High school athletes find many firsts special: Their first game. Their first championship. 

However ,a lot of these firsts are being delayed for the class of 2023 due to COVID-19. For freshman Porter Topp, this would’ve been not only his first year in high school sports, but his first time on Westside’s varsity golf team.

“It’s a big disappointment for me and the other student players, and I’ve been working hard to get ready for the season. It’s a bummer, and I think the team was bonding well and was going to have some fun and do well through the season and throughout the rest of the year,” Topp said.

Along with looking forward to bonding with his teammates and coaches, Topp also mentioned some new courses he was excited to golf at this year.

“I was looking forward to bond and get closer with my teammates and coaches. I felt like we were going to have a lot of fun when it came to competition time and the way we were going to finish in them,” Topp said. “I was also looking forward to being able to play some new courses that I wouldn’t normally get to play at.”

Although the Coronavirus has limited all athletes, Topp talks about some things he is doing to stay engaged in the sport.

“I’m working on keeping and improving my swing and mind. We can still go out and play because it is a recreational activity so the courses can stay open, which is very good for me and others playing or wanting to start playing golf. It has really affected the amount I get to practice and play,” Topp said. “We can’t practice right now which means those 4-5 days per week are cut down to 2-3 days.”

With this year’s high school spring sports season cancelling, spring athletes can only look forward to the future years. Topp talks about what he is most excited for in his future high school golf career.

“I’m most excited for the next season because for us we can only get better from here. Luckily, we didn’t have any seniors on the team so we won’t lose a valuable year out of a teammate. Those that I know the best on the team will all be working hard on their game to get ready for our 2021 season. I’m just excited to get out there and work on my game along with others at Westside to keep improving,” Topp said.