In mid-August the girls high school golf season commenced and as of yesterday evening, October 16th, it came to an end.  Whew!  Just to be clear, and brutally honest, that’s a big sigh of relief!  Don’t get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Morgan this season but it is a time sucker!  Each tournament is a minimum of 6 hours.  It’s not just a 1 hour soccer game here and there, it’s a full day affair.  The varsity girls miss a ton of school and at any given moment they are on the verge of a breakdown because of it!  You would think it would be perceived as a ‘perk’ of being on the golf team, but actually, it just stresses them out and causes them to constantly play catch up with teachers.  However, they do get the opportunity to play some pretty great courses and I’m consistently amazed with their focus and ability to pull it all together.  These girls are so impressive!

 

Morgan had two goals she hoped to achieve this season.  She wanted to be chosen to play in 3 varsity tournaments and she wanted to score under 100.  We believed in her 100% and I’m happy to report that she played in every varsity tournament but 1 this season and shot a 98 in the pinnacle of the season, the 6A State Championship.  Thatta girl!  Despite all the stress, missed school days, last minute trips to the golf store for gear, and money spent on custom fit clubs, it was so worth it.  What an awesome season!

 

 

 

The Olathe Northwest varsity team competed in Regionals at Prairie Highlands golf course on October 11th.  It was SO COLD and there were ups and downs in Morgan’s round, but overall, the team took 2nd place, and secured a spot in the State Championship.

Immediately I was trying to figure out what that meant.  I’m not experienced at this kind of thing!  I’ve never been to any kind of state championship!  So basically, I went to work on finding rides for my other kids and canceling Morgans’ responsibilities for Sunday and Monday and doing just an overall mom ‘freak out!’

2 days later, early on Sunday morning, these cutie pies set out for Salina, KS to get a practice round in.  It was 30 degrees and raining, so they only got 2 holes in and a stroll through the course to familiarize.

and a sweet little gift arrived on our front porch at 1 am Sunday morning (thank you Coad family!)Sweet Reece was so exited she had to make a message on Morgan’s board…can you tell we were all over the moon about this!?By 8am on Monday morning, there was 3 inches of snow on the ground and the tournament was postponed to Tuesday.  Yikes!  That’s another missed day of school (and it’s the end of the quarter), another night in a hotel room, and girls scrambling to tell their families to put the brakes on until Tuesday.Tuesday morning the sun was shining and we changed all of our arrangements and made the 2.5 hr. drive to Salina.  I was amazed how there are usually only a couple parents in the gallery for tournaments (sometimes I’m totally by myself!) but for State, there were lots of spectators.  There HAD to be nerves kicking in on this first tee shot!

My parents made the trip with us, they are golf enthusiasts, and it was a gorgeous day!

 

After 6 hours on the golf course, my stomach was full of nervous excitement because she was on pace to shoot under 100.  She finally did it!  She achieved her goals!  Her smile said it all as she walked off that last green…
Our team placed 7th out of 12 teams, with one teammate in the top 8, and Morgan placed 48th out of 91 girls. She’s worked so hard and it paid off.  She’s gone from nervously trying to even make a spot on the team last year to playing on the varsity squad all season this school year.  You go girl!  Now that’s the way to end the season on a high note!

 

Morgan, I loved every minute watching you play and even though the time commitment stresses us all out, you always handle yourself with such dignity and watching you ‘do your thing’ is so fun!  You’re always keeping everyone’s spirits up along with a sharp knowledge of the rules of golf, keeping everyone accountable.  Love your focus, love your enthusiasm, and love you to pieces!