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Preps

This teacher has talent

While introducing her new teammates to the game, Gaither's Ashley Kemp found time to capture a district title.

By SCOTT PURKS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 15, 2003

TAMPA -- Gaither's Ashley Kemp was a high school golfer without a full team, so she did what was necessary.

She recruited.

The first person she visited, even though this person had never held a golf club, was her best friend, Melissa Lee.

"The good thing was that I went to her in the summer and that gave us some time to practice," Kemp said. "She seemed to like the game fairly well, so that was a good start."

Then she rounded up two more beginners, Ashley Todd and Kyla Booher, who also, luckily for Kemp, found some enjoyment in the game.

That gave Gaither four players, enough to record a team score in a match.

Kemp said she was happy because, "I wasn't all alone out there representing my school." But the others, well, "They got a little nervous."

Kemp kept encouraging them and each week they showed some improvement. By season's end, Todd's nine-hole average was in the high 40s, Booher was averaging in the mid-50s and Lee had shot a low of 56.

Kemp continued to enjoy teaching her teammates while also beating up on the rest of the county. She averaged 39 in her nine-hole matches, won the Class 2A, District 9 tournament with 77 at Pebble Creek and barely missed qualifying for state with a fourth-place finish at the region tournament with 6-over 78.

"All in all, it was a very fun year," Kemp said. "It was great to have a team to compete with and I was happy with the way I played."

Gaither coach Will Brimm couldn't have been more pleased with his team's leader.

"You have to give her credit for so many things," Brimm said. "She went out and recruited those girls from the halls and turned them into golfers. That's hard to do.

"She taught the girls all the fundamentals and they respected her and listened to her. It was fun to be a part of."

Kemp said despite her teammates' struggles and frustrations, she always held out hope. "I had confidence because they kept improving and they wanted to improve," Kemp said. "No matter how high their score was or how many balls they missed on the practice tee, they kept trying, and I kept trying to help them out."

The best part?

"We're all juniors and we're all planning to come back next year," Kemp said. "All we have to do is remember to keep it fun, and then it will be fun."

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