Junior at Greeley West and member of the Northridge golf team, Mia Ruiz was honored by head coach A.J. Johnson and the team as MVP of the season. This was her first year playing golf as part of a team and she lacked experience in general. Despite going into her first season as a beginner she competed in conference finals yesterday and depending on how she performed she will have a chance at going to state.
This year, the girls golf team is ranked number five in the state and already has three girls going to state out of the four available slots. Johnson highlighted the talent and competitiveness of the girls team these past couple years stated that this year they have their 11th 12th and 13th state qualifier in the last four years.
When asked about Ruiz and how he felt about her first season he said, “I’m ecstatic that she decided to come play this year, I’ve been trying to get her to join since she was a freshman because she’s a great kid and I love having her on the team.”
Johnson was also very impressed with and proud of her growth as a player stating that, “To go from nothing to where she’s at now, playing in the conference finals with a chance to go to state, is a big thing.”
Ruiz said that she was flattered by the award and that despite being a beginner she tries to hold herself with confidence and that her team took notice. The team is made up of mostly underclassmen and Ruiz stated that, “Most of my teammates just assumed that I had a lot of experience playing golf, and they were surprised to learn that it was my first time.”
To anyone thinking about joining golf, Johnson said that, “There are a lot of life lessons that can be learned from golf including how to handle adversity, how to be social by talking to the person you’re paired up with that you’ve never talked to before, and how to stand up for yourself if you think someone is lying or cheating. “
Johnson is excited to see how his girls will perform at state next Monday and Tuesday and is looking forward to his players that will continue to improve next year.
