With the new season, the Girl’s Golf Teams at Arcadia High School (AHS) are making a huge leap towards breaking records and winning championships. So far, the AHS Girls Varsity team features a 22-1winning streak, and tryouts are being more competitive each year. For Coach Robert Greep, who has been coaching both the Boy’s Team and Girl’s Team at AHS for, the new season provides a sense of excitement.

“I’m just super excited because I think we have a really good chance to have an amazing year, a record breaking year with how it is going,” Greep says.

With how the season is going, Greep’s goals for both teams seem to reflect the ever-growing competitive nature of the golf teams.

“Our goal is to win Division I finals, go to CIF finals, qualify there, and get the State qualifier at Brookside and make it to the state championship. We’ve never made it to [the] State [championship.] I’ve been to CIF finals multiple times for team and individual [matches,] but I’ve never had someone make it to state or a team make it to state,” Greep explains.

However, winning a state championship in the fall season is not an easy task. With the challenge of new classes, teachers, assignments, and extracurricular activities, time is a very limited resource for their team. 

“The biggest challenge is the heat,” Greep mentions. “We battle the heat the first part of the season, and it is really difficult because the girls have to go out there; we’re very limited on access to golf courses. It is very limited on days and time, and sometimes it’s next to impossible when it’s 103°F out, and it is the only day they can allow us to play on the course.”

For the teams, however, the lack of time serves as a good way to motivate themselves to win more tournaments. 

“They’re really working hard in the off-season; they know that last year was an okay year; we didn’t win the league; they really want to win the league,” Greep explains.  

“So what’s nice as a coach is that I don’t have to motivate them. I see them every day; they’re working together because their goal is to win the league and move on. We’re going to be a much improved team this year.”

Despite the challenges of coaching a sport with incredibly limited time, Greep is extremely happy and grateful for the positive support his teams receive from the school and the community. 

“I couldn’t be more grateful for all the staff,” Greep says. “They understand that practice times are really limited due to the tee times we’re allowed to go, which means that they have to miss class. All the teachers are wonderful and support the kids, and all the administrators are incredibly supportive.”

Photo courtesy of Veronica Meyers