One word a person hears a lot around the Marysville-Pilchuck girls golf team is family.
That might come as a surprise to some folks who think of golf as a very solitary, zen-like sport, but coach Jaci Legore Hodgins will tell you that is just one aspect of the team game.
Its a real individual sport, she said. Theres a social aspect, but not like if you go out for track. Were a small group, like a family. If you play 18 holes, thats four to six hours together.
Clocking miles and meals together, not to mention weekday practices, and a lot of girls on the golf team spend more time with each other than their own families.
Even on the golf course, its not all hushed quiet by onlookers camaraderie plays an important part in the teams psyche.
You have to figure things out yourself, but you can help each other, Legore Hodgins said. Theres a balance of talking while competing.
She added that even decisions about the team uniform fashion the groups identity, a trend Legore Hodgins said she has seen emerging not just from her own girls, but also the teams the Tomahawks have competed against.
For a pair of girls on the team, there is another connection between golf and family the father or older brother who also plays.
For sophomore Brielle Saunders, its older brother and M-P alum Colt Saunders who is off to golf academy, according to his sister. Though Brielle spent her freshman year competing in shot put and javelin for the track team, Saunders said she enjoys golf more and Legore Hodgins attributed her early success to playing with family.
Fellow sophomore Sara Rott said she went out for golf her freshman year for the fun of it, but also joined the team with experience.
Sara has the blessing of coming from a family where she plays golf, Legore Hodgins said, crediting the extra practice with Rotts improvement from last year to this year under the Stableford scoring system, which differs from professional golf scoring in that a high score is a desirable outcome.
We had a match (March 15) and Sara was the medalist, the highest scorer, versus Lake Stevens.
Though junior Tierany Winston describes the team as a young one, the team has several parent figures for this makeshift family. Legore Hodgins describes junior Lynee Brown as the teams most experienced player, and Winston, herself, is in her third season on the team.
This year has been different. Theres a lot of new girls this year, Winston said. I think everyones learning fast.