After a long four years, this fall season comes with the announcement of the return of the girls golf team at Antioch Community High School. ACHS Athletic Director Steve Schoenfelder and head coach Kelly McIntyre are pleased to announce the news. With just five girls currently on the team and more expected to join, Schoenfelder, McIntyre and teammates see a bright future for the girls golf team.  

McIntyre played golf in high school at Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, Ill. With her love for the game, she happily volunteered to coach.

McIntyre said, “Some parents mentioned to Mr. Schoenfelder that their daughters were interested in playing golf in school. He went all around Antioch Upper Grade School and Antioch Elementary School to ask if anybody was interested. After a bunch of girls mentioned that they were, we had our girls team back.”

Since this is a new sport to students at ACHS and all the current girls on the team are freshmen, they will have a strong starting point to grow from for the future. 

“I would like for us to get the program to a point where we have a minimum of 12 girls each year,” said Schoenfelder. “The first year is usually the most difficult. After it becomes established, the numbers usually become stronger.”

The team will only be participating in five invitationals leading into the conference meet this year. The following year the team will be part of the conference schedule, which adds more matches to the schedules. The athletic department will assess the program’s development to determine when the appropriate time would be to add on more invitationals. 

Coming into ACHS as a freshman, Lena Slater decided to try something new by joining the team.

“More teammates would be nice, but the size is pretty good. We get more one-on-one time. If we had more girls, a second coach would be beneficial,” Slater said.  

As far as the future for the girls golf team goes, the main goal is for the girls to have a positive experience and return with experience next year, as well as become stronger with their skill development. Though they don’t yet have the desired level of participation, the future looks positive for the team.