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Golf team on roll
Sophmore Brandon Yates leads golf team
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Brandon Yates, three under-par rounds this season, ‘helps the golf team out.’
By Steve Maguire |
The PVCC golf season is well underway and there are a few things to smile about. One of them is the weather. Another is the stellar play of Brandon Yates.
Although the team has not meshed on the same day to shoot a low team score yet, sophomore Brandon Yates has been consistently coming through to hold the team together. Yates has shot three under-par rounds so far this season and has a win and a third place finish in three tri-matches. Yates has also held his own in tournament play with fourth and fifth place finishes, including solid rounds of 68-70 at the Pima CC Invitational in Tucson.
The team has had a disappointing run so far but has been hinting at improvement. The PVCC golfers bettered their first day score of 297 to 291 with the help of freshman Jason Ault who fired a one-under par 71 on the second day to help the team finish in 8th place.
The rest of the team includes sophomores Steve Maguire, Ryan Lake, Russell Merenda and Will Sexton and they have all seen improving scores as well. Ryan Lake says, “Our biggest problem is that some of us play well one day and not the next. We’re having difficulty putting two good rounds together.”
Head coach and PGA professional Jeff Boyle has been hard at work with the team stressing fundamentals and the importance of practice. Sophomore Maguire says, “There is no reason why we should not be competing for the win in every tournament. It’s only a matter of time.”
PVCC will be traveling to Nogales and Tucson in the upcoming months and will be playing in tournaments at Cave Creek Golf Club and Palm Valley Golf Club in Litchfield Park.
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Dedication key to success
Coaches, athletes build strong track, field team
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PVCC athlete, Krysta Young, practices the steeple chase at the water jump for the upcoming track meet in Chula Vista, California.
Photo by Rohanna Green |
By Nelson Long
Community Editor
At PVCC, track and field practices begin in October, the meets start in February and the culminating National Junior College Athletic Association Championships occur in May.
Track Coach Dave Barney expects over 20 men and women currently on the PVCC team to qualify for the Nationals that will be held in Odessa, Texas this year.
“I look for gradual improvement as the season progresses,” Barney says. “The objective is to peak in May when we go to the Nationals.”
Five assistant coaches work with the team members to help them develop in their specialties. Tracy Barney works with the distance runners, Todd Lehman oversees the pole-vaulters, Robin Lyons handles the throws, Rob Reynolds sees to the jumps and sprints and Nancy Webber is the hurdles coach.
Most days, when there isn’t a meet, a dedicated group of coaches and athletes can be found on the practice field after three in the afternoon. To the uninitiated it may look a bit like organized confusion. Building an effective team where half the team graduates each year is a challenge. Developing the athlete’s abilities is as important as winning.
“The rewards come from helping the team members develop and improve,” Barney says.
There are eight meets left this season, ending with Nationals. Five are in Arizona close enough to go out and watch. The next meet is scheduled for April 5, 3 p.m. at Central Arizona College. The interesting thing about a track meet is there’s always something going on. There’s usually more than one event to watch at the same time.
Coach Barney is quietly confident that the team he’s taking to Odessa in May will do well. “This is what the season is all about,” he
says.
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Game, set, and match
PVCC tennis teams hope to improve as season goes on |
By Frank Spink
News Editor
Although the PVCC's men's and women's tennis teams experienced disappointing opening season loses to Mesa Community College, coach Alex Remirez' smile beams as he discusses the remainder of the season.
"From day one I told both teams that because of the way our conference play is structured, we just need to continue to improve each match and we'll be fine," says Remirez.
That's because all five teams in the Arizona Junior College Athletic Association make the end-of-season conference tournament, regardless of their match play record. Scottsdale, Glendale, Mesa and Pima are the other four teams in the association. During the season, each team plays a home and away game with the other four teams.
"By the time the tournament rolls around in April, we'll be ready," says Remirez.
Remirez has been the tennis coach at PVCC since Spring 2001, and draws on his diverse tennis experience to guide his coaching approach. He played college tennis at the University of Texas El Paso, moved onto the pro satellite circuit for a couple of years, coached at the Arizona national junior's level, and was in charge of southwest tennis promotion for the United States Tennis Association before coming to PVCC.
As Remirez sees it, coaching at the community college level requires patience and a positive attitude. He constantly talks with his players about the mental side of the game and about recognizing why they lose and how they win.
"Players at this level have to believe you can make their game better or they tend to tune you out," says Remirez. "I look for small changes I can make in their game that bring immediate results; then they begin to trust me and open their minds to what I'm saying to them."
Remirez gets help coaching the women's team from assistant coach Avis Brodess. He really appreciates her hard work, he says, since he also has to recruit new players for both teams. Players generally stay on the team one season. They may move on to four-year tennis programs. Some cannot stay eligible because of their grades, and others simply lose interest in tennis or school.
As part of the recruiting process, Remirez uses six full scholarships per team to attract quality high school players who are not going directly to four-year programs. He also sells potential recruits on the opportunity to improve their games, and then go to the national junior college tournament where major college programs recruit players for their programs.
Even with those incentives, Remirez still finds it difficult to find quality players. Instead of having six players per team, the men's team has only five players and the women's team only four.
But Remirez smiles broadly again and states simply, "We're getting better every match. We’ll be ready at tournament time."
If your interested in seeing the teams in action or playing for either the men's or women's teams, contact coach Ramirez at (602) 723-8550 or pumatennis@hotmail.com.
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