Big Shoes to Fill for Milton Golf Team

The 2009 season turned out to be a success for the Milton High School golf team. The Wildcats stumbled out of the block with a 0-4 start, but rallied to post an 8-8 record, a spot in the South Sectional tournament and a win in the Bay State Conference tournament.

But 2010 will look a little bit different.

Gone are Blake LaBrew — who finished second in the individual state tournament last season — and four other players that solidified three of the top spots on the roster. So head coach Kevin Taylor will need to see some guys step it up this year.

"Our kids have a lot of big shoes to fill this year," said the third-year head coach.

Taylor will be relying on a group of seniors who have been with him for a few years. Will England and John Huntington will be the captains for the 2010 squad and Mike Mulkerrins — who moved from North Quincy last season — will be returning to play in one of the top spots. Pete Andrews will also see significant time at the top of the playing rotation.

"We will have four seniors, so we will need those four guys to step into those shoes of the other guys," said Taylor. "Those were great players."

Taylor's goal for the season is to get back in the tournament, and with a couple matches carved out of the schedule, getting off to an 0-4 start will be even more important to stay away from.

Tryouts are coming up towards the end of August, and Taylor is hoping to find some hidden gems from freshman class or from a player that may have played a different sport last year — just like he found out last year with the transplant, Mulkerrins.

"Hopefully we get some young freshman that will step up and fill a hole also," he said.

When experience tournament golfers leave, especially players that have been so instrumental to success, one might excuse this Milton team if the team doesn't match the success of last year.

But that's not the way Taylor sees it.

"Our guys have a lot of work ahead of them," said Taylor, "but we got a lot of guys that like to work hard and like to play."

Check out Roy Chambers' website for pictures of the 2009 season: http://roychambers.smugmug.com/High-School