Girls golf team debuts today

The Key West High golf team opens the season on the road today against Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna and for the first time, the Conchs will field a full girls squad.

“We have nine girls, six of them freshmen,” said Casey Dion, a former Conch player who is beginning his third season as coach. Some of them, he said, had never touched a golf club.

Leading the girls will be sophomore Jade Castillo, who played on the boys side last season. “She has a positive attitude and is a great leader for the team,” Dion said.

Other girls to watch include Sydney MacDougall, Chloe Hartle and Charley Sessons. “They have a lot of potential,” Dion said.

For the boys team, which has 20 members, Dean Cherry will start the season at No. 1, followed by Robbie Feldman, Will Anderson, L.J. Wiley, Patrick Roesser (in his fourth year on the team), Danny Galvan and Christian Cisco. Dion expects most of them will hit in the mid- and upper 80s, wth a couple capable of the low 80s.

Dion, who had a team of fewer than 15 last season, is constantly trying to get youngsters interested in golf, and his players help him in that regard. “They get their friends to come out and those kids just show up and I make it easy for them to play,” he said.

If a golfer has a job in the afternoon, Dion encourages them to come out to the Key West Golf Club before the regular 4:30 practice to get in their swings. “Golf is an independent sport, so I don’t need a whole team to practice,” he said.

The team is also attracting athletes from other sports. “We have some from baseball, soccer, and swimming,” Dion said.

Dion is assisted by Robert Randall, who works at the golf club, and former Conch golfer Nick Montsalvatge.