Fresno City College’s women’s golf team is making waves both on and off the course, demonstrating exceptional talent, determination, and sportsmanship. Despite being in the shadows of more popular sports, these dedicated players are proving that they do deserve their share of spotlight.
In his second year of coaching, Juston Smart, the women’s golf coach for FCC was able to bring one individual to the State Championships last year and again this season with two players.
Despite being able to bring his team to Championships, there have been a few challenges along the way that they had faced. Smart reached out to many high schools to join their women’s golf team.
Smart mentioned that the women’s golf program had been on such a long hiatus that many high school gold coaches and players were unaware of the team, resulting in missed recruitment opportunities.
“We’re going to keep on growing and keep on building from that standpoint, reaching out to a lot of colleges and or high schools, and athletic directors even outside of Fresno, and that is 2,530 mile radius,” Smart said.
He felt there are always going to be challenges in all sports but recruiting will always be the biggest challenge for coaches.
“It’s quite difficult as [a] junior college coach as we don’t get to really grow their players as much as you would say a high school team or a four year college team because you get them for two years,” Smart said.
Despite this, Smart and his team have managed to work through and make a name for themselves with the help and support of FCC.
A lot of athletes are young adults who are financially struggling, so having meal money to help them be able to eat.
With golf being a fairly expensive sport, the school has also helped these athletes with the opportunity to have the equipment that they would not have if they had purchased it on its own, equipment such as golf balls, range time and certain other equipment like range finders.
“The school has helped provide them when they become a player on the golf team,” Smart said.
Smart shares a special moment between him and his players. Every match when they are driving back home from a tournament he likes to hold a group discussion and reflect on their performance.
“Well one day after math we’re driving home and my team captain Jillian Thor spoke up and was starting the reflection without me even bringing it up, which definitely shows that they believe it’s helpful and almost therapeutic,” Smart said.
Team captain Jillian Thor, one of the two players that went to State Championships on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 talks about how she felt about the recognition that she and her team got.
“I feel like the current level of recognition for women’s golf is still in development,” Thor said, “Although it doesn’t yet have the same recognition as men’s golf or football, the women’s golf program is working hard to build momentum after facing setbacks.”
The recognition for the women’s golf program has improved significantly since her first year. The social media coverage and the community support has played a role in the growth.
Thor believes that with the right support, the program will have the potential to be just as successful and recognized as any program on campus.
“The Fresno City College women’s golf team is doing their best to continuously build up and improve their program. I’m excited for what the future holds for them,” Thor said.
Thor shared how she felt when she found out she qualified for the State Championships and the preparation leading up to them.
“I was completely thrilled. It was already a great honor to be part of the women’s golf team at Fresno City,” Thor said, “Qualifying for the State Championship felt like a cherry on top.”
Her preparation for the championship changed her mindset. “For me, I viewed everything with gratitude. Golf is a sport that tests your mental stamina. It is incredibly easy to criticize and degrade your abilities when you are unable to perform at your best,” Thor said.
Thor had practiced having compassion for herself. “Nevertheless, I was content not winning the state championship. But I was grateful at the opportunity to compete with such talented players from both the south and north regions,” Thor said.
Camille Salmerón competed in the State Championships and shared her thoughts on the recognition and her preparation.
“Not many people care for it and not a lot of people recognize it. Men’s golf has some recognition but I don’t ever hear anything about women’s golf but overall I think golf in general isn’t talked about much or recognized at all,” Salmerón said.
With this being her first year with the women’s golf team, she mentioned that she has noticed one Instagram post but she did not see anything else about golf in general being talked about at all or even being recognized.
“I felt ecstatic and accomplished, I felt like all my hard work paid off and that all my time and effort is showing through,” Salmerón said about going to State Championships.
As she prepared for State, she shared some of her preparations for how she got ready.
“I was definitely trying to sharpen up my weak points of my game. So I could try to be at my best. A lot of practice and determination to get better in those of my game,” Salmerón said, “I don’t think I did anything differently, if anything I was just out there practicing longer to get myself more prepared mentally so I could just have trust in myself.”
Both players, Thor and Salmeròn have been showcasing their exceptional talent and dedication to women’s golf.
Their number one goal for the next couple of years is to practice with efficiency, practice with a purpose and help players improve under pressure and anxiety according to Smart.
“My next goal is to help my players be better closers and if we can do that, we will have a winning recipe,” Smart said.
