As the school year comes to a start, so does Ayala’s girls golf season. With the retirement of Mr. Ron Capps after decades of serving as a Physical Education teacher and golf coach, there was a need for a new head coach to take his place. Golf is an incredibly niche sport which requires mental fortitude and a leader who is able to bring the girls together while acting as foundation for the team. Filling Capps’s spot would prove to be difficult due to his experience in the field. Fortunately, Mr. Kenny Donovan, the prior assistant golf coach and current AP European History and World History teacher, stepped up to the pedestal hoping to make this new season a memorable one.
Many of the girls expressed their excitement toward having Donovan as head coach. His clear-cut organization, aspiration to make the team stronger in relationships and in technique, and goals for the season are evident to the players.
“Coach Donovan is a great main coach because of his goal to create an equal opportunity for all players on the team regardless if they are on varsity or junior varsity,” Captain Priya Devine (11) said. “I think a new coach will help everyone on the team work more as one group rather than as individuals and everyone will be supportive of each other.”
Still, the many years Capps put toward making the golf program into what it is today will not be forgotten. He contributed through his ambitious mentality, his desire to make the team exceptional, and a true love for the sport. Many of the returning girls have fond memories of Capps and recognize that his leaving is bittersweet. The goodbye may sting, but it provides an opportunity for change.
“I’ll miss Coach Capps because of his cheerful attitude, his nice way of approaching us, and the happy mood he always had,” returning player Julie Zhao (10) said.
With the change in coach comes a slight shift in the approach to leading the golf team. Accumulated from coaching a variety of team based sports including basketball, softball, baseball, and track, Donovan has many plans in store for the girls, including prioritizing measurable goals before winning, encouraging close-knit relationships between the entire team, and approaching problems in an organized and thoughtful manner.
“Even though it is an individual [sport], there is that team side of it. That’s why we’re trying to make sure we don’t have the disease of me come into the team that we think we don’t think about,” Donovan said.
One of Donovan’s biggest messages toward his team is to set clear, measurable goals while playing matches. Instead of aiming to win, his focus is for the girls to meet specific statistics in different aspects of their game. He believes through such a mindset, winning comes as a byproduct. Donovan’s view helps establish a group that prioritizes playing to the best of one’s abilities in order to secure victories.
“The girls should, with each match, think, ‘my goal is to hit my drive in the fairway. I want to have one chip or less, two putts or less.’ And everything will take care of itself,” Donovan said.
The girls are fully aware of Donovan’s commitment as the head coach. Although the change is drastic, with new ideas come new opportunities awaiting the Bulldog golfers.
“A new coach always brings new energy and can shift the team dynamic. I think it will push us to improve and grow in ways we haven’t before. It’s early, but I think the team is responding well to the changes,” Captain Madison Soong (11) said.
