South Whidbey’s boys and girls golf teams are more like step-siblings than brother and sister.

They look different.

Steve Jones, South Whidbey head boys golf coach, has 20 players in the program. Tom Sage, Falcon girls head coach, has seven players — and six are required to fill a varsity team.

They act different. Partly due to the size of the boys team, more banter and chatter occurs among the boys than the girls team.

One bold sentiment brings them together: They want to improve. Though the reasons differ, each team wants to excel and continue a legacy of golf talent on South Whidbey.

Both Jones and Sage want to send golfers to the state tournament. Boys golfers Harrison Price and Shane Thompson advanced to the state tournament last year. Price and Thompson said they wanted to return to the tournament and improve their strokes.

“I’m hoping to play a little better at state than I did last year,” Price said.

“My swing’s in a pretty good place right now, so if I can keep that consistency and work on shorter game, I think I can get there.”

Thompson said he is working toward scoring a 75, which would put him in the top five among the state’s 2A boys golfers. Last year’s 2A winner, Conner O’Neill of Washougal, won with a two-day score of 140 strokes.

“That’s my goal,” Thompson said. “I’ve actually worked really hard to get it. It’s something that means a lot to me.”

Sage and the less-experienced girls team may seem like they have farther to go than the boys team, but both teams will need to qualify at the district tournament to advance to state.

Sage said a golfer could play terribly all season and have one incredible match at the district tournament and qualify for state. He did not say any of his golfers would take that path. The head-to-head matchups do not impact the standing or pairing of golfers at the district tournament.

Emily Houck, a junior, returned to golf this season after a year off. Last year she spent the spring with a select volleyball team. She said she missed playing and was encouraged by her father to return to the team this season.

“I’m hoping to get to state next year,” Houck said. “So I want to get enough practice in for next year.”

Considering she spent almost 12 months without playing golf, Houck said she was pleased with her development thus far.

“I’m kind of surprised about how I’m doing now,” she said. “I’m hitting the balls straight most times.”

The girls team is in a rebuilding phase. Two seniors did not come out for golf this season, and two of Sage’s top golfers graduated.

Along with the task of replacing the experienced golfers he lost, Sage also needed to determine a team captain before conference matches started.

“I really like to reward loyalty,” Sage said of selecting a team captain.

The girls team surprised Sage with their loyalty last week. The girls team practiced on March 9 during one of the several days of heavy rain. Sage tried to send the team home almost an hour early, but the team elected to stay and practice.

“It doesn’t matter how much you love a sport, if you’re freezing and soaking wet, you’re not going to have much fun.”

Houck said she feels the expectation of leadership because she is one of two upperclassmen along with Katie Ewing, also a junior.

“I’m so used to playing with the seniors when I was a freshman,” Houck said. “It’s different being top dog now.”

The top golfers are important to set the standard for the Falcon girls, but Sage had a different approach to winning matches.

“It’s all about your fours, fives and sixes,” Sage said of his fourth-, fifth- and sixth-ranked golfers.

His point was that the bottom half has to stay close to the top half’s performance, or the team scores plummet.

Jones, the boys coach, had a similar problem, despite 30 golfers trying out for the team and making cuts. He lost some experienced players to graduation and changing priorities.

Price, a varsity veteran, said the younger golfers had to fill the gap.

“We lost a couple guys, so we’re going to see how a couple of the younger guys step up,” Price said.

Added Thompson: “We really have no expectations — we can’t because we lost some people. We’re just going to play really hard at practice and see what comes out of it.”

Thompson is a two-year team captain. He said leadership was a fun honor, and admitted he could improve some course behaviors.

“I try and just be a good icon for the team,” Thompson said. “My scores usually show up, but it’s a lot more than just the scores.”

The girls golf team opened conference play with a three-team tournament in Sultan against Sultan and Cedarcrest high schools on Tuesday, March 15.

The Falcon boys golfers began their conference season against Archbishop Murphy and King’s in Everett.

Boys golf

Tuesday, March 22, Sultan, Archbishop

Thursday, March 31, Everett invitational Legion Memorial TBA

Monday, April 11, Dolan Invitational Everett GC TBA

Tuesday, April 12, King’s, Sultan

Thursday, April 14, Lakewood, Sultan*

All matches at 3 p.m. unless noted.

Girls golf

Thursday, March 17, Monroe*

Tuesday, March 22, King’s, Lakewood*

Thursday, March 31, Cedarcrest, Sultan

Tuesday, April 12, Lakewood, Sultan

Thursday, April 14, Cedarcrest, King’s

Monday, April 18, Burlington Invite Burlington TBA

Thursday, April 21, King’s, Archbishop*

Monday, April 25, King’s, Sultan

Thursday, April 28, Archbishop, Cedarcrest

Wednesday, May 4, Sultan, Cedercrest*

Monday, May 9, Cascade Conference Championship TBA (12:30 p.m.)

* Home game. All matches at 3 p.m. unless noted.