07/08/2023
**OTHER SPORTS STORIES IN THIS WEEK'S PAPER: COACH V's CORNER; ZAPATA FLAG FOOTBALL; BOYS & GIRLS BASKETBALL LEAGUE; COACH C's FALCON LAKE GUIDE**
State Qualifier Guerra Back to work this summer
Following a whirlwind of emotions in his sophomore season at ZHS, state qualifier Caleb Guerra has been hard at work preparing for the 2023-2024 season with high expectations.
Guerra’s Sophomore season saw him take top honors at the Pre-district tournament shooting a 70, marking the 1st under par round of his young career. Caleb followed the performance up by capturing the individual District 32-AAAA title, qualifying for Regionals. The highlight of the season was earning his spot amongst the top golfers in the state as a State Qualifier.
The following is from an interview with Caleb.
2- Describe your emotions when you learned you punched your ticket to the state tournament.
“At first I was nervous knowing I was several strokes away from going to state. As scores came in I was told I was one stroke away from punching that ticket. As the round ended, I couldn't believe that I had clinched the spot to state by one stroke. I was excited beyond words. My mom and dad, the heart and support of my game, were super excited as well. Coach Hinojosa was also a great asset to my accomplishment, for he was always by my side. I couldn’t believe I had punched that ticket that I had worked so hard for throughout the year.” “Hard work and dedication to the game does pay off.”
3-How was your experience at state knowing you were going head to head with the best in the state ?
As a kid from a small town like Zapata, I was nervous and excited at the same time. I knew I could do as good as anyone else, but being there for the first time I was a little intimidated. On the first day I shot a (78) and on the second day I shot an (81) for a two day tournament round score of (159). Not too bad for a kid that was at state for the first time. Playing at a course like Legends Golf Course in Kingsland, Texas was a beautiful experience to see how the fairways and greens were in top shape. I will continue to work hard and fulfill my goal of being a state qualifier next year as a Junior once again.
4- What was the one or maybe two things you learned from your experience that you feel will help you in the future?
Like Arnold Palmer once said, “Golf is a unique sport that offers many life lessons to those willing to learn”. What I have learned from playing golf since I was about six years old is to have fun, work hard, have consistency, and play with a goal in mind. These are the attributes that make for a better golf game and a better life.
5- Name the locations of the last two junior golf tournaments you played in, your score and place in each and what you took from each tournament for instance “ I played this tournament to focus on my chipping or playing in windy conditions?
Recent tournaments:
South Texas PGA Corpus Christi-3rd place (75)
Mercedes Benz - Casa Blanca, Laredo, TX -1st place (73)
Looking to play in different courses to get used to different greens and adjust to windy conditions.
6-How many more tournaments will you be competing in before school starts up again ?
I have 5-7 more tournaments for the summer planned. Some in Laredo, Corpus Christi and San Antonio. These tournaments will help me prepare for the upcoming season..
7- How many hours or days do you practice and are there certain things you work on each time out ?
On an average day, I am at the golf course for about 5 hours. I start off with practicing in the range. I practice hitting balls with all the clubs in my bag for about an hour or two. I practice my stance, my body movement, my ball placement, and with all that comes my mental picture as to where I want the ball to land when I hit it. I then move on to practice my putting and chipping for about another good hour. After that, I hit the golf course by going out there and playing a round of 9 holes since that is what our golf course is composed of. I practically do this every day, and in the summer I usually do this in the morning and afternoon as well.
8- What advice would you give a young golfer ?
“NEVER STOP BELIEVING”. Never ever give up and always have FUN. One day you can shoot the best round of your life and the next day the worst one. Like Ted Lasso tells his players, "Be a Goldfish" because goldfish are said to have a 10-second memory. The message is to move on from mistakes rather than to linger on them. Always have a goal in mind and set yourself to accomplish it. ”It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up”
9- For laughs — your family ( brother, dad and sister are also golfers ) rank them each as of today who’s first, second and third.
We’re a golf Family. I would rank us. 1. Caleb, sister Tita 2nd, Brother Clyde 3rd and dad 4th.
10- Include any information you would like to add for the readers of Zapata County.
Golf is a hard sport where emotions can change instantly from one shot to another. I have a philosophy to take one shot at a time and “Be a Goldfish!”. We must learn to keep moving forward when something doesn’t go as planned. No matter where you practice and where you came from, if you Believe, you can Achieve.
