{"id":265468,"date":"2025-11-01T18:45:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T18:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/265468\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T18:45:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T18:45:16","slug":"high-schooler-hannah-draper-brings-a-game-to-varsity-golf-marching-band-dance-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/265468\/","title":{"rendered":"High schooler Hannah Draper brings \u201cA\u201d game to varsity golf, marching band dance team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Varsity girls golf is in a Renaissance at Fairfield Union, finding increased popularity and picking up steam. Part of the movement is sophomore Hannah Draper, who decided to take a swing at the sport going into her freshman year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been playing for two years. I started my freshman year. I had a lot of friends on the team and it seemed like a lot of fun, and I wasn\u2019t doing any sports, so it seemed like a good idea,\u201d explained Draper.<\/p>\n

Although the varsity girls golf team is intimate, the players still go through a tryout process to determine placements. This year, two of the 14 girls received honors, while Draper personally improved her game.<\/p>\n

BROUGHT TO YOU BY<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe got all district honors for two of our golfers. Kelsey got second all team district honors, and so did Kendall in the MSL. My goal for next year is to make it into the MSL,\u201d said Draper.<\/p>\n

\u201cI shaved off personally, depending on the round, 15-20 strokes from last year in general,\u201d Draper added. She has a dream of eventually playing in the LGPA (Ladies\u2019 Professional Golf Association).<\/p>\n

Draper\u2019s golf ambitions, however, are a delicate balancing act with the marching band Falconettes, where she is a legacy dancer. While Draper is the first chair for flute during the band\u2019s regular season, she performs in the band\u2019s dance team during football games.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was in it when she was in high school, so she talked about it a lot,\u201d reflected Draper, on why she auditioned for the Falconettes. \u201cThe marching band themselves used to go to the grade schools and perform, and I thought it was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the summer and fall, Draper trains and practices for both golf and the Falconettes dance team, aiming to split her time evenly. The golf season starts in July, and usually ends by early fall, overlapping with football and marching band season. The golfers typically take a quick break before reconvening in January for lifting and virtual hitting. During her own time, Draper will hit with her friends, step-dad, and swing in her grandparents\u2019 backyard to stay sharp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually try to split it up 50\/50 the best I can. Most of the time I am going straight from a golf match to a practice. It gets hard sometimes, but I think the rewards I get from that make it better,\u201d said Draper.<\/p>\n

In addition to the green and the football field, Draper is heavily involved in Key Club, community service work, and her school\u2019s Agricultural Program. While juggling multiple priorities, Draper looks to golf to sharpen her mental focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing on the golf team, you have to rely on your mind a lot. That\u2019s the hardest part. It helps me to be able to be more calm, collected, and able to learn better within a short time,\u201d said Draper.<\/p>\n

Overall, participating in a sport, the arts, and community-focused clubs are essential to Draper.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think it helps me as a person to be able to be out with people, be able to help my community and other peers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like they\u2019re both very important,\u201d Draper adds, referring to the arts and sports. \u201cMost of the time you see two demographics of people where they stick to one. It\u2019s important to be able to do both. It\u2019s different parts of your brain. It\u2019s two different ways to stay active, and it\u2019s kind of weird to say but being a part of the music program is like being a part of a team anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is part of 614Now.com\u2019s weekly student athlete feature. Know of an extraordinary high school athlete on and off the field? Nominate them by emailing editor@614now.com.<\/p>\n

Want to read more? Check out our print publications, (614) Magazine and Stock & Barrel. Learn where you can find free copies of our newest issues\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Varsity girls golf is in a Renaissance at Fairfield Union, finding increased popularity and picking up steam. Part…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-265468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}