By Opinions Editor Richelle Rorick
Courtesy of Kennedy Girls Golf Team
Nataliya Laciste finishing a swing.
Senior Nataliya Laciste has made her mark at Kennedy on the girls' golf team. This is Laciste's fourth year of golfing with Kennedy, and in those four years, she has accomplished great things, placing in league and CIF for multiple years.
Laciste and the Kennedy Girls Golf team placed fourth in the league this year, and Laciste, herself, placed first in league. Both the team and Laciste qualified for CIF where she was able to take her skills and place in the 2024 CIF SOUTHERN SECTION Girls Golf Individual Regionals.
In her freshman year, she made the varsity team but was not able to make it to the playoffs due to a loss by one stroke to another player.
In her sophomore and junior year, she was able to place in the league and CIF. Only within the first three years of playing at Kennedy, she took herself to CIF twice. Now her senior year, she worked to get herself placed in CIF for the last time.
Laciste has been playing golf since she was five years old and has loved the sport ever since. She also played basketball, however the feeling didn’t compare to golf.
“I started playing basketball first, but golf just became a sport I find joy and fun in,” Laciste said. “A sport is something you should find peace in, and that’s with golf.”
Here at Kennedy, Laciste has found motivation through her coach, Gerard Steele. He motivates the girls so they can improve and makes them feel better about themselves and their skills. Laciste finds him a helpful coach through all aspects of being patient due to such a difficult sport.
“She’s always been great from the beginning, she’s so dedicated to her sport,” Coach Steele said. “She is probably the best example of what it takes to be good at anything with the amount of time she puts in by being a hard worker and practicing a lot. She’s totally dedicated to getting better”.
As a determined golfer, she has worked herself to succeed, because she’s always had the drive to. She wants to become a great golfer. That’s what a sport is all about and what Laciste has shown throughout her years at Kennedy.
Her skills have taken her far in her sport, making her a great player who is wanted. Laciste will continue her success in golf and play for California State San Marcos University in the fall of 2025.
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