The season has ended for the fall sports, including the golf season. “It was a rewarding and growing season, with maturation occurring both personally and golf skills-wise for all of our student athletes,” explains coach Richard Malatesta.
Throughout the season, there had been many obstacles and setbacks for the team. The overwhelming amount of new members proved to be quite problematic for the captain and the coach. For the first few weeks, many members struggled with the sport as this is their first hand experience with this. However, after many practices and face-off with other local teams, the Malden High golf team has “improved substantially [as a whole],” says Malatesta.
This year has been a fun ride for the golf members. Besides from being better players on the course, the members also became better teammates as well. According to the members, they have a lot of fun together and that the season, overall, was “alright” explains freshman Simon Daponta. As for the coach, he enjoyed seeing the players’ “enthusiasm for golf, their dedication and commitment to improving.” For him, “to see the student-athletes putting into practice what they learned was very rewarding for both them and [himself].”
Despite the difficulties at the beginning, the players did not give in the obstacles they faced as new members of the team. And so, through their hard work and passion for the sport, the players Malatesta says,“made tremendous progress, both individually and collectively.” It was understandable that for a team full of new players, setbacks and delays are inevitable. By the end of the season, their greatest achievement was when the team got “better score than Everett in the second MVC tournament,” says Malatesta.
“Golf is in many ways a metaphor for life. There are successes and setbacks, ups and downs, good breaks and bad breaks and hard work always pays off in personal growth and oftentimes success,” explains Malatesta, “it teaches you that things don’t always go your way and it is the process that is what is most important, not the numerical score.”
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