JHS Golf Program Revived
By John Earp
After many years with no high school golf program in Jal, the JHS Golf Team, though small, has been quite active this season, under the leadership of a new coach, Mr. Royce Brown. Brown says he has had four students come out for the golf team this year, three boys and one girl, with one of the boys moving away mid-season. All the JHS golfers are beginners, so the team has been competing on a JV-only schedule. It has been a challenging first season, according to Brown.
Brown says he coached golf at Capitan for eight or nine years. He was recruited out of retirement to coach golf at JHS by Principal Buddy Little. The JHS Golf Team has been competing on a junior varsity level against teams from across the region, including Hobbs, Carlsbad, and Roswell. Brown is hopeful the team will progress to be able to compete on a varsity level next season. Similar to other sports like powerlifting, in the state tournament, JHS would compete in A-AAA.
Coach says, “We practice Monday through Wednesday and then I give them, you know Thursday’s optional, Thursday through the weekend. I’m hoping that they go out there. But I actually still have my place and my wife is in Lubbock, so as soon as Thursday school is over, I head out to get back with my family.” The team practices in the early evening at the Jal Country Club.
The JHS golfers this season are Braedyn Almanza, Avryan Galindo, and Angelica Alvarado, all of whom are sophomores. Brown says he has heard there is a lot of interest in golf amongst the junior high grades, so hopefully some of those will come out for golf next season. Fourteen students had said they were interested in playing golf, but most of them have stayed busy with baseball and/or track.
When Brown was teaching at Capitan, he was asked by the principal and AD if he would coach the golf team. He said his principal said he would make $500 for coaching the team, and would be able to play free golf, which he thought might be worth it. He says he found it definitely has been worth it, coaching golf. He says he learned through trial and error on the job, before the advent of YouTube. He says he would go to doctor’s offices and ask for their old golf magazines, in order to educate himself.
About the Jal Country Club, Brown says, “The golf course has been great. They’re willing to help and the kids go out there and they’re able to use the facility as long as they behave. The golf course has been great and very helpful. We’re very blessed from that standpoint.”