The Chesterton Girls Varsity Golf team has been immensely fortunate to experience such a victorious season this year. The team has worked diligently all season and made their way to state which they competed in this past weekend. Out of 18 teams, the Trojans placed 18th at 232 over par. On Saturday, CHS junior Maddie Soffin successfully led the team and ended with a total score of -2 on the par threes. This fantastic score was also the best out of the 108 golfers participating in the state finals. With a final score of 191 over the two-day competition, Soffin earned 85th place at state. The unexpected trip to the state championship was certainly not easy for the Lady Trojans.
“It was actually really nerve-wracking, but I just kept reminding myself that we’re there to have fun… it was just so cool being around the top golfers of the state,” said Soffin in regards to participating in the finals.
Soffin first began her golf journey during the winter of her 8th-grade year and has been thriving ever since. There’s no doubt that Soffin is one of the top golfers at Chesterton and she hopes to have yet another successful season for her senior year. Soffin says that the strongest aspect of her game is her putting as it’s one thing she practices quite frequently. She also mentions that she has a lot to learn and is working to adjust her swing and focus on course management during the off-season.
“The varsity team plays a lot together during the offseason, and we take lessons for the most part. Some of us are members at Sand Creek or other courses to maintain practice rounds throughout our down time. Golf is one of those sports that takes a lot of individual discipline and practice to make sure the team is at it’s best by the start of next season,” Soffin continued.
There is a tremendous mental aspect to the sport and Soffin has a few tricks to managing stress and staying prepared. She readies herself for tournaments by organizing all of her equipment the night before and staying calm no matter who the opponent is. Soffin also keeps a journal for her golf notes and for her parents to write little reminders and messages to help keep her calm.
“I take notes at my private lessons to help remind me during matches of some of those lessons I’ve been taught. Some of the notes help to calm my nerves too during matches,” Soffin explained.
We can expect to see more of Soffin next year during her senior golf season. She anticipates continuing her golf career after high school and playing in college as well. However, right now, her focus isn’t on college golf, but rather building off of this season’s finish for next year.
“I’m really excited for next year. We really have an opportunity to build on our performance this year and have a better chance at competing with our rival Valpo,” Soffin concluded.
