Sara Nerad '20 Recruiting Profile

I began playing golf with my Grandfather as a youngster. His patience as well as summers of junior golf helped give me the fundamentals of the game. It wasn’t until the summer of my Freshman year of High School that I realized I loved the competition of the game, and wanted to try this at the high school level.  Knowing my competitiveness, my parents decided I needed to have lessons to start me on the right track.  ( I am quite sure they did this so I wouldn’t embarrass myself. Hockey was, at that point, my best sport!)  I made Varsity my freshman year, however, I still had a lot of skills to hone, and a lot to learn.

My family has supported me by arranging for private lessons with a PGA pro and well as purchasing new equipment to continue to hone my skills.. The results were almost immediate. As with any sport, the more you practice, the better you become. My parents and I decided to take my new found interest to the next level, the Wisconsin Jr.PGA.  We spent the summer driving to tournaments, with mixed results. These matches showed me a different kind of confidence was required, as this was an individual sport, no longer the team sport that I was used to.   The success that I had that summer culminated in a drop of my scores by 15 to 20 strokes.  Come the fall, when we are individuals, yet a team, we were able to finally beat our arch rival. And we made it for the first time to the State Sectional.  Our coach thinks we will have the ability next year to make it to State.

My golf pro suggested I look into playing golf in college. He gave me the encouragement to see that I have what it takes both academically and athletically.  I continue to work and improve my scores.  Putting and chipping are the areas I need to continue working on the most. I am hopeful to see my scores drop to the low 80’s or high 70’s  by the end of the summer of 2018, just in time for my Junior year of high school golf.
I am interested in a college where I can continue to evolve as a top notch golfer, yet make an impact in team play. I have strong leadership skills and help motivate my teammates in all the sports I play.