The Cassville girls golf season is underway, with retired Coach Jay Rogers returning to the links to help the program continue to grow.

Rogers retired from education at the end of the 20232024 school year, but when the opportunity arose to continue as girls golf coach, there was only one answer.

“This program is special to me, and when they gave me the opportunity to come back, I couldn’t pass it up,” he said. “I still have some connections to the kids, and this is something I can do part-time.”

Of this year’s squad of nine, seven are returning participants, including a pair of seniors, Adelee Hendrix and Madison Robertshaw. A pair of juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen complete the team.

The competition will look different for the Lady Wildcats, having lost three-time state medalist Avery Chappell to graduation in the spring. However, both Hendrix and Robertshaw competed in Class 2 Girls Golf State as part of the team that took 7th place.

Rogers said since then, the seniors and the rest of the team has improved.

“Across the board, we’ve seen a lot of improvement from last year to this year,” he said. “We started seeing it early on in practice, and that was encouraging to me as a coach.”

The Lady Wildcats played in the Marshfield Invitational tournament on Thursday, with Hendrix and Robertshaw both posting tournament personal bests, the third consecutive for Hendrix.

“Right out of the gate, we have better numbers this year, and the younger girls are striking the ball better,” Rogers said. “That will start to show up in the scores soon.”

Although Cassville is less likely to compete for team awards this year, according to Rogers, individually, there is plenty of potential.

“Our team goal is to get the new girls lots of experience,” he said. We have two or three that if they play to potential have a shot to qualify for state.”

One of the most highly anticipated tournaments is Cassville own, set for Sept. 26 at the Cassville Golf Club. However, a couple other courses also stand out to the Lady Wildcats.

“They are looking forward to our tournament for sure, but next week, we play at Freemont HIlls in Ozark, and I know they enjoy that course,” Rogers said. “They also always enjoy Marshfield’s, and this year, districts will be there. And, state will be at Freemont Hills, so we will have already played them both by the time the postseason comes around.”

The Big 8 Conference Tournament will be held on Oct. 8 in Carthage, with districts the following week and state on Oct. 21-22.