Young golfers are honing their love of the game

RED BAY – This year’s golf team at Red Bay High School consists of sophomore Conner Nichols, freshman Macie Kate Humphries and eighth grader Asia Mansell.

“They’re hard workers,” said golf coach John Torisky. “Most of them are just beginning in golf, so they should get better as they continue to play and get older, but right now we’re just trying to get to where they’re competitive in sectionals — April 28 for the boys sectional and April 29 for the girls sectional, both of which will be held at Deer Run in Moulton.”

Torisky said team’s goal this year is to do well at sectionals and possibly qualify for sub-state.

“They’ve all improved from last year, and hopefully they’ll continue to improve, but right now we’re still at the beginning phase of their golf careers, so we’re just trying to get them better, so they’ll be able to compete when they’re 11th and 12th graders,” he added.

COACHING PHILOSOPHY Torisky said his approach is “just to go out there and help them learn the game of golf and have fun,” noting that’s a feature of playing golf it’s low pressure.

“I want to just to teach them to play the game correctly right now and to interact with other golfers, and then hopefully we get them a little better as well.”

“They play well with each other,” Torisky said of the roster. “The girls pair up and play together pretty much every day, and Conner is a pretty hard worker, always out at the golf course, and a few of his buddies are out there with us. I go out there and play with him a couple days a week. They’re really hard workers and they’re good kids.”

Torisky said he hopes the team members continue to grow their love of golf.

“It’s a great game that can be played for a long time,” he stressed. “We’re just trying to get them to have fun and enjoy it, so that’s the main thing, that they learn to love the game.”