CCS varsity golf teams driven to succeed

By Ethan Mendoza , Sports Editor

Golf has been in the spotlight with the recent Masters Tournament and Valero Texas Open. So, there’s no better time to shine a light on the CCS varsity golf teams.  

The CCS varsity golf teams have had a long-standing tradition of winning with former coach Therese Bass. She coached at CCS for 15 years and qualified for nationals three times with an incredibly strong girls' team. Though they had great success, it’s a new era for the golf teams with Coach Kyla Riney, a former Texas A&M University and professional player. 

Coach Riney said she is blessed with a close-knit team that encourages one another. She is also pleasantly surprised by the different roles she fulfills. 

“As a coach my job is to walk with them through not only golf, but also whatever they need at the time . . .  build them up when the difficulty of our game and social challenges of life tear them down,” Riney said. “We spend a lot of time together, and it is essentially like having 25 extra teens of my own to manage.”  

Varsity players Gavin Swearengin and Olivia Byers both credit Coach Riney for not only making them better players but unifying them as a team.   

Gavin, who switched schools this last year, says he has learned a lot from Riney and is excited for the future.  

“She talked me through a lot of college recruiting and helped me. She got me to where I am now, and is going to help in the future,” Gavin said.   

Olivia added: “I’d say we’ve come a long way from being a disconnected team, but with Coach Riney coming, we’ve become a very united team.”  

They are like any team off the green, but on the green they are unstoppable. With three consecutive tournament wins for the boys' team in the Waco ISD Invitational, Buckhorn Tournament and Laura Johnson Invitational, they finished as one of the best boys' team in San Antonio while currently having a bid for nationals; they find out later this month if they qualified.   

While the boys' team is strong, the girls' team has also had a great season in tournaments, winning the Bobcat Invitational and having impressive finishes in the Waco ISD invitational and the Buckhorn Tournament.   

“They’ve finished top three in almost every single tournament that they’ve played in,” Riney said about the girls’ team.  

Players say their team is unified with the same drive and the same goals, which gets them where they need to be.   

“We’ve really grown throughout the season,” varsity player Israel Garcia said. “After one of us has a bad round, we’ll all be there for him, but if we all do good, I mean, we all support each other, either way.”  

Though golf is played individually, the team still works and pushes each other to fight for each other. The chemistry between them has been growing and will continue to grow with the development of their new young core.  

“With these new guys coming in, it’s just building the team and the leadership, just having a fun season, and just building people’s personalities and strength,” player Brayden Garcia said. “That chemistry we have got us that three-peat.”  

 Coach Riney said she encourages her players to continue bonding and developing their game.   

“They’re all really good friends, and I hope that that will continue,” she said.   

Newcomers to the golf team will join a historically strong team with a strong bond and an environment that pushes and supports each other until the end, Israel said: “The golf team is really supportive, and they welcome anyone with open arms.” 

Photos courtesy Kyla Riney