Kempsville students may remember the beginning-of-year pep rally, when Kempsville sports teams ran out onto the field, including the golf team.
Mr. Morris took over the Kempsville High School golf team in 2021, continuing Mr. Cinnamond’s legacy.
When asked about what made him take over the coaching position at Kempsville, Mr. Morris replied that he “didn’t want students to not be able to pursue something that both they and I have a passion for.”
Mr. Morris had played golf in college, and because he had some members of the golf team in his classes, he was convinced to become the new coach.
The Virginia Beach high school golf season is during autumn, and the various teams do matches as well. Both male and females can qualify for matches, and there are about two a week during the season.
Matches have different levels of difficulty, ranging from local matches to regional matches, all increasing in skill level.
“You can’t just not practice and expect to be able to play competitively,” explains Mr. Morris. “I’ve seen students improve greatly by being on our team, by going to practice, and trying to improve.”
He then went on to explain that “golf is definitely a more expensive sport if you take it seriously, and it takes work. All of the people on our team work hard in order to get better and qualify for (the) matches.”
Other students on the team include senior Jacob Copeland, and juniors David Lee and Kennedy Hall.
One team member, junior Morgan Schwartz, placed in the mid-20s for a match, going up against other girls from Virginia Beach teams.
It can be hard, not playing your best one day and having to come back the next and try to put it behind you,” says David Lee. “You have to know how to roll with the punches and still keep trying your best.”
Due to not having a place to practice around the school, the team rotates between golf courses in Virginia Beach, typically not ending practice until dark, and having to leave the school early in order to have enough time to warm up for matches.
With the influx of new students at Kempsville, the team has gotten many new people that are interested in playing golf, which resulted in a whopping 22 students that came out for golf tryouts this past year (2023).
Mr. Morris says that “it’s hard, having to cut people from the team, but I just can’t keep everyone on.”
Due to the Virginia Beach High School league rules, Mr. Morris has to make two cuts during the season. The first cut occurs in August, when he is allowed to keep 12 people. The second cut occurs in September, when the team must fall from 12 members to 8.
“It takes a lot of work,” says Jacob Copeland. “Having to play a match and try to get a score under 85, and then coming home to do homework…it takes a lot out of you.”
This sentiment was shared by Kennedy Hall, who said that “golf is fun because you get to play with your friends, but you have to stay on top of your schoolwork so that you can still succeed.”
Doing matches twice a week while also juggling school work can be hard for high school students, but Mr. Morris says that “the kids do a great job juggling it all, some even decide to stay in class instead of going to tournaments so they can focus on schoolwork.”
The golf team is very active within Kempsville, hosting informational nights and being present when sports teams are presented for students to learn more about.
Mr. Morris hopes that the golf team will eventually be able to hold “an organized event once a month or so, where students spend a weekend playing golf together and learning,” but understands that there are many ‘hoops’ that would have to be jumped through.
