It isn’t often that an athlete will admit to learning life lessons while in the midst of dealing with a sidelining injury.
But that’s exactly what Santa Margarita Catholic High School golfer Catharine Roddy is doing.
The senior, who was first team All-Trinity League the last two seasons has been battling a shoulder injury that has kept her off the course more than she would like.
But in her final year competing for the Eagles, Roddy is taking it in stride, looking for what she can learn about golf and herself from the other side of the game.
“I had to take a step back and say, OK, there’s a reason why God is putting me in this situation,” says Roddy. “And I discovered that reason was that I cultivated relationships with people on the team better than I ever had.”
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As her team moves on to CIF without her, it’s those relationships with her teammates and what she’s learned from them that she will miss the most when she graduates next spring.
“I’m really going to miss being able to connect with people and see how other people grow in the game, because that’s really helped me get better,” says Roddy. “[My injury has] really shed some light on another aspect of the game and that’s being a good teammate and being a good leader.”
Santa Margarita head girls golf coach Jill Hegna, knows that whether she’s on the course or not, she has a strong leader in Roddy.
“I selected Catharine as our captain at the beginning of the season because she is such a great role model academically and athletically,” says Hegna. “She has inspired her teammates to work hard to achieve their personal goals.”
Fortunately for the 17-year-old Coto de Caza resident, there is much more to her life than just golf.
With a love for playing the cello, Roddy is first chair cellist in Santa Margarita’s school orchestra, as well as a member of the school’s string quartet, something she truly enjoys as much as being on the course.
“It’s encouraging to see that there’s another generation of people who appreciate classical music,” says Roddy of her other passion.
Roddy, who ultimately refers to herself as an academic, is also an International Baccalaureate (IB) full diploma candidate, and hopes to attend an Ivy League school and study neuroscience.
But Roddy’s original goal for her future remains the same—to play golf at the collegiate level. And as she rehabilitates from her injury, she remains grateful for the time she’s been given to gain perspective.
“There are days in life where things don’t go your way,” says Roddy. “I remind myself that the tough days actually make me a better player than the good days.”