While five-foot-eight junior Collin Swantz stood in the tee box he reminded himself that he was on varsity because he was good at golf and his teammates trusted him. He put the ball on the tee took a practice swing and a deep breath then “Whack!” the ball went flying. It landed right in the middle of the fairway which helped calm Swantz’s nerves.

There may be strong competition out there on the golf course from his teammates or players from other schools, but junior golfer Collin Swantz is always looking to improve. As a sophomore Swantz was told that he was going to be on varsity. He was very excited but also very nervous because he did not want to let his teammates down. During the first meet, all he could think about was his score and if he was helping the team. Throughout the year Swantz began to settle into the varsity role. He started to play more relaxed and one thing he always reminded himself to do before he shot was to breathe. 

When Collin was in second-grade his dad, Scott, said he got a set of kiddy clubs from a family friend and asked if he wanted to go golfing. Collin not knowing much about golf said yes. He really enjoyed golfing with his dad. Collin continued to play golf here and there all the way through middle school and eventually played in high school.

Freshman year Swantz had mixed feelings on what sport he was going to go out for. He was influenced by many of his friends to run track and play soccer, but only a select few wanted him to go out for golf. As the spring season rolled around Swantz still didn’t know what to do. A couple of weeks before spring sports started up his parents asked him what sport he was going to play. “I have a set of clubs so why not?” said Swantz. 

Swantz knew he was going to be on JV as a freshman and he was okay with that. Since he wasn’t going to be on varsity he wanted to have a good time with his friends, and that he did. At the first meet, he was a little nervous but quickly realized that the other teams JV golfers felt the same way he did. Throughout the year Swantz had a good time meeting new people, making new friends, and playing golf. After freshman season was over he knew golf was the right choice and was excited for his sophomore year. 

The closer sophomore year got the more buzz there was. There was a word that a few sophomores would be on varsity and Swantz was excited. The varsity golf team was fairly young with a bunch of sophomores, including Swantz, and even a few freshmen. Even though many people thought this year was going to be more of a rebuilding year Swantz was still focused on doing his best and helping the team in any way he could. 

Swantz was very anxious. He had so many negative thoughts going through his head. “The hardest part of any meet is the first tee shot, but after that, every shot keeps getting easier,” said Swantz.

As the season progressed he had a hard time staying consistent. Some meets he would have an awesome game, but other meets were not so great. That ended up being the story of his sophomore season. Swantz wasn’t particularly happy about the way it ended but he was okay with it. He knew there was room to improve in the offseason. With the whole golf team returning he is excited to see how they would be this year with some experience under their belts.