Athlete of the Week - Ava Elrod

With another strong performance placing first in the regional golf tournament to advance to state, White County High School freshman Ava Elrod has been named this week's athlete of the week.

Elrod finished first individually at region, shooting one-over-par and putting together a score of 73 to claim this title, making this one of the biggest accomplishments of her freshman year.

Throughout the season, Elrod has played a major role on the Warriorettes golf team. Competing as a freshman against older girls who likely have more experience, as Elrod has played for 5 years. 

Despite being one of the younger golfers on the course, Elrod continued to dominate and keep focus throughout the match.

Elrod said, “It was really nerve-racking at the start, but after winning, it was super exciting.”

Elrod's coach, Eric Mitchell, thought she handled this match carefree, saying, “Ava’s carefree. I mean, you look over one time and the girl she’s playing with, it takes them 8 times to get on the green, and she’s sitting on the green. She handles it like Ava does, carefree”

Winning regions also helped to see the progress Elrod has made since the beginning of the season. Coach Mitchell noticed progression with Elrod's mental game throughout the season.

“She’s just mentally tougher. In middle school, when you walk 9 holes to walking 18 is a big difference. You know, it's 2.5 more hours. You have to carry the bag, and you have to be mentally tough to play those extra nine holes. So she’s matured a little bit and kept practicing her golf swing and had a really good day.”

As a freshman, competing in such a big postseason tournament can carry a lot of weight. However, Elrod handled it well, shooting one-over-par. Shooting such a low score was very important to Elrod as she said, “It felt really good to finally see all my hard work pay off.”     

With this, both Elrod and Coach Mitchell have high expectations for the rest of her high school career, intending to win state.

Coach Mitchell said, “I mean, being a freshman and winning the region, the expectations are high and with that comes more pressure, but, you know, I expect her to be in the mix for the district, the region, and the state tournament for the next four years.” 

He followed this statement by saying, "Ava's potential, her ceiling is very, very high. It’s unlimited potential. She’s got something, she hits a long, long way farther than any of the other girls, and you can't teach that. That gives her an extra advantage when Ava’s hitting a 9 iron into the green and the other girls are having to hit 6 irons, you know, a 9 iron is easier to hit than a 6 iron. So eventually that catches up, but she’s got a super high ceiling.”

As Elrod continues in her career, she will look to carry this confidence from this region win with her into later competitions and provide a foundation going into later matches.

With a region championship already added to her record as a freshman, Elrod has established herself as a standout golfer on the Warriorettes team moving forward and is expected to keep improving over the next four years.