First year coach Richie Butler is new to coaching golf but he is no stranger to the coaching world. Butler has coached two years of women’s volleyball, eight years of American Legion baseball, one year of varsity baseball, one year of junior varsity baseball, and fifteen years of basketball from seventh grade to varsity levels. This year, he will add girls golf to that list as he takes on the Lady Lions golf team.
In 2014, the Lady Lions finished fourth in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. Grace Larrick, one of the two returning seniors along with Kylie Potts, was named All-League and earned a All-District Honorable Mention.
The team has six girls on the 2015 squad all together. Seniors Grace Larrick and Kylie Potts, juniors Lauren Greene and Haleigh Bates and sophomore Chelsie Hester return from last year’s team. Freshman Rachel Schuler is new this year. Five of these girls have experience and know what to expect from a season.
“Our two seniors will be our leaders out of the girls who are returning,” said coach Butler of his returners. “However, each one is capable of having a good day on the course and carrying the load during a match. We have played three matches so far and Schuler has been involved in each of those, so she is gaining experience quickly.
We hope to continue to play well. If we keep improving around the greens, we could finish in the top half of the league. We want to be better at the end of the year than we were at the beginning. It would be great to get the team out of sectional, but having one or two advance is also a goal.”
Coach Butler also commented on the hard work that his girls have been putting in and how nice it has been having a group that has been easy to work with.
“We have been working pretty hard so far,” Butler said. “The girls want to get better and are receptive to suggestions. They are practicing different aspects of the game, trying to cut scores and be more consistent.
Reach Robert Stegbauer at 937-393-3456 ext. 1679 or on Twitter @RStegbauer.
