Boone boys golf kicks off season with new coach, girls tennis starts hot
The Boone boys golf team is ready to kick off its season, and this time, it will be doing so with a new coach in charge.
The Toreadors have been practicing for a couple weeks now, and though they have had to juggle the weather, head coach Lance Johnson said it has gone pretty well so far.
“We’re just kind of working on consistently getting better, like short game, and we spend a lot of time at the driving range and have gotten out to play a few holes while we can,” Johnson said.
Johnson is in his first season as head coach of the Toreadors, and the youth on the team is one of the things he is most excited for as he takes over the reins of the program.
According to Johnson, 20 of 26 kids on the team are underclassmen, and he is looking forward to building some depth this season and seeing how it progresses in the years onward.
However, having all that youth on the team also presents its own challenges, and getting them into a routine of how golf is played will be the first hurdle.
“A lot of them don’t have a lot of competitive experience, so they’re kind of brand new when it comes to that,” Johnson said. “So just kind of being able to get some meets under our belts, get used to the competition, get used to the length of the meets and just kind of understand that golf is a nine or 18-hole game, so one bad shot doesn’t really ruin a hole and one bad hole doesn’t ruin a round.”
With so many underclassmen on the team, Johnson will be looking to the golfers who are returning to help lead them.
Johnson said those upperclassmen have been around the program for awhile, so he is looking to them to be consistent leaders and carry on the expectations of the program.
“It’s just me… letting those younger guys lean on their shoulders about how do they go about certain things during a round, what are some things that come up, how do you get yourself out of certain situations on the course and really just leaning on their experience and leadership for those younger guys,” Johnson said.
He added that one of the goals this year is being consistent, which is something that the team has struggled with in the past.
With the lowest four scores counting on a varsity team of six, Johnson said for a team to be successful, you want to build as much consistency as possible.
“You know always have that number one or number two guy, number three guy that’ll come through for you and then kind of have that surprise guy that might post a low score for a meet,” Johnson said.
The Toreadors will hope to start their season strong when they compete in an invitational at 4 p.m. April 4 at the Don Williams Golf Course.
Girls tennis begins season
The Boone girls tennis team got its season off to a hot start when it had its season opener in a triangular with Des Moines Hoover and Marshalltown.
The Toreadors traveled to take on the Huskies and Bobcats on March 28, where they opened with an 11-0 win over Des Moines Hoover after sweeping both their singles and doubles matches.
Boone began the day with six wins in the singles matches, with senior Gracie Gustafson, freshman Kaylee Kuehl, junior Shannon Jenkins, senior Lucy Hansen and sophomores Juliana Lutz and Ally Thompson each picking up wins.
The Toreadors then continued their dominance in doubles, with Gustafson and Kuehl and Jenkins and Hansen each teaming up to begin the winning. Lutz and Thompson also paired up for a win, along with junior Lineea Trudeau and senior Annika Byrd and sophomores Baylee Bunning and Madilyn Barrett to close out the sweep.
Boone then took on Marshalltown in its second match, falling 6-5.
The Toreadors started strong in the singles matches, winning four of the six games, however it couldn’t repeat the same success in doubles, winning just one of five.
Jenkins, Hansen, Lutz and Thompson each picked up a win in singles once again, while the duo of Jenkins and Hansen also went to three sets to pick up a doubles win as well.
Boone will host an invite at 10 a.m. April 5 at Boone-McHose Park.