Yukon's Wilson bringing confidence into season
YUKON — Before she even tees off, Alyssa Wilson stops to steady herself.
She takes a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves. She visualizes what she needs to do. Sometimes, she even talks to herself or her mom. Then Yukon's star senior golfer lets it fly.
Anxiety doesn't have a thing on Wilson.
“Sometimes I have to step away and talk myself down from the place I'm at,” Wilson said. “Then get right back to it and stay in the positive mindset.”
As the high school golf season kicks off this month, Wilson enters the spring with more confidence than the past two years. And she's motivated to prove last year's disappointing finish was a fluke.
Last spring, Wilson finished 14th overall in the Class 6A state tournament, a 10-spot fall from a breakout sophomore season.
The course in Bartlesville was especially tough. But Wilson deals with anxiety, and that flared up as well.
“I think last year just really showed me that if I don't keep on my game and keep in a positive mindset it won't really work out in the end,” Wilson said. “I think putting myself down doesn't really help.”
Wilson, an Oklahoma Christian signee, has spent the better part of a year building confidence.
She's played golf since her father, Arlen, got her playing around age 5. Alyssa entered her first tournament four years later. She was hooked on the game.
But also super competitive. A bad day led to tears. Her father often got upset seeing his daughter beat herself up so much. That's when Alyssa started to focus on her breathing and her mindset.
“I had to keep thinking it was one day, it's no big deal and in the end I'm going to college on a scholarship,” Wilson said. “Trying to get better is the only thing I can do.”
Wilson has done that. She feels primed for another run at a state championship like she made as a sophomore. She finished fourth then, overcoming a rain delay and staying strong in her mind.
“I really think this is going to be a good season,” Wilson said.