For the first time ever, there is a girl’s golf team at Alisal High School. Prior to this year, the school never had enough players to participate in the sport on the girls’ side until this year.

But the first season doesn’t begin with a group of novices. Of the four players, Jennifer Gonzales has played two years on the boys’ golf team. According to Gonzales, “One of the positive things about having a girls’ golf team is having to deal with less pressure and being able to be myself.”

The coaches for the team are Richard Monroe and Alexander Lanctot.  Monroe comes from a family of pro golfers and golf enthusiasts, who grew up playing golf, and had the opportunity to play on some of the most famous golf courses on the Monterey Peninsula. From Monroe’s point of view, “The girls have only been improving from their first game and are doing a good job.” This is going to be Lanctot’s third season coaching golf, and he is looking to establish a team of well-rounded individuals and get them to the point where they are having fun and staying focused. One of coach Lanctot’s goals is to “help Jennifer get to a competitive level to where she will be able to get a golf scholarship and hopefully get more girls to follow in her footsteps.”

With this intention, the coaches are planning on coaching a player with only one style instead of multiple approaches in order to limit confusion and get the girls to a competitive level. The basic fundamentals of golf consist of learning the proper swinging technique and improving the skills that the players possess. According to Lanctot, the overall goal is to get the girls comfortable with the sport, as well as getting them to enjoy playing golf. Monroe plans on teaching the rules of the game, the sportsmanship that goes along with golf, and instructing the players on how to play the game of golf with integrity and some skill.

The girl’s league is composed of just the Monterey Bay League, unlike the boys’ league, which is separated into two divisions. On September 11, the girls faced off against the four-time MBL Champions, Santa Catalina. Despite losing by 100 points against the top school in golf, the girls came back four days later against Gilroy with a stronger will to win a game. The girls showed a tremendous amount of improvement, losing only by 9 points. This same attitude was seen on Thursday, September 25 when the team faced off against Trinity, losing only by 3 strokes. The girls started off with an average of 70 strokes per game and have reduced that number to an average of 64 strokes per game. The coaches were pleased that the girls didn’t give up and kept swinging, while cutting down their strokes. On the other hand, some frustration arose in the girls when they found out the match against Gilroy was a close one.

What’s making it tough for the girls is being penalized 81 points for every missing player during a match. After the first seven matches, the coaches’ main concern was improvement. Monroe believes, “If the girls were matched up evenly they’d have a chance at winning.” However, individually the girls “have been improving from match to match” said coach Monroe, who has noticed a rise of confidence in the team.  “So far, golf has been an amazing experience and has become a great opportunity in getting the chance to meet other girls from different schools.” said rookie golf player Aaliyah Rodriguez. Despite the losses, both the coaches and the girls remain hopeful for a better season.