It only took one season for Parker Junior High School to medal in the state golf tournament.
The school started its golf program this summer, with about 20 kids coming out for the boys and girls teams. The Falcons already found a star in seventh grader Wakana Hill. She finished fifth at the IESA state championship Sept. 12 at Metamora Fields Golf Course in Metamora.
“Everything was working,” Hill said. “I overall had a good game and I think it was rewarding. I think it was a really good round.”
Hill turned in a 79, with a birdie on the third hole and par on 10 others. She said she was feeling confident, especially on the back nine.
That confidence comes from experience on the links. Hill began golfing in 2021 when she took a beginner’s golf class at the urging of her dad, Tim Hill. She needed some sort of activity to get out of the house during the pandemic.
“My first chip went into the target circle. That’s when I realized how fun the sport was and I wanted to keep going,” she said.
It wasn’t long before she realized not only was the sport fun, but it was something she could do well. She finished in second place in her first tournament in May of 2022.
“I felt like golf was something I could commit myself to and I wanted it in my future,” Hill said. “I enjoy playing and I love the sound of hitting the golf ball.”
It’s a sound she hopes to hear for a long time, first at Homewood-Flossmoor High School and then hopefully in college and as a professional. She’s on the way, having already won the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship in Quincy to advance to the world championships in San Diego.
She credits some of her supporters at Coyote Run Golf Course, especially Orlando “the Chipping Master,” with some of her training.
For Parker, Hill carded an 81 at the IESA sectional Sept. 5 at Lincoln Oaks in Crete. That was good for third in that event, behind Plainfield St. Mary’s Lauren Gauss and Lemont Old Quarry’s Sarah Scott.
Both Gauss and Scott were part of Hill’s foursome in Metamora. Gauss finished second, carding a 71. That was a stroke behind winner Addison Yoon from Barrington Prairie. Scott was fourth with a 76. Yoon, Scott and Gauss are all 8th graders and returning state medalists.
Hill said she’s golfed with Gauss and Scott on the Illinois Junior Golf Association circuit.
“I focus on just playing against the course, not against the people,” Hill said. “I enjoyed playing for Parker very much. Hopefully next year we can play as a team.”
Parker’s Imani Green finished 14th in Crete but did not advance to state. Randall Brooks Jr. was 40th on the boys side.
Program started with new teacher
Saul Mares started teaching at Parker this year, coming over from the Chicago Heights school district. He said parents reached out to the school to start the program.
Imani’s mom, Alexandra Green, said her family met the Hill family at the BMW Championship in Olympia Fields last year. They realized both of their daughters loved golf and would be at the same school.
“We started this conversation about what it would be like to have a middle school team and have the girls represent (Parker),” Alexandra Green said. “We got to work.”
The school rallied behind her and Tim Hill, Green said. Soon, other kids were interested and things took off.
Mares, who also works at Olympia Fields Country Club, said he was excited to introduce Parker students to golf, its connections and life lessons.
“When I saw the (golf coach) position open up, I just jumped on it,” he said. “I have a love of golf and wanted to spread that passion of not just playing but all the other things that come with golf, too.”
Most of the interested students were new to golf, though. They needed clubs, clothes and equipment. So, parents organized a fundraiser and donation drive.
Alexandra Green reached to friends and golfers on social media. Within just a few days, Green said 11 full sets of clubs, about 350 balls, 28 golf gloves and more were donated.
One family donated 11 golf skirts. State Rep. Anthony Deluca and Flossmoor Golf Club each gave donations, too.
So much was coming in so quickly that Green had to create an online intake form to keep track of it all.
“Some of them cleaned out their closets and donated lightly-used things or things they hadn’t used before,” Alexandra Green said. “I just asked our neighbors to open their garages and see what they had and how they could support us. It overwhelmed me how they responded.”
From there, it was just about getting on the course and swinging. Some of the kids, like Hill and Imani Green, had experience in the game. Others, Mares and coach Chris Janotta had to teach the basics.
“It was everything from no experience to where they practice every day and have their own personal coach and are dedicated to golf,” Mares said. “We’re trying to close that gap a little more for next year.”
Mares said he won’t just define success by winning or posting low scores, though. He wants kids to see improvement and appreciate what the sport has to offer.
“When we’re trying to find ways to reach our teens and preteens, it can be a really hard age to figure out how to connect with them,” Green said. “For our family, (golf) has been one way to do it.”
Parker didn’t send a full team to the sectionals. The hope is to build the program through a travel team and compete for team scores soon.
Mares said the golfers worked in stations during practice, some chipping while others putted or worked on driving or irons. Kids are organized by ability.
“Every practice is a little bit of trial and error just because of (the short season),” Mares said. “At the very end, I just want students to leave knowing they want to return next year and continue with that interest in golf. It’s seen by kids as boring, as an old person’s sport. I want them to leave knowing that golf is something fun that they can do forever.”