New season kicks off with mixed interest

While the sport of golf as a whole continues to enjoy popularity, participation numbers at area high schools tell a somewhat mixed story.

Out of the nine area girls golf teams, roster numbers fluctuate. The entire Elgin area U46 district -- comprised of 5 high schools -- had 12 total girls golfers among the Elgin/Larkin and Bartlett/Streamwood/South Elgin co-op teams as of early last week.

On the other hand, Prairie Ridge, the only singular girls team in District 155 (Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South and Crystal Lake Central comprise one team), has an area-high 19 golfers.

Hampshire, which is in its first official year as a program with an actual coach and full schedule, has 7 girls on the team, yet its two much larger district counterparts -- Jacobs and Dundee-Crown--had less than 15 golfers combined as of early last week.

"I would have to say part of it could be social acceptance," said first-year Hampshire coach Sue Ellett, a girls state qualifier at the old Dundee High School. "With young boys you can go out and get four buddies to play. Girls have a lot of other interests like softball, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading. I don't know if they think much about golf. It's a lot harder to find girlfriends who want to play golf."

St. Edward coach Mike Lehman, who is also a golf professional and general manager at The Highlands in Elgin, agrees that other sporting interests may be keeping numbers down at the high school level.

"There is a lot of competition with other ladies' sports," said Lehman, whose Green Wave team qualified for the Class A state finals in 2006.

But Lehman would like to see the girls game take the lead of other club sports like volleyball.

"We've got a lot of club volleyball teams in the area," said Lehman. "We can follow suit with these club set-ups and do something in golf. The girls game is still growing."

Prairie Ridge coach Patti Hie said word of mouth has helped maintain strong numbers at the Crystal Lake school.

"The girls on the team have a good time and they go tell their friends," said Hie. "I can't figure it out why more girls don't play. You get to play usually in beautiful weather and golf is something you can do the rest of your life. That's how I promote it. Not only can they learn something they can use the rest of their life, but they are also getting a chance to represent their school."

Ellett is looking forward to building the Hampshire program.

"I look at this as a 2-3 year project," said Ellett. "We want to keep all these kids coming out and then keep adding younger players. We're in a total building phase. I'm excited to be able to go out there and work with these kids. I live and breathe golf. I love being out there I want to see these girls develop their golf game and have fun with the sport. I'm excited."

Speaking of Ellett: There is a second Ellett on the roster. Ellett's daughter, Taylor, is a freshman on the team. Taylor Ellett won a total of 6 IJGA and McHenry County Junior Golf Association titles this past summer. She played in a dozen or so tournaments in total and was the youngest competitor in the 14-16 age division. She was also the meet medalist in her first high school competition earlier this week.

"We'll look for Taylor to carry the load for us," said Sue Ellett. "I guess the old coach is going to put some pressure on her (laughs)."

Taylor's younger sister, Connie, is an eighth grader and is also heavily involved in the junior golf scene.

Hampshire also returns sophomore sectional qualifier Alex Field.

Keep an eye on: Another name to pay close attention to on the girls side is Huntley sophomore Katlyn Anderberg.

Huntley coach Ann Christiansen reports Anderberg was second in the McHenry County Junior Golf Association points standings this summer. She also took 18th place with an 89 at the IJGA Tournament of Champions.

"Katlyn has a lot of promise," said Christiansen.

Because Huntley has only 3 girls in the program, Anderberg and female teammates Jessica Briguglio and Samantha Wightman will compete with the boys in the regular season and then switch to the girls state series in the postseason.

Hoffer comes home: Former Larkin boys golf standout Alex Hoffer was recently tabbed the new coach of the Elgin/Larkin girls co-op team.

Hoffer, who was part of two Tim Jones-coached Larkin state teams in the late 1990s, went on to study at Purdue and then earned his master's degree and teaching credential at DePaul. Hoffer, who now calls St. Charles home, recently married the former Sarah Wilson (an English teacher at Elmhurst York).

"I'm excited," said Hoffer, always a colorful quote as a player. "I think I can make a difference with these players. I definitely enjoy helping these girls."

Hoffer said Larkin sophomore Kristin Chramowicz has shown potential in the team's early practices.

"Kristin could be pretty darned competitive in a couple of years," said Hoffer.

Repeat?: St. Edward is fresh off a Class A state finals appearance last year.

The Green Wave returns seniors Hannah Carter and Nicole Mattoon from the state team.

"These girls saw what it was like to go Downstate," said Lehman. "We've got so many good leaders on this team. They've had that taste of success and I think that will help lead us and it will help them do well in the immediate future."

The St. Edward girls team, despite the new class shifts, stays in Class A in girls golf.

"We lost four seniors from that team," said Lehman, who has 10 girls in the program. "To do something like what we did last year -- which was unprecedented in this area -- is going to be tough. But we're going to focus on some goals and get better as players. We've got a strong program here."

Add a couple more: While the Upstate Eight Conference has had a longstanding girls league tournament, the Fox Valley and Big Northern conferences will also have season-ending league meets this year. The FVC, which conducted the meet for several years and then went on hiatus, now has 6 girls golf teams, and will hold its conference tournament Sept. 26 at Crystal Woods in Woodstock.

The Big Northern Conference also has enough teams to conduct a league tournament, which will be held at Timber Point in Belvidere this year.