Morgan Hill – Live Oak High School head golf coach Mike Rubino
has seen more growth in this season’s girls golf program than he
has since starting the program in 1998.
Morgan Hill – Live Oak High School head golf coach Mike Rubino has seen more growth in this season’s girls golf program than he has since starting the program in 1998.
Before the start of the 2007 season Rubino did a lot of talking, sending out fliers and proactively seeking participation in an effort to get more girls to play and expand the program.
“The program has not really grown except for this year,” Rubino said. “We’re not really a country club community here in Morgan Hill, so a lot of the best players attend the private schools in our league.”
Unlike the rest of the sports programs at Live Oak, which participate in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, the girls’ golf team is one of 11 teams that plays in the Tri County Athletic League (TCAL).
Three of those teams are private: Notre Dame in Salinas, Robert Louis Stevenson in Pebble Beach, and Santa Catalina in Monterey.
“They get the best local golfers, the cream of the crop, because they offer scholarships at these high schools,” Rubino said.
In 1998, thanks to Title IX, Live Oak instated a girls’ golf program, and Rubino, the marching band director at the time, became the coach.
The Morgan Hill native, 63, graduated from Live Oak in 1962, and from San Jose State University four years later with a bachelor’s degree in music.
Rubino has played golf since high school, but didn’t get serious about the sport until 1996 when his son Mike began playing at Live Oak.
“It was hard at first because Live Oak was only a three-year high school, and I had to recruit a team (from the student body), and learn to coach, too,” he said. “So I found some girls that were a part of the marching band who were interested in playing and we started a team.”
This year’s Live Oak squad is lead by freshman Paige Flores, 14, and sophomore Katie Lowery, 15.
“Paige (Flores) is playing with some of the best girls in the country,” Rubino said.
Flores goes head to head with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Mina Harigae at 2:30pm on Tuesday at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
Harigae is a member of the U.S. Girls’ Junior golf team who tied professional golfer Karine Icher for 66th place at the Ladies Professional Golf Association U.S. Women’s Open tournament last summer.
“Just making the cut for the LPGA is tremendous,” Rubino said. “They only take the top 40 golfers.”
Rubino is also the league representative for TCAL girls golf, a position that gives him insight to other teams and golfers.
“I just tell her (Flores) to play her game, don’t worry, and see if there is anything she can learn from Mina,” Rubino said. ” … and she’ll do great because I’ve already seen her make changes to how she approaches things.”
And Flores’ inspired play has kicked up activity from the other seven girls on the team, including Lowery, Rubino said.
“She’s not a pure athlete,” Rubino said. “But Katie (Lowery) works so hard and she is really developing herself and her game.”
In three consecutive matches early this season Lowery shot personal bests of 66, 63, and 61 on Sept. 18 at the Salinas Fairways Golf Course against Everett Alvarez and Salinas High Schools.
At Fairways Flores shot a 59 for nine holes, and as a team Live Oak tied Everett Alvarez for second while Salinas won the match.
On Sept. 24 the Acorn golf team competed against San Benito, Salinas, Gilroy and Alvarez high schools in a match hosted by Gilroy at the Gilroy Golf Course.
San Benito and Salinas tied for first place with a team score of 199, Live Oak took second with 248, Gilroy finished close behind in third with 250, and Alvarez came in last with 278.
Flores finished the match with a score of 53, Lowery shot her personal best with 61, and freshman Elise La Porte had 63.
In the same week, on Sept. 27, Live Oak dropped their match to Notre Dame 246 to 262, but Flores finished with the best score among all golfers with 60 to medal.
On Tuesday the Acorns battled Everett Alvarez, Gilroy, Hollister and host Salinas, finishing in fourth place with a team score of 250 behind Gilroy with 236, but in front of Alvarez with 256.
Live Oak faces Robert Louis Stevenson at 2:30pm on Tuesday at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
