The 2021 season was a great one for the California Lady Pintos golf team.
Under the direction of head coach Ashley Atteberry, the Lady Pintos had two golfers -- Lillian Eichelberger and Alayna Butts -- qualify for the state tournament and both won medals. Butts was earned all-districts honors.
Eichelberger graduated in May. But Butts, a junior, is back as a junior and looking to make it back to state.
The 2022 Lady Pintos are made up of nine golfers including two freshman and one sophomore who are new to the team. But although these editions are new to the team, they are not new to golf. They have been around the sport for years and they know how to make quality shots from anywhere on the course. All of Atteberry's golfers are experience. But she also said the biggest hurdle her team faces is dedication to other commitments.
"The strengths this year is that I really don't have any 'brand new' golfers. All of them have been around the game and they can all make great golf shots," Atteberry said. "The weakness is that my girls are involved with so many other activities both school and non-school that they haven't been able to 100 percent dedicate their summer to their golf game, so when practice started on August 9, some of the girls hadn't played for awhile, but they will get back into the swing of it soon."
As always, the biggest tournaments for California will be in conference and district play. But no matter where they play or who they play against, Atteberry wants the team to always be ready to play and bring their best game every tournament.
"Obviously, the most important tournaments are conference which will be hosted by Hallsville at Tanglewood and districts which we don't know where those are yet, but we always want to have a great showing at all of the tournaments we are in, especially the one we host which is the California Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 20," said Atteberry.
The road to qualifying for an appearance at the state championship requires a lot of hard work and dedication, something Atteberry said will come with time and practice. More than anything else, Atteberry's primary goal for the season is to help her golfers improve both as players and young ladies throughout the season.
"I just want all girls to be able to improve in all aspects of the game as individuals and with a lot of hard work, the girls will be able to achieve that goal," said Atteberry, "I have seen a lot of dedication since the season started, so I have no doubt that they will be making great golf shots throughout the season."
The Lady Pintos tee off their season Friday at the Boonville Par-Three Event in Boonville.