PORTSMOUTH, VA (WTKR)- When Western Branch and Nansemond River met on the golf course on Wednesday, it was an example of how sports can stretch far beyond games.
"That's golf for you," Warriors head coach Brandon Frye said. "Golf accepts everyone."
Trevor Wills and Luke Boynton both love the game, a love they developed while playing with their fathers at a young age.
"I like to play golf and hit it," Trevor said.
"I played six years with my dad and then I played golf all the time," added Luke.
Both have been working hard on their drives, chips and putts, but there's one area of the game both enjoy the most- getting ahold of the ball off the tee.
"I love to hit big drives with my driver," Luke said.
"I like to hit it up high," noted Trevor.
"He is the first one here," Bruins head coach Jeff Russell said of Trevor. "He loves hitting driving range golf balls."
However, hitting out of the rough or ending up in a bunker are not the only hurdles these two golfers have had to clear. Trevor has autism, while Luke has down syndrome, but while some may see these conditions as limitations, the two players are out on the links stomping down the stereotypes. They're on the course pulling their clubs, draining putts and competing with the ret of the team.
"His energy is unmatched," Frye pointed out about Luke. "He's talking with his teammates, getting ready to play and he's ready to compete."
"It doesn't slow him down on the golf course," Russell said. "He's 100 miles an hour every day."
Luke and Trevor compete as part of their respective teams. They support their teammates, who have embraced them as well. No matter what a scorecard might say at the end of a round, the experience for all involved can be described as well under-par.
"I can hit with everybody," Trevor said of being on the Western Branch golf team.
"When his teammates hit a bad shot, he'll [giggle] and then that just picks them up," Russell smiled.
"We play golf all the time," said Luke. "I like it, too, and my team, I love my team to death."
"He's always talking, he's always making the atmosphere light, people asking him questions, he's asking them questions," said Frye. "Brings everybody together more so, I think."
Luke and Trevor are both sophomores, and Frye and Russell hope they will return and play again for their final two seasons of high school.
Wednesday's match saw Nansemond River nip Western Branch, 321-339.
