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This may not be the team they are used to playing for, but Dakota Jarman and Ben Kendrick are still team players.
The two were part of a Boyle County boys golf team that was in contention for a state tournament berth last year, but the team they’re playing for this season is much younger, much less experienced and much, much different.
That has taken some getting used to for Jarman and Kendrick, the only two returning players on a team that otherwise consists entirely of middle-schoolers.
“I’ve been on the high school team since at least sixth grade, and every year except for maybe my first year, we were always contending, we always had a good team,” Kendrick said. “We were always going into it like, here’s Boyle County. We were the ones who showed up and people were asking, ‘Is Boyle County coming to this tournament?’ Now it’s kind of the other way around. It’s going to be different.”
This Boyle team will struggle to win many of its matches and won’t be expected to contend at the regional tournament. And Kendrick and Jarman will be the only Rebels playing in most of the tournaments on the schedule.
Boyle will be represented in 10 tournaments, including the regional next month in Springfield, but Jarman, a senior, and Kendrick, a junior, will play in seven of them as individuals.
“It’s a different mindset when you go into tournaments. Even if you were playing really bad, the rest of the team could be playing lights out, and you had to bring your ‘A’ game every hole, every shot,” Jarman said. “Even though they’re not there, we have that same mindset. We’re playing for Boyle County, even if we’re not competing as a team.”
The team-first mentality also applies when it comes to mentoring young players such as eighth-grader Dylan Frederick and seventh-graders Will Gibson and Hunter Simmons, who currently round out Boyle’s five-man lineup. The two veterans said they try to do what they can to help the younger players along.
“We were all there at one point,” Jarman said. “If they stick with it, if they keep practicing — and I hope that they enjoy high school golf and they want to come back next year — they’ll definitely develop into good players.”
When it comes to offering help, however, the two boys said they try not to get too technical.
“We try to focus on the mental part. I don’t feel comfortable giving them swing adjustments,” Jarman said.
“That’s not really our job, and the last thing you want to do is tell somebody, ‘Try moving your back foot up a few inches,’ and then they can’t even make contact with the ball,” Kendrick added.
Jarman said the younger boys seem to be soaking it all in.
“They’re very good listeners they take in everything we say,” he said.
Just like he and Kendrick did when they were younger, right?
“We like to think we did,” Kendrick said.
“I was in their shoes once. I played with juniors and seniors as long as I can remember, and it definitely helps,” Jarman added. “More than anything, it’s a calming factor. They’ve been here before, they know what to do. It takes some pressure off, definitely.”
Jarman said keeping the pressure low is one reason why coach Alex Jarman, his grandfather, isn’t putting the young players in many tournaments.
“Coach is just wanting to develop these players a little bit more. Matches are one thing, but when you go to your first high school tournament, it’s a different ballgame,” he said.
The two were part of a Boyle County boys golf team that was in contention for a state tournament berth last year, but the team they’re playing for this season is much younger, much less experienced and much, much different.
That has taken some getting used to for Jarman and Kendrick, the only two returning players on a team that otherwise consists entirely of middle-schoolers.
“I’ve been on the high school team since at least sixth grade, and every year except for maybe my first year, we were always contending, we always had a good team,” Kendrick said. “We were always going into it like, here’s Boyle County. We were the ones who showed up and people were asking, ‘Is Boyle County coming to this tournament?’ Now it’s kind of the other way around. It’s going to be different.”
This Boyle team will struggle to win many of its matches and won’t be expected to contend at the regional tournament. And Kendrick and Jarman will be the only Rebels playing in most of the tournaments on the schedule.
Boyle will be represented in 10 tournaments, including the regional next month in Springfield, but Jarman, a senior, and Kendrick, a junior, will play in seven of them as individuals.
“It’s a different mindset when you go into tournaments. Even if you were playing really bad, the rest of the team could be playing lights out, and you had to bring your ‘A’ game every hole, every shot,” Jarman said. “Even though they’re not there, we have that same mindset. We’re playing for Boyle County, even if we’re not competing as a team.”
The team-first mentality also applies when it comes to mentoring young players such as eighth-grader Dylan Frederick and seventh-graders Will Gibson and Hunter Simmons, who currently round out Boyle’s five-man lineup. The two veterans said they try to do what they can to help the younger players along.
“We were all there at one point,” Jarman said. “If they stick with it, if they keep practicing — and I hope that they enjoy high school golf and they want to come back next year — they’ll definitely develop into good players.”
When it comes to offering help, however, the two boys said they try not to get too technical.
“We try to focus on the mental part. I don’t feel comfortable giving them swing adjustments,” Jarman said.
“That’s not really our job, and the last thing you want to do is tell somebody, ‘Try moving your back foot up a few inches,’ and then they can’t even make contact with the ball,” Kendrick added.
Jarman said the younger boys seem to be soaking it all in.
“They’re very good listeners they take in everything we say,” he said.
Just like he and Kendrick did when they were younger, right?
“We like to think we did,” Kendrick said.
“I was in their shoes once. I played with juniors and seniors as long as I can remember, and it definitely helps,” Jarman added. “More than anything, it’s a calming factor. They’ve been here before, they know what to do. It takes some pressure off, definitely.”
Jarman said keeping the pressure low is one reason why coach Alex Jarman, his grandfather, isn’t putting the young players in many tournaments.
“Coach is just wanting to develop these players a little bit more. Matches are one thing, but when you go to your first high school tournament, it’s a different ballgame,” he said.
