Despite many aspects of golf relying on individual performance, junior golfer Emily Street maintains a team-oriented mindset. With her selfless attitude, she has been able to not just help herself, but also help her team to success this season.
“Golf is generally played as an individual sport but Emily brings a team atmosphere and attitude,” coach Page Marsh said. “She is always the first one to ask other people how they played.”
Street’s love for golf and her sense of humor help to keep the team calm and relaxed even in the most pressure-filled situations.
“She has a real joy about it [golf] and she brings that joy to the group and that is really important,” Marsh said. “She helps bring laughter and diffuse the tension.”
Street continues to focus on the team even as she prepares to go into her final rounds of golf as a junior. She doesn’t worry about the pressures that go along with playing against another team or being behind in the score, but rather she worries more about not playing well or having to tell her team that she let them down.
“For me personally, it’s not pressure playing with other teams and knowing that they’re ahead of you, it’s more pressure that I want to play well for my teammates and I want to play well for N.C. State and our team,” Street said.
Street’s attitude has helped her to get off to a hot start this season. She has finished in the top twenty in both tournaments including a sixth place finish in the first tournament of the spring season in Puerto Rico, where she tied her career best with a +6. She credits her improved play this season to a more focused effort than she has had in the past.
“My freshman year I was committed but not as committed as I am now. I mean I wanted to experience college a little bit,” Street said. “But over Christmas I really decided I wanted to do better in golf and help my team. So from there I started practicing a lot more and putting everything into golf.”
Street credits her new swing coach and her new practice regiment to the success she has experienced so far this season.
“My practice routine is a lot different. I equal out my playing time and practice time so I am more consistent and I switched swing coaches,” Street said. “He [coach Kenny Phillips] has really made my swing a lot more consistent.”
Coach Marsh, however, believes it is more than just extra practice and a new swing coach. She believes that her improved play comes as a result of settling into a normal routine and understanding how to balance the amount of time needed for golf and school work.
“Things are getting easier now and she is learning how to manage everything better,” Marsh said. “She has really continued to step up her work and focus, and she has changed her habits about how she plays golf and it’s paid off for her.”
