Golf team grows as participation flourishes

Calvin Ganyard

During a rainy match, junior golfers Skate Yoder and Brady Miailovich line up a putt.

Ballard Golf, a sport that offers both boys
and girls teams in the fall, has seen growth
in participation in recent years, and has
acquired a team spirit that many students have
wanted to be a part of.
“I’ve loved the way we’re connected as a team,”
junior Owen Cutting said. “We’re all friends, and we
all have close relationships even outside the team.”
Golf is a unique school sport, and many are
unsure how a school-sponsored golf team would
work. But for players, it has not been an issue.
“It’s really not that different,” junior Matt Wesche
said. “It’s pretty much the same as just playing for
fun, except it’s maybe a little more intense.”
Representing the school is also something golfers
take pride in.
“It’s really fun when we get to go and play for
Ballard,” Cutting said. “[Playing] for the team is just

like with my friends, and in reality, I am playing
with my friends, but instead of playing against
ourselves, we get to golf together. Knowing that
the way one of us performs determines how we all
perform, it definitely adds more pressure though.”
Additionally, the team has realized increasing
success in recent years.
“Before I joined, I heard we weren’t very good,”
Wesche said. “Last year, we won a few matches, but
other than that, we were not great. However, this
year we’ve kind of improved a lot, and I feel that
we’re one of the best teams in Metro when we all
play well.”
“Seeing us improve has given us confidence in
our game,” Cutting said. “Knowing that you get
better from those practices is a really cool thing,
but it also feels deserved. Like I came here and put
in work, and now it’s beginning to show.”
Ballard currently sits with a winning season,
having emerged victorious from five matches as of
the creation of this article.
“I also want to shout out Coach Cachopo,”
Wesche said. “He’s an awesome coach. He’s super
fun to talk to, and even if you’re new to golf you
still will like to talk with him, and maybe you’ll
even have his ceramics class, which I definitely
recommend.”
“Coach has been a big plus to being on the team,”

Cutting said. “He is super fun to be around. He has a
really good mix of being serious when we need to be,
but he also is all about having fun.”
Due to the BHS golf team’s recent success and
flourishing community, it has become a sport that
many are considering for the 2024 fall season.