When Foothill first announced the sports that would be offered, many options such as girls’ golf were mentioned. But after too few people showed interest last year, the Foothill girls’ golf team was cut from the first year of the athletic program. 

In order to compete, five players are needed to make a team. Even though uniforms and coaches were available, the team lacked the minimum number of players to be a part of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division IV.

Now, the team of six players is ready to swing into action and compete this year. The team consists of four freshmen, one sophomore and one junior.

Athletic director Emily Stevens is thrilled to have a girls’ golf team for the first time.

“I’m just excited to see them out there because we didn’t have a team last year and to have these freshman players. I know we’ll have them for four years, so I’m excited to watch their development over the four years,” she said. “And I think they will be able to mentor players that come in, so that will be a great start to our program.”

Coach Janey Dunn believes this first year will be fun for both her and the team, but will take “hard work.”

“This year is a building year for us. Most of the girls have some kind of experience, but not a lot of them have playing experience so this year we are doing a lot of skill development and rule learning,” Dunn said. “At the end of this year, I hope that the girls have learned a lot, improved a lot and had a lot of fun.”

To Stevens, adding girls’ golf to the athletic program is more than offering another sport.

“Golf […] is a lifelong opportunity, so [anyone] can pick it up and play well into their old years,” she said.

Freshman Paris White, who has played golf since she was five, believes that the team has been making many improvements since the first few practices.

“We have been practicing a lot and we’ve made some great improvements with all the girls,” White said. “Half of them have never touched a golf club before so now they are pros. So now they are all really good.”

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Dunn also thinks that the team is improving every practice.

“The girls are getting better all the time,” she said. “They are eager to learn and have great attitudes.”

Freshman Anna Pyron considers Dunn a great coach and role model.

“She is super interactive and is a really good influence on us,” Pryon said.

Stevens believes Dunn is an “amazing” coach, along with the rest of the players.

“She’s very talented. She was the Ventura County Player of the Year a couple years ago,” she said. “She’s a really good coach. [Dunn is] really good with the girls and inspires them and is a great role model for them.”

Both Pyron and White hope that the team will win “as many matches as [they] can” and advance into playoff tournaments.

Dunn is excited to coach her first high school team and to start the program, “with many years of success” in the future.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the grades of the players on the team. There are four freshmen, one sophomore and one junior on the girls’ golf team.

Featured Photo Credit: Carrie Coonan/The Foothill Dragon Press