Sophomore Liesl Kijora returns as La Jolla High's No. 1 girls golfer this fall, leading a young Vikings roster into a Western League schedule that includes non-league dates against CIF San Diego Section power Torrey Pines.
Coach Christie Quinn put 13 players through an unconventional 90-minute practice session at Mission Bay Golf Course on Monday, Aug. 17, asking them to swing while standing on one leg, hit with one arm and strike the ball with their eyes closed.
"This is something you want to incorporate into your personal practice … Professional golfers do," Quinn told the team after the blind-swing drill, according to the Times of San Diego.
The exercises map to Quinn's coaching framework, which she calls "B-T-T": balance, tempo and tension. The one-legged stance builds balance. Scuffing the mat on the driving range teaches tempo. Tension refers to grip pressure.
Quinn, also a private swing instructor, is known to her players simply as "Coach Christie."
A freshman surprise turned No. 1
Kijora (pronounced "key-YOUR-uh"), a Swedish redhead who attended sixth and seventh grade in Sweden, arrived at La Jolla's tryouts last year only because her grandfather, Robert "Bob" Bergstrom, had introduced her to the game and drove her to Balboa Golf Course. She earned the No. 1 spot immediately, posting low scores against Western League opponents La Costa Canyon and Cathedral Catholic as a freshman.
Bergstrom spent last season waiting in dining rooms and snack bars at the various courses until each match ended.
Roster and schedule
Senior Bella Itkin holds the No. 2 spot. Seniors Turi O'Brien and Milena Malik, junior Sammi Brodsky (last year's JV captain, promoted to varsity) and sophomores Natalie Sutton and Tiffanie Brownson round out the varsity seven. The JV squad includes sophomore Skylar Britt and freshmen Vivienne Yurcich, Kennedy Cousino and Zoe Oyler.
La Jolla competes in the Western League against La Costa Canyon and Cathedral Catholic. The Vikings also face Torrey Pines, a CIF San Diego Section power, in non-league play, including one match at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe.
