Young Belleville West looks to improve during ‘16 golf season
Jeremy Witt played football at Belleville East and has been an assistant coach in several sports at both Belleville East and Belleville West since graduating from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 2004.
But now Witt has his own own program. An assistant with the West girls golf program for the past two years, Witt is the Maroons new head coach, taking over for Elaine Souders who resigned following the ‘15 season.
“I’m loving being a head coach. I was joking with my buddies the other day that a day on the golf course is better than any day at work,’’ Witt said. “The girls are great. The nicest kids, all of them. They are all good students and just fun to be around.
“Our numbers aren’t great. We’ve got eight players and you can play eight in matches so they’ll all have the chance to play. Plus, I’ve got fice who are new to the game who will practice and work out with us every day. We’re going to have fun and hopefully improve as the season goes on.’’
West has struggled a bit out of the gate, finishing in the middle of the pack at both the Haas-Goalby Classic and at the Mascoutah Invitational on Saturday.
But with seniors Claire Harter and Lauren Hefron along with junior Cassidy Caliper among those with experience on the links, there is hope for the future. Harter and Caliper played the No. 1 and No. 2 spots at the Haas-Goalby Classic, while junior Georgi Warren rounded out the top three players.
“It was a learning experience for some of our girls to play at St. Clair Country Club. We’ve struggled with our putting in the first two matches, but I think a lot of teams struggled on the greens that first day,’’ Witt said. “I just want the girls to be able to hit the ball straight down the fairway and then be able to hit greens.
“I told the girls who shot in the 50’s and 60’s that if we can cut down on our putts to where maybe we’re two putting every green and maybe throwing in an occasional one putt that our scores will drop drastically. We’ll be working on our putting.’’’
Other players who will be counted on to help out this year include senior Addison Mitchell, junior Trinity Stern, sophomore Sydnie Smith and freshman Nina Goodrich. Players who Witt has high hopes for in the future include Cassidy Vollmer, Hannah Witkus, Skyler Ireland, Hailey Lichtenstein and Samantha Gilbert.
This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Young Belleville West looks to improve during ‘16 golf season."