Girls’ Golf Preview: New-look La Cañada hits links
For the third consecutive season, the La Cañada High girls’ golf team will have a new coach.
Up next to lead the young Spartans will be Dennis Ballard, a former girls’ basketball and baseball coach at the school. An avid golfer, Ballard was hired in July and assigned the task of harnessing a young team that will include sophomore Maddie Kang, the reigning All-Area Girls’ Golfer of the Year.
‘I’ve always enjoyed coaching and here’s a chance to step in and help out,” said Ballard, who takes over for Kyle Turner. “I feel comfortable working with this group and they’ve been practicing.
“It’s a chance to build the program and it will be interesting to see how it works out.”
La Cañada finished fifth in the six-team Pacific League last season under Turner, who took over for Rich Wheeler. Though it didn’t participate in the CIF playoffs, La Cañada had a bona fide No. 1 player in Kang, who finished with three top-three efforts in Pacific League matches and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Northern Individual at River Ridge Golf Course in Oxnard. Kang, who finished eighth in the league individual tournament last season, was the lone area golfer to reach the CIF postseason.
“She’s coming back and we’re very excited,” Ballard said. “She’ll be a big part of the team and we think she can have another great season.”
La Cañada will look to move up in league, which will include San Marino, Arcadia, Burroughs, Crescenta Valley and Burbank. San Marino, Arcadia and Burroughs qualified for the postseason last year.
The Spartans will do so without Rachel Oh, who opted not to return. Oh picked up All-Area honors last season after she placed ninth in the league individual tournament.
La Cañada will bring back juniors Lucille Park and Sophie Champ. They will be joined by freshman Ai Ishida.
Flintridge Sacred Heart finished sixth the past two seasons in the competitive Mission League under coach Ric Moore. Moore is the golf instructor at Monterey Park Golf Club in Monterey Park after previously serving as the head professional at Chevy Chase Country Club in Glendale for two-plus years.
The Tologs will return five players, including Denver Mackey, Shanley Galanto and Chloe Walter.
“We’d like to get up to third or fourth,” Moore said. “We’ve had a chance to develop out talent and bring in some more people, which is wonderful.”
