LA FERIA — While the La Feria boys golf program will be sending athletes to the Region IV-4A tournament for the eighth consecutive year, that is by no means the standard anymore.
Last season a new benchmark was set after then-sophomore Andy Cortez and then-senior Isabel Prado made school history by qualifying for the UIL Class 4A state tournament. That valuable experience is something Cortez hopes will aid him in his attempt at a return trip to the big show.
“Honestly, going into last year’s tournament I was not mentally prepared at all,” explained Cortez. “One experience I learned from that is to build my mental toughness and to be better prepared for tournaments. Coming into this year I entered with a different mindset and learned to calm myself down emotionally on the course.”
One piece of advice that now-junior Cortez has for the team leading into next week’s regional tournament is to “just concentrate on yourself and not on the person next to you.”
Unlike last year, this season it was the boys team that secured a spot at regionals. The team shot a 376 to top Hidalgo at the 32-4A tournament.
The last time a La Feria boys golf team reached regionals was 2016 and La Feria head coach David Briones insists this group is determined to make the best of the opportunity.
“This team has been very dedicated to winning a district championship and they accomplished that,” he said. “Now their goal is to place in the top three at regionals and advance to the state tournament, and they have been working very hard after district to do so.”
While the Region IV-4A tournament is set for Monday and Tuesday in Corpus Christi at Lozano Golf Course, the team has been preparing for this moment for a while.
“Our shot and our mentality is something we’ve been working on for a while because that’s what it’s about when you’re on the course,” said junior Michael Mireles.”
“We head out to the course every day to practice,” added junior Benjamin Draper. It’s not just going to take a day to get your game down, it takes time and I have learned that over my year and a half of playing.”
However, “working” is something the team is used to doing much of this year. Even though Coach Briones has set an allotted time to practice, the team often puts in extra hours to help hone their skills.
“The team is maturing and they are growing up because this is our third year together,” said Briones. “The team has improved on its scores in comparison to last year. They have been working hard and even when we don’t hold practice they are out here (golf course) on their own practicing. They put in a lot of extra time on their own.”
