Laura Lee Holman had plenty of memorable moments as a standout softball and basketball player at New Hope High School.
Holman also has worked hard as the school’s girls basketball coach to build that program into a contender.
One year after being picked to serve as a chaperone for the school’s only girls golfer, Holman has graduated to full-fledged coach of the school’s newest program.
Today, New Hope High School’s girls golf team will begin its quest for a state title when it competes in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3 tournament at the Country Club of Canton.
New Hope, a Class 5A school, will compete in the state’s largest classification, which is made up of Class 6A schools. Holman said the team was supposed to have played in the Class 2 tournament but was told there weren’t any remaining spots in that classification and was bumped to Class 3.
Starkville High’s Savannah Hobart and Kristen Lacy and West Point’s Addison Camp and Ashley Johnson will compete today in Class 2.
Holman said having three players for a team made it easier for Caldwell, who competed last season by herself, to make it to the state tournament. Having two other players round out the team made it even more satisfying.
“It wasn’t really until two weeks into the season when we had our first practice,” Holman said. “We wanted to make sure we were going to have a schedule. I was only able to come up with five matches, so we had to travel every time.”
Holman said the team went to Pontotoc twice, Elm Lake once, and to Tupelo, and Saltillo. The team is coming off a runner-up finish to Tupelo in the district tournament. That event, in which it finished 11 strokes behind Tupelo, was the first time all three players had competed in 18 holes.
Holman picked up the sport of golf two years ago. She said she has relished the role of learning the sport with her new team after only dabbling in it while she was a student-athlete at Troy University.
Caldwell, a freshman, said she started getting serious about golf two years ago. She said she enjoys playing in summer tournaments and works with a coach at Mississippi State, who helps her with her game. She said her goal is to earn a scholarship to play golf in college.
Caldwell said it isn’t a big deal that she is a member of what is believed to be the school’s first girls golf team. Holman said Caldwell would have had to won or finished second at the district tournament to qualify for the state tournament. She said the fact that New Hope has a girls golf team made it easier to advance because the top two teams move on to that event.
Bradley, an eighth-grader, said she was looking for something to do after school when she was approached about being a member of the girls golf team. She had never picked up a golf club and has enjoyed the good shots and the frustrations that come with playing golf.
“I had played putt-putt golf, but I had never played golf,” Bradley said. “I couldn’t go home after school and do nothing. … I didn’t know much about the sport. My brother (Jerrod) was going to golf, but he didn’t because he made the baseball team. I watched him a couple of times and it looked like it is a really fun sport to do. … It has been fun. I have learned a lot.”
Keopraseut, 13, a seventh-grader, has been playing golf since she was 7. She said she likes competing against older girls who have played a lot longer than her.
Holman’s game has improved, too. She said all three players have a bright future as members of the school’s first team. After combing the halls prior to the season for players, Holman hopes the success of Caldwell, Keopraseut, and Bradley motivates other girls at the school to come out for the team.
Teams will play 18 holes today and 18 holes Tuesday to determine a champion.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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