Captain and Golfer, Sophie McNeil-spooner

Senior Sophie McNeil-Spooner has been a part of the var Girls Golf team since freshman year. She started playing golf the summer going into her freshman year, she has improved incredibly and has earned the title as captain for her team. 

This season they have had their smallest team yet with just five girls, and they have a new coach, Maddy Zack replacing Coach Jim Bennet, who still attends all the practices and meets. So far the practices and tournaments have been fun. They had a late start to their season with only a few meets and only two tournaments. 

“This year we have 15 matches and two tournament days. On these days we play nine holes with two girls from another school,” McNeil-Spooner said. 

A captain has leadership qualities and the trust of the team. 

“As captain, I help lead practice drills at the start of practice and determine our uniforms for each match. Later in the season I’ll have to get to matches early to set up our practice team. Being captain is important because I get to help advance my team and get placed higher in meets,” McNeil-Spooner states. 

With COVID-19, their season has been pushed back and shortened. They had to wait for a specific color tier to start practicing as a team. “Golf is one thing you’ve always been able to do with the coronavirus, so now we just wear our masks and keep our distance at practices and tournaments,” McNeil-Spooner said. 

McNeil-Spooner has made many memories over her high school career. Her favorite is how every year after they finished competing in Coronado, the coaches would treat the whole team to Miguel’s. 

“It was always so much fun to sit down with your team and eat very good Mexican food after a match,” she says. They don’t know if this memory will take palce this year because of COVID shutting down resturant buisnesses or even the tournament being cancelled but they are hoping for the best. 

Sophie McNeil-Spooner is thrilled for this season, despite the COVID limitations, she’s looking forward to making bonds with her teammates and more fun memories.