BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Lasalle Secondary School student Kathryn
Corbiere has high expectations for herself…maybe too
high.
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Kathryn Corbiere poses with the
trophy she received after winning the NOSSA girls' golf
championship. |
So much so that when Corbiere recently won
the Northern Ontario Secondary School's Athletics (NOSSA)
girls' golf championship, she wasn't happy.
Why? Because Corbiere didn't play well, in
her mind, even though it was good enough to claim the
title.
Corbiere fired a final round of 92 to wipe
the greens clean of the competition and get her hands on the
coveted trophy.
"It's different when you win a tournament
with a good score," said Corbiere. "I didn't win with a good
score, so I wasn't happy. I could have saved a lot of strokes
on my putting and drives."
Corbiere, who originally hails from
Manitoulin Island, had an inside track on the NOSSA
championship as the event was held at Rainbow Ridge Golf
Course in Manitowaning, located on the
Island. The sweet-swinging golfer had played that particular
course a few times in the past.
"I had some prior knowledge," said Corbiere.
"It helped because I knew where the water hazards were."
Corbiere, 16, also won the Sudbury high
school girls' golf championship.
She is the first girls' NOSSA golf champion
from Lasalle and that had her coach, Roger Finlay,
beaming.
"I am extremely pleased with Kathryn's
performance," said Finlay. "She didn't let bad shots interfere
with the outcome. A lot of people will usually come undone, but
Kathryn didn't at all. That's the sign of a good, solid golfer.
The school is also proud of her accomplishment."
Corbiere has simple, but highly effective
skills.
"Kathryn has a beautiful swing," said Finlay.
"She puts a lot of power into the ball and has no fear. She's
very coachable and has a great attitude."
The Lasalle links queen has, unfortunately,
reached the pinnacle of high school golf in the province.
There's no official Ontario high school
championship.
That has the golfer a little miffed.
"It would be nice to see an Ontario
competition," said Corbiere. "It would be great to meet even
more competition. I don't have many friends who golf, so when
you get the chance to meet others who share the same passion
it's good."
Corbiere gets her inspiration to win from a
book.
"I have my hero in golf - Annika Sorenstam,"
said Corbiere. "I read her book. She really pushed herself. I
read about how there are no short cuts to success. Before, I
use to just go out and hit the ball. Now, I mentally prepare
myself and it works."
Corbiere will now turn her attention to
hockey, as she laces up the ice blades with the Sudbury Lady
Wolves Midget A squad. Corbiere is also pursuing a golf
scholarship.
