RCHS golf coach hopes enough players turn out Aug. 4 to field a team this year
By Amy Hitt
Jason Gochenour, Rappahannock County High School guidance counselor, is also the golf coach at RCHS. Jason is a resident of Luray and a graduate of James Madison University. He has two degrees, a Bachelors in Kinesiology and Health Science and a Masters in Psychology.
He has been the head coach for the golf team for eight years and an employee at RCHS for 12 years. You might think that golf would be a sport in which you have a lot of participation in this county. But you would be wrong.
Three years ago there were 10 players on the golf team. Jacob Dodson, Alex Sharpe, Will Miller and Dos Allen were among those players. Jacob Dodson won the District title and went to Regionals and the other players won several matches.
The RCHS golf team has experienced success in the past, but for the last two years has not even been able to field a four-man team. Why? Several reasons, one of which is that we do not have a golf course in this county, where our team can practice. The closest facilities, South Wales and Luray, have Fauquier and Luray High Schools using their courses. So, Rappahannock’s course is Bowling Green South Country Club in Front Royal.
That is a long way to travel to practice and play. Many parents cannot make the commitment to get their child to and from the practices. Another reason is that in order to be on the team, you have to have played golf before or at least taken lessons. Golf is not a sport you can learn in the school level; you need to be taught the right way to play.
“I wish I had taken lessons when I first started to play,” said Gochenour. “I would be a better player and would not be trying to correct things now at my age.” Golf is a fun sport, and once you have played and learned the game, most people enjoy it. One more reason could be the expense. You have to have your own equipment and you have to maintain your equipment.
This year, in order to encourage more participation, there will be a middle school team. They have two matches scheduled so far and the players will be practicing with the varsity team.
August 4 will be the start of the golf season. Any interested boys and girls will need to be at RCHS by 4:30 p.m. that day to leave for Front Royal. The number of players who turn out for the team will determine practice schedule and transportation.
There are 10 matches set on the schedule for the varsity squad; they need at least four players to be able to compete in the team events. Otherwise the players will compete on an individual basis. If you are a golfer, please come out for the team. Who knows? The next Tiger Woods could be from Rappahannock County!
-- Admin
Write a comment