By: Lily Criswell and Tracy Truong
When it comes to sports, many individuals look up to famous athletes as their role models. However, Jane Barry, a state champion golfer, actually finds inspiration through her family.
Jane explained that, “It’s a family sport. My grandpa, dad, and brother golf so I got into it as well. I play often with my dad but I am also on the team at Rocky Mountain High School.”
She started golfing at only 8 years old; however, Jane didn’t start taking it seriously until 5 years ago. Today, she practices her skills as much as she can.
“I play during the spring and all the way through the fall. During the summer, I enter individual tournaments. When you compete or practice, you can choose 9 holes or 18. Since I usually do 18 holes, it takes me more than four hours to practice.”
Jane has competed everywhere throughout the state of Idaho, going as far as Coeur d’Alene.
“I’ve competed at Baneberry, River Birch, Red Hawk, and Boise Ranch. I've never gone out of state, but I’ve been to Coeur d'Alene.”
Through her conversations with others, she makes it clear that she is knowledgeable and skillful on the golf course.
Mr. Gaudet, MMACHS’s social studies teacher and HOSA advisor, emphasized, “As someone who wishes he was a good golfer, it's fun having a student I can talk to who actually knows what they’re doing on the course.”
When It comes to golf, Jane has learned to always be respectful on the courses and never to cheat.
“Golf is a very respectful sport. You have to be quiet on the course and respect others. It’s also very important that you don’t cheat because I have caught a lot of girls cheating – they basically change their scores,” explained Jane.
Overall, Jane has met so many new people and learned a lot from this sport. She expressed how much she has benefited from this hobby.
“I love golf because it’s outside and I’m an outside person. I've met a lot of great people and had tons of new experiences through it as well. I think it's a very fun sport,” she emphasized.
What many people do not understand is that golf is very similar to other sports. This means that it has the same benefits, but it also has a lot of challenges as well.
“You will have your bad days and that's where you struggle because you think you're bad. It can also be very exhausting because you’re putting in a lot of work and skipping some school days.”
Jane does not let these challenges negatively affect her. For those who want to play golf, she has some advice to share.
“Just keep pursuing it. It's going to be really challenging at first but if you keep with it you’ll get better.”
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