SPORTS

WestValleyView.com /WestValleyView For more sports visit WestValleyView.com

WV visit inspires teen golfer from Georgia

BY NOAH VELASCO

West Valley View Staff Writer

Getting praise at every golf course, interviewing with pga. com, having namesake merchandise, and giving kids golf lessons can be a lot for anyone. For 15-yearold Jeremiah Austin, it’s just another part of his golf career.

From Brunswick, Georgia, Austin grew up in an athletic family. His uncles were successful collegiate football players and wrestlers, and the rest of the family — including his uncle, Jermaine Austin, a football coach at Millennium — waited to see what Austin would become. They were startled to see him turn to golf.

Austin himself never envisioned playing golf, but his grandfather, Richard Austin, did. Richard noticed a young Austin hitting pinecones with a stick and decided to take him to golf practice.

“I was surprised at myself because I was able to hit the ball perfectly fi ne and I hadn’t had a single practice in my life, but I was able to hit the ball,” Austin said. “As I started playing more and more, it started to become something I wanted to do and a sport that I wanted to play.”

From there, Austin devoted himself to golf and steadily improved during the last four years.

With his grandfather by his side to drive him across the country, help maintain a healthy diet, and give motivational pep talks, Austin was bound for success.

Recently, Austin traveled to Avondale to play rounds at The Wigwam and Palm Valley Golf Course.

“During my rounds at The Wigwam, the Patriot golf tournament was in progress, which allowed me to visualize myself in this prestigious amateur/ college championship in the near future,” he said.

“I was actually hoping they would have made a mistake and added me to the fi eld. As a result of being there at that time, I play as if I was in the tournament and shot my best score. I will be among the best college golfers in the country soon, so it was nice to get of feel of what to expect.”

As a result, Austin is considering ASU. The sport not only affected Austin, but it improved his grandfather’s well-being.

“It actually changed my life, because for years I had fi ve sons,” Richard said. “For over 20 years, all I did was travel and travel and travel to wrestling matches and football games. Then, all of a sudden, there was a void when it was over with, and the next thing I knew I was dealing with work.

“But once (Austin) started playing golf, that kind of gave me that little extra burst of energy.”

As an eighth grader, Austin made the Brunswick High School varsity team but only participated in weekly tournaments to avoid losing eligibili-

Golfer...continued on page 23

Voting Starts February 1st!

SaveTheBrains.com

Learn how to talk to your kids about marijuana.

This publication was made possible by SAMSHA Grant number 6B08TI083044-01. The views expressed in these materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies or contractual requirements of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) or the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

BESTOF 2022

West Valley the

WHO’S theBEST?

The votes are in. The people have spoken... It’s the Best of the West Valley!

Our reader poll is designed to let YOU tell us about your favorite people, places, shops, restaurants and things to do in Tolleson, Avondale, Litchfield Park, Goodyear, and Buckeye. PEOPLE | PLACES | SHOPS | RESTAURANTS | THINGS TO DO Vote at WestValleyView.com

ty. Once he became a freshman, he became the team captain, where he still carries the title as a sophomore.

In addition to high school athletics, Austin travels the country with his grandfather, competing in prestigious golf tournaments. One of his favorite memories is being recognized by the PGA and conducting multiple interviews. Along with the interviews, the PGA asked Austin to document his time while competing at the Mack Champ Invitational in Houston.

All the golf skills and abilities can be attributed to Austin’s constant preparation. Similar to his idols Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, Austin commits himself daily to his craft. For eight hours a day, he analyzes videos sent by his coach, practices on the golf range, and studies film on the television.

“His honesty with golf is important to me because he doesn’t walk around with a big head. He understands that he’s got to keep practicing in order to get better,” Richard said. “So, it’s not a matter of people giving him compliments all the time and him taking it to his head and thinking that he’s more than what he is. He knows what he has to do.”

To prepare for a tournament, he chooses his clothes and irons them the night prior. The one night he forgot to iron his clothes, he played poorly at the tournament. The slightest distraction like unkempt clothes bothered his game and put him off.

He needs to maintain his focus.

“On tournament day, I wake up and I will lose all thought of everything, and I will forget that I even need to put clothes on before I have to go,” Austin said. “I clear my head and focus on what the objective is today.”

Despite his limited golf experience, Richard described Austin as “an old man in a kid’s body.” The teen is humble and desires to improve.

“He doesn’t have that cocky attitude,” Richard said. “If you make mistakes, you go right back to the drawing board. Austin will try to figure out what it was, and next thing you know, he’ll get that figured out and try something else, and if that don’t work you go back to the drawing board.”

The number of articles and national attention is increasing, but that still doesn’t take his mind off of personal improvement.

“As far as the media, I know what I need to do as far as getting better,” Austin said. “When it comes to news articles talking about how good of a golfer I am, I don’t necessarily take that to mind or to heart. I know I need to get better.”

Looking toward the future, Austin knows he wants to play at the next level, but he also wants his academics to complement his athletics. Austin is looking to get involved in the PGA Management Program, during which he learns about course maintenance, club fitting and ownership.

Austin is living in the moment and appreciating the sport for what it is.

“I’m in the game because I love it,” Austin said. “I love this sport, and I want to be able to play this sport. So that’s the main reason why I’m in the sport, because I just love the sport.” The city of Goodyear wants to help the public achieve their health goals in February, American Heart Month.

Goodyear’s Heart & Sole race has something for everyone. The family-friendly run starts at Goodyear Ballpark at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, and includes three distances: 1 mile, 5K and, for the first time, a 10K. There’s also a virtual option that can be used as a training run before the in-person race.

Commemorative race shirts and medals are available while supplies last.

Learn more and register at goodyearaz.gov/events. Jeremiah Austin grew up in an athletic family. (Submitted photo)

BY WEST VALLEY VIEW STAFF

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Air Force announces its intention to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of optimizing the special use airspace available to support Air Force missions in Arizona. Proposed Action: The Air Force is proposing regional airspace modifi cations to address existing and future training defi ciencies for aircrews stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Luke Air Force Base, and Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona due to insuffi cient airspace. The Proposed Action includes changing the times of use, modifying the horizontal and vertical dimensions, and adjusting the attributes of existing special use airspace to address training defi ciencies caused by insuffi cient airspace. The modifi ed airspace would support low-altitude training, low-altitude supersonic training, and use of chaff and fl ares. The Proposed Action does not include any changes at installations in Arizona (personnel, infrastructure, aircraft inventory, or airfi eld operations), ground disturbance beneath the airspace, or weapons deployment. The airspace proposed for modifi cation is located throughout southern Arizona and a small portion of western New Mexico. Public Comments: The Air Force is soliciting comments on the potential alternatives to the Proposed Action and information or analyses relevant to the Proposed Action. Comments can be made at public meetings, submitted online at the project website (www.ArizonaRegionalAirspaceEIS.com), or by mailing to: Arizona Regional Airspace EIS, c/o Cardno, 501 Butler Farm Rd., Suite H, Hampton, VA 23666. To ensure full consideration of all comments in preparing the Draft EIS, comments should be submitted by

March 4, 2022.

In-Person Public Meetings: In-person public meeting(s) are planned in Ajo, Bagdad, Congress, Morenci, and Superior, Arizona, and Animas and Reserve, New Mexico. Please visit the website for specifi c dates and locations. Please check with the meeting venue or the project website for any last-minute changes or cancelations due to evolving covid restrictions.

Virtual Presentation: The project website provides a virtual presentation of the meeting materials for those persons that do not wish to attend or are unable to attend an in-person meeting.