One of this past week’s selections for athlete of the week was freshman Jackson Raby from the golf team.
Raby shared some thoughts on the season so far, saying, “It’s been great. I was the only freshman coming in, so it’s been a little bit different than previous years, but everybody’s been welcoming. There hasn’t been one person on the team that hasn’t welcomed me in. I’ve been making some strong connections and really adapting well. Coach Crouse has had a big impact on that… I’ve just been grinding, doing the best that I can to try to be there for the team and it’s been working.”
When asked about some of the team leaders, Raby said, “First off, Garrett Sturges, senior. He’s been through nationals I think three times, so this will be his fourth in four years. He’s a big leader… He’s been a big impact for me, coming in. He’s been able to give me some tips and help me out with my swing. Another person is Grayson Head. He actually just got injured… Through the past few weeks when he hasn’t been playing, he’s been acting like a coach, so he’s been helping out the team a lot. Just helping me out with my school work, spiritual walk and on the golf course.”
“It means a lot,” Raby said when asked about being selected as one the athletes of the week. “I think my dedication and overall hard work earned it… I had a pretty decent tournament two tournaments ago, so that could’ve been a factor. Going to my hometown and playing well also had a big impact.”
Concerning his goals for the season, Raby said, “Honestly, I’ve had no expectations, being the only freshman. We’re actually a pretty young team, so I knew I was going to be able to come in and compete with the guys for qualifying spots… Just going out there, having fun. Some goals are just being able to qualify for each tournament, being able to contribute to the top five each tournament, and then just being able to play well. So, the goal at the beginning of the year was to qualify for nationals and get a bid. We ended up placing second. The first-place team gets an automatic bid. We just found out today that we did get an at-large bid, so we did qualify for nationals… Now our goal is just to go to nationals, compete with no expectations again, and just go out and have fun. Whatever happens, happens.”
