The Lady Braves girls’ golf team is looking to build off a successful past season, finishing second in the Mid-Southern Conference and second in the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional.

Brownstown brings back three upperclassmen in Abby Schroer, Jayda Clodfelter, and Khloe Lingenfelter, who will lead the way this season.

Lady Braves Head Coach Brandon Allman spoke about his returning athletes heading into the upcoming season.

“I have three girls returning from last season,” Allman said. “All three of them were in the top five last year and were vital in us finishing 2nd in the conference and the sectional allowing us to move onto regional as a team.”

He is expecting leadership from the three girls to the incoming athletes and junior varsity players.

“I am looking for these three to be leaders both on and off the golf course. With several brand-new girls, there is going to be a lot of learning to be done, and I expect our upperclassmen to take these girls under their wings and help teach them the game especially on the etiquette side,” Allman said.

He also wants them to continue seeing the growth of their games.

“I also want these girls to excel on the golf course. They have put in arguably more time playing this summer and I want them to reap the benefits this season.”

It can be challenging for a new golfer to begin competing at the high school level, especially in the mental aspect of the sport. Allman wants his incoming kids to continue working to improve throughout this season.

“I honestly don’t have any expectations except for girls to practice, have a positive attitude, and get better every day,” Allman said. “All of the incoming girls are new to the game of golf. The exciting part is hopefully they will develop of passion for the game of golf and will want to continue playing not only the rest of their high school careers, but the rest of their lives.”

The coach spoke about how the sport of golf can teach us in many ways.

“I want our girls to get better every single day and love the game of golf,” he said. “It is important to understand that this is a game you can play the rest of your life, and it teaches so many life skills; it is unlike any other sport.”

Adding to another goal, Allman is still hoping to contend for the MSC and another regional appearance.

“Even with so much inexperience, we still want to try to contend in our conference, and ultimately have another chance to compete as a team at regional,” he said.

The team will look to win as a team, by making a group effort in their meetings. A huge factor in their success will be improving the short game according to the coach.

“Right now, we don’t have that one or two girls who can go low, so we will have to do it as a team by having all of our girls drop 8-10 shots on their scores by the end of the season,” Allman said. “One of the biggest reasons that will happen is by really focusing on our short game.”

“If we can cut strokes by improving on and around the greens, we will have a chance to reach some of our individual and team goals,” he added. “Our putting, especially our lag putting, is an area we have to improve on.”

Brownstown Central will open their season on Tuesday at Shadowood Golf Course against Seymour, and Trinity Lutheran and four other teams. The meet will begin at 9 a.m.