Cass Tech girls golf team makes history heading to state championship tournament

The Detroit Cass Tech girls golf team is heading to the Division 1 state championships this weekend — the first girl's high school golf team from the city, the school district says, to reach that milestone.

Head coach Martin Siml was recruited to start the golf team at Cass Tech. In just three years, Siml and his team of 26 girls have reached the Michigan High School Athletic Association finals that begin Friday at Michigan State University.

Siml described the team — ranging from first-year students to seniors — as "relentless."

“They all have heart in different ways," Siml said. “They played through rain, they play through the cold, play through the hot, play through anything. They don’t complain. Like any Detroit team, they keep on doing the work. They keep on putting the work in and doing the work over and over and over again and not complaining and just getting better and better. They’re very extremely motivated.”

This will be the second time that senior Kennedy Watts will play at the highest level in the state. Watts, a team captain, competed for the state championship three years ago as an individual. This year, she’ll be there with her teammates.

“I feel like both times it just shows me I’m capable of playing good golf considering I am somewhat new,” said Watts, 17. “Making it individually was really fun because it was my first year on the team. That kind of showed me I’m actually decent, I can do it. And then making it as a team was great because I got to see all my teammates. They all wanted to go and now we all get to go together ... it just shows that we can do it.”

At 14, Aurianna Alexander is just starting her golf career. She first picked up the sport in August at the beginning of this season, and notes the solitude of the sport makes it unique.

“I’ve learned that golf is a sport of discipline. Instead of being like how most sports are, where it’s like the crowd is loud and everything, golf is the complete opposite. So, you have to be zoned into what you’re doing, pay attention to little, small stuff. You have to be in your own zone.”

Alexander said she emulates the juniors and seniors on the team.

“They’re giving their all to it and I want to be like that ... I want to be a role model for new players that do come next year,” she said.

Siml started the program at Cass Tech in 2021 with 14 girls but no equipment, no home course and no money. He reached out to Cass Tech alumni, who raised money for the team. Alumni raise an average of $5,000 a year in donations, said Gwenn Moore, chairperson for Cass Tech Alumni Golf Outing. Those donations help pay for equipment and tournament fees.

Royal Oak Golf Center contributes range time, equipment and used golf balls, said Glenn A. Pulice, general manager of Royal Oak Golf Center and a PGA professional golfer.

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This is the second high school golf program Siml has built from the ground up in Detroit Public Schools Community District. Prior to his time at Cass Tech, Siml started the golf program at Detroit Renaissance.

Siml wanted to give students the opportunity to play a sport other than basketball or football, and he wants to see more students take advantage of the opportunities golf offers.

“Every single business decision in America is made on a golf course,” he said. Playing golf opens doors to caddying, he said, which can lead to scholarships.

Junior Nyla Joseph says caddying has helped her improve her game, and has been “a learning experience.”

“…Really when you’re caddying, yes, you are just holding their bag and giving them their clubs and stuff, but you also learn about the person and what they do,” said Joseph, 16,.

Watts said her dad encouraged her to pick up golf.

“With golf, I’ve met a lot of new people even at my school, I’ve met principals now because of golf. I’ve gotten to work with people at Midnight Golf …,” Watts said. “I just really like how it makes me a better person. Like in school, I just know how to carry myself better now and I think it’s because of golf.”

As the team prepares to compete for the championship, some players are working on technique, while others are working on how to stay calm under pressure. Siml is looking ahead to how the team can improve next year.

“I’m going to keep on working harder for them every year," he said. "Trying to raise more money, trying to get them better opportunities, trying to play better teams, trying to play better tournaments, just keep on fighting for them …because they have motivated me, they do not stop. They are relentless.”

Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work at bit.ly/freepRFA.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Cass Tech girls golf team makes history