The Liberty Boys Golf team has a pressing challenge before them: managing to continue on next year without their current captains, seniors Jay Sakagami and Calvin Cakarnis.
Jon Kinsley, the coach of the Boys Golf team, has been coaching for 17 years. He selects captains based on their performance and contributions since freshman year.
While the purpose of a coach is historically to instruct players, some at Liberty have impressively surpassed such needs.
“Jay and Cal, I don’t mess with anything whatsoever. They have their own deal going, and I don’t step on those toes,” Kinsley said.
Such remarkable skill can be traced back to the captains’ history with the sport. Both have played from a young age, lured to the tee by the satisfaction of a clean swing and the constant challenge golf offers.
Coach Kinsley has seen their improvement during their four year efforts on the team most notably through their confidence.
“I always think the confidence that they’ve grown over those four years, and then also the maturity level, continues to grow as well. They’re kind of taking ownership in their program, and that’s a fun thing to see,” Kinsley said.
Based on their individual successes like at KingCo with Cakarnis being named ‘player of the year’ during his junior year, despite the team not qualifying as a group, it’s undeniable that they are notably advanced among their peers.
However, that isn’t to say the golf captains don’t learn from Liberty Golf. Sakagami and Cakarnis have not only provided invaluable initiative and experience as team leaders, but have also gained certain skills that are unique to the Liberty Golf environment.
“I’m not a super social person, so being a part of the team, it’s made me more involved in talking to people and just getting to know people better. I think in that aspect, high school golf really helped out,” Sakagami said.
Similarly, Cakarnis has benefitted from the team’s relationship and social faucets.
“The liberty golf program has impacted me by teaching me teamwork and allowing me to make new friends,” Cakarnis said.
During practices, the team splits up into two groups, where half of the boys go to the range, and the others use the putting green. On the green they engage in friendly competition with each other, like 9 holes.
The ability of the players to push each other through spirited competition is a big factor in the encouraging and unifying element of an otherwise individual-oriented sport.
“Overall, it’s pretty competitive, but it’s also a good team environment, which I really like,” Sakagami said.
This balance of individual and collective, competitive and encouraging, is further fostered by the captains themselves, who are leaving a formidable legacy with Liberty’s Golf teams.
Leaving behind memories and acclaim, their golfing journey’s continue, with Cakarnis planning to play college golf at Western Washington University, and Sakagami expressing a desire to play college golf as well.
This begs the question, what will it be like on the boys golf team without these talented seniors next year?
“Just a big void. We’ve counted on these guys for four years, and they’ve come through for it for four years, and someone’s gonna have to step into their shoes,” Kinsley said.
