only missed the cut to move on to regionals by two strokes as a sophomore.
“My goal is to just keep producing lower and lower scores as the season goes on, and hopefully be in position to make it to states by the end of the year,” Stedke said.
Being the number one golfer on the team this year, Stedke has the added pressure of needing to be one of, if not the lowest scorer on the team from match to match.
Golf is known as a very mentally draining sport that requires players to stay relaxed and focused at all times while playing. If a golfer is unable to stay relaxed and they become frustrated and tense, it leads to a downhill spiral where shots will become worse and the golfer will become more frustrated.
Spatafore said, “We try to incorporate positive self-talk into our matches. If you talk about and envision exactly what you want to do, or how you want a shot to go, it is more likely to happen.”
This is the coach’s philosophy on how to combat the mental difficulties of golf matches throughout the season, but what really matters is how the golfers actually incorporate their coach’s advice into their game.
The golfers themselves have found this advice to be beneficial and said it has helped their scores tremendously.
“It has always been tough for me to stay mentally focused during matches, but this year I have fixed my mentality to focusing more on the next shot rather than the last one,” Pinion said.
The impact that Spatafore’s coaching has had on the golfers success has been evident in their improvement of scores as the season continues. Stedke said that his average has improved by two strokes already so far this season.
The Westerville South golf team, while not necessarily winning all of the matches, has been improving their own golf ability.
According to Pinion, they have also been learning skills that can not only be applied to golf but in life as well, such as the positive self-talk that can be applied in the classroom as well.
The team seems to be hitting their stride and improving just in time as sectionals are right around the corner with the first day being Oct. 4.
