Ann Curtis Quotations

Let's just be one of the top four and see how we match up at sectionals. But we are capable of making it to state.

Last year we we progressed right away. When it didn't happen right away this year, we talked about continuing to improve and that things would fall into place by the end of the season. This group still has a positive learning curve.

She was nervous playing the first match at No. 1, but she's got great spirit. She'll put the jitters behind her by the middle of the season.

She's shown the most improvement I've ever seen from one year to the next. She's improved her game by more than a shot a hole in the past year. She really made the commitment in the offseason to put some effort into golf.

She's been working on removing mental errors from her rounds. She's getting better at it.

She's got a surprisingly good short game and nothing bothers her. But her second nine in the 18-hole rounds tends to hurt her. That's something we're working on.

She's already tournament savvy. Players like Susan and Sarah and (current junior) Rachael (Johnson) had the same talent level at the beginning of their freshman years, but she has some experience behind her, too, so she's probably a step ahead. So she may be better, which is a huge compliment to her.

We traditionally haven't played very well there. It's a course that's a little longer than it looks and it has small greens.

Our mindset is split right now. They're thrilled they've improved, but they're also a little frustrated they haven't gotten over that hump over where their talent lies.

We haven't reached our peak yet, which is good news. We're really close to busting loose.

Finally, the girls can smile and celebrate. I told them, 'We've been second all year. You've got nothing to lose. You can't lose second, and you've never had first, so don't worry about losing it. We've never had first, until today.

We seem to have the most depth. But girls golf is a sport where you can see a lot of unexpected improvement and a lot of improvement in scores in August.

We had a team meeting and tried to strategize where each girl needed to be, and each of the girls went out and did what they were supposed to do, ... The past two weeks we talked about and talked about that (focus). The mental aspect of the game is so crucial.

As she's gotten more confidence she's been shooting more consistent scores. She's been playing with a different mindset.

It's something we still talk about, but it's not the same dark cloud that it was a year ago. I think it's helped that her class has graduated and we have a half-new team. This group of girls are ready now to make their own mark.