Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2011)
Shin progresses athletically, mentally throughout career M ary E arp On top of a taxing school schedule, a flourishing social life and a wide array of activities outside of school, Sharon Shin, senior, has proved to be a vital asset to the Girls7 Golf Team. Shin has been on Varsity for all four years of her high school career, and this year is team captain. According to Bob Turnquist, head coach, Shin is a good fit for the position. "I believe that Sharon is a very thoughtful young adult," Turnquist said. "She is very mature and caring; both qualities are helping her be a better captain on the team this year. I also see her as very focused and goal oriented." Shin benefits everyone on the team, according to Turnquist. "Sharon has a competitive spirit, maturity and a positive attitude," Turnquist said. "She drives the girls to be better." She has been playing golf for eight years, and her interest in golf first peaked when she witnessed her mom playing. "I followed her to the range," Shin said. "I thought it was really fun, so I decided to play." others more and thinking about how her actions will affect the team ." Over the past four Shin has devoted a large amount of her time to golf in order to improve and practice. "I have practice from 3:30 to 6 p.m. every day Monday through Thursday," Shin said. "I have individual every other day and team practice on the other days." When Shin isn't playing golf, her friends are very important to her. She enjoys painting African animals and giving them to her friends, and her favorite thing to do is hang out with her friends. Jenna King, senior, loves hanging out with Shin. "Sharon is super nice and friendly," King said. "She is an amazing person and so much fun to be around." Outside of golf and hanging out with her friends, Shin has a fairly difficult schedule in school. According to Shin, her hardest classes are AP Statistics, French 5 and Art 4. Shin will be attending college in the fall at California State, Northridge, where she has received a scholarship. "I'm very happy with the amount I received," Shin said. "I'll be studying broadcast journalism and hope to one day work at CBS or ESPN ." Shin credits her successes, inside and outside of golf, to her parents. She acknowledges her mom for her start with golf, and her father for helping to push her. Boys' Golf team looks to improve on second place team finishes T y C larke Five matches into the season, the Boys' Golf Team has seen a theme emerge: second place finishes. In three league matches and one invitational, the Lions placed second. While these are not finishes to be ashamed of, the team is looking to improve. "I have all the confidence in the w wrki th at o u r te a m can p la y at a higher level," Justin Paredes, head coach, said. "Finding the right mix of motivation and confidence boost for each player is the key." The Lions are returning four varsity players from last year. For a team that only has five available spots, this has been considered both a strength and a problem. "I think our strength has become our weakness," Paredes said. "We are a deep team. We have seven to eight players that can play at varsity level each week." "Unfortunately, we only have five spots. Having players constantly qualify and changing the varsity group has affected the morale and continuity of the team," he said. In the team's fourth league match of the season, it shot its best round of the season with a 300. This was enough to secure another second place finish for the team, falling behind Lake Oswego. Individually, Zach Foushee, junior, continued to perform well, shooting a 69. This was the first league match that the junior wasn't the top performer. On March 11, the Lions shot a 309. However, the Lions only finished third as improvement was seen throughout the league. At a tournament on March 4 at the Oregon Golf Club, the team finished with 316 strokes, only five behind victor Lake Oswego. Individually, the Lions' top two finishers were juniors Foushee and Connor Jetton. Foushee shot the lowest round of anyone in the tournament, finishing with a 70 while Jetton shot a 78. Paredes lists Lake Oswego and league newcomer Canby as two of the bigger challenges in the Three Rivers League. For Districts, only two teams from the TRL can go to State, so the competition will be fierce. Following these multiple second place finishes, Photo by Alex Houston Sharon Shin, senior, practices golf at the Oregon Golf Club. Shin has been on varsity all four years of high school, won the individual State Championship her sophomore year and helped her team to win the State Championship last year. Golf has proved to be more than just an entertaining pastime, though. According to Shin, she has improved athletically and mentally. "I have progressed more as a team player," Shin said. "G olf made me more of a leader." Turnquist has seen the changes in Shin over the past four years allow her to evolve personally and to also positively affect the entire team. "Obviously, over the past four years she has matured a great deal," Turnquist said. "I see her caring for years, along with maturity and compassion, Shin has also shown her ability to play golf. She won the individual State Championship her sophomore year, and she also helped her team to win the State Championship last year. "I have two great memories of her high school career," Turnquist said. "O ne was watching her win the individual state title, and the second watching her help the 2010 team reach their goals of winning districts and state." • ' Y, , : • w t f - * x Photo by Aiex Houston C o n n o r Je tto n and B ry a n t Bushnell, juniors, admire their shots during a recent practice. The Boys’ Golf team has been close to winning almost every league match, finishing second in three out of the four matches. the Lions are unable to win the TRL. The coach still believes his team can perform well, though. "We have underperformed up to this point. As frustrating as that is, it is also encouraging because you know what the team is capable of," Paredes said. "Going in to the State Tournament, we have some experienced players who want to improve on their showing last year. I have every confidence that they can do so." F S p o rt! Boys Soccer A L L GFA P ld c e w e iiß 1st 3.68 F o o tb a ll 2nd 3.34 B o y s' C ro ss C o u n try 5tH 3.73 v i n s v r o s s v o iin try T-5tli 3.90 - < Pleteeitieifft mmsmm f ' GFA D a n c e a n d D rill T-6«h 3.54 G irls’ S w im m in g T-7U» 3.69 B o y s' S w im m in g 7» 9 tli 3.52 C h e e r le a d in g T-lO tli 3.26 1 ¡8 I j I WÊHÊÊam
