With plenty of hard work and dedication, freshman Cathleen Lu made it to the Arcadia High School (AHS) Girls JV Golf team. First introduced to golf at 9-years-old, Lu treated this sport the same as her numerous other side interests. However, as time progressed, Lu began to develop true passion for the sport. To demonstrate her commitment, she practiced relentlessly for the tryout, and unsurprisingly, she was able to represent AHS, together with other amazing players, in several golf matches against other high schools. 

“At first, I treated golf as a leisure activity, but now it has become an irreplaceable aspect of my life. Because of this, I want to always deliver my best effort and not let down my teammates and coach,” said Lu. 

Being a part of a sports team as well as keeping on top of school takes lots of diligence and true passion for this sport. According to Lu, aside from practicing at school, she also takes private lessons and regularly practices on her own time. Moreover, during tournament seasons, Lu practices even more frequently and utilizes her time to the greatest extent by completing her homework in the car on the way to the golf course. All in all, Lu demonstrates the importance of golf in her life by taking out as much time as possible in her busy schedule to refine her skills. 

“I sometimes do get overwhelmed with my schedule, but as the school year moves forward, I’ve found a balance between academics and sport,” said Lu. 

Throughout Lu’s journey with golf, the sport taught her many valuable lessons. For instance, the competitive environment in the golf team motivated her to work harder and challenged her to take on larger responsibilities. Moreover, it provided her with an opportunity to make friends with other upperclassmen golf players and gain useful advice from them. Overall, Lu described the atmosphere of the golf team to be fun and welcoming. 

“All of my teammates are extremely supportive. They were one of the many motivations that I had to keep going forward in my golf career,” expressed Lu. 

From her most recent match against Glendora High School (GHS), Lu gained a deeper understanding about the nature of success and failure. Winning third place, though not the ideal placement her team had envisioned, allowed her to understand how failures pave the way for success. The match allowed the team members to realize certain areas that they still need improvement on and how important it is to keep the team spirit high. From this match, she concluded that the team understood the importance of collaboration and is eager to take on a new challenge. 

Photo by Katrina Reghitto