Golfers young, inexperienced heading into season

There's no getting around the youth and inexperience on the 2019 Siloam Springs boys golf team, and the only way to remedy that is just to play through it.

The Panthers open the season on Monday at the Ultimate Auto Group Invitational at Big Creek Golf and Athletic Club in Mountain Home with no seniors on their roster and only a couple of boys who have experience in a varsity match.

"I just think we're really young and that's obvious when you look at the roster," said SSHS golf coach Michael Robertson. "I've been excited about the guys. They've put in work. Guys have gotten better. We just need to go play now and learn and have fun while we're doing it. This season will be one of those we've had in the past where we progress through the year and hopefully play our best at the end of the year."

The roster of 17 boys breaks down into seven juniors, five sophomores and five freshmen.

Siloam Springs will lean on a pair of juniors in Max Perkins and Breck Soderquist, who have the most returning varsity experience.

"Max Perkins is a guy that's really grown in the last year physically," Robertson said. "He's improved his athleticism and gotten bigger and stronger. Now we're starting to see the positive results on the golf course. He's starting to hit the ball farther, scoring better. He's had a really great summer, worked hard, put time in and you can tell."

Soderquist started making his move at the end of last season, when he earned the alternate spot on the state tournament team.

"Breck really came on at the end of last year," Robertson said. "He actually nudged out some guys for that alternate spot on the state tournament team. He has the capability to score well for us, and he's someone we need to step up and be a top five guy for us this year, and I think he can do that."

Junior Chris Svebek is back with the team and the Panthers are excited to have him with the team.

"Over the last three to four weeks he's been with us, (Svebek) has put more time in than anybody," Robertson said. "He comes early and stays late. He's a hard worker and really enjoying it. That's fun to see. He's playing well and Chris is one of the nicest kids I've ever coached."

Heading into the season, juniors Ethan Owens and Owen Thomas round out the Panthers' top five spots.

"Ethan Owens is a guy that really enjoys to play and hadn't played a lot," Robertson said. "He's a guy that keeps getting better. He's another one of those juniors that's going to have to be a leader for us.

"Owen Thomas is another junior that you see flashes of really good play. He needs to get out there, get his feet wet and get some experience."

Juniors Nick Gray and Jacob Smith complete the seven-man class.

"What I like about them is they're always out here with a positive attitude working hard," Robertson said of Gray and Smith.

Miles Perkins leads a group of five sophomores as the only returner of the bunch.

"Miles has really come on in the last two weeks and is really starting to hit some good shots," Robertson said. "He's learning how to play and manage his own swing. We need him to take a step forward and keep getting better."

Brayden Fain joined the team a few weeks ago and has some natural athleticism, Robertson said. Patrick Church, Zach Jones and Preston Moody round out the sophomore class.

"They're good kids that need to learn to play," Robertson said. "They'll have the opportunity to compete for some JV time and learn how to get better and have fun doing it."

The Panthers have five freshmen and two of them, Nick Driscoll and Johnny Graves, may end up fighting for varsity spots down the road.

"Both guys come from families that play quite a bit of golf," Robertson said. "They had a little more experience. Both have natural abilities and need to keep getting better. ...I think they're going to push some guys for playing time if they keep improving and keep getting better."

Freshmen Camden Blackfox, Will Van Asche and Jackson Doornbos round out the roster.

"Those three guys have come out and they're great kids, just need to keep getting better," Robertson said. "We're really working on a lot of swing components with those guys and learning how to play."

Girls

After graduating four seniors last year, including state runner-up Kaitlyn Robinson, the girls program will field its youngest group experience-wise in several years.

Five Lady Panthers, and possibly a couple more before its all said and done, are competing for playing time.

"We've been fortunate to have some experienced girls the last several years," Robertson said. "We definitely haven't had a group this young in 10 to 12 years. It's been a while since we've had this many new ones.

"One thing that's fun and exciting is they're super open to get better and willing to work hard. I think we've got some girls with some natural ability we can build on. One thing I've learned on girls side, if you get a team full of girls that will commit to working hard, they can form a close bond you can develop that over the course of a few years."

Senior Kendi Williamson is in her third year in the program and got a lot of experience, including some time in varsity matches.

"She's traveled all over the state and played in tournaments," Robertson said. "I think she's ready for this moment."

Senior Caroline Perry recently joined the team and is working hard, her coach said.

"She's a girl that needs to play and help lead by example," he said, "and she's doing a really good job with that."

After the two seniors, the Lady Panthers have three freshmen in Brooke Smith, Mackenzie Sontag and Baylee Morris.

Smith is a basketball player and good athlete that "just needs to get out here and play," Robertson said. "I like how hard she works and is willing to put in time to get better."

Sontag hasn't played much golf but has shown her commitment by coming in early.

"She's another that's going to get better every day," he said.

Morris has some good, natural athleticism and is a competitive cheerleader and rodeo barrel racer.

"I would say all three of the freshmen have very little experience, but they're just three great young ladies that are working really, really hard," Robertson said. "It's fun to see that close bond that the girls have had in the past and fun to see them develop."