By Sam McClanahan
A new era will soon get underway for the Pendleton County Ladycats golf program as Kennedy Walthers takes over as head coach.
Walthers, 28 later this month, is a native of Alexandria and graduated high school from Newport Central Catholic where she played golf for five years and was a cheerleader. This new role will be a brand new venture for Walthers as she has never been a head coach of any sport, but she is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
"I just wanted to try something different," Walthers said. "I've been playing for over half of my life so why not try to coach and have the opportunity to make a difference and be apart of something that I enjoy."
Walthers got started in golf during her middle school days and after quickly catching onto the game she would make her high school team at NCC her freshman year. She says that golf has become a passion for her and it's something that she plans to participate in for the rest of her life. She mentioned that she's very familiar with both local courses in Pendleton County, being Pendleton Hills and Kincaid Lake Golf Course.
In taking over the Ladycats program, Walthers is fully aware that she'll go through a major learning curve during her first season as coach but is eager to learn and lead her team to success. She wants to organize a golf camp in July before the regular season gets underway.
Walthers parents, Gordon and Ginger, are both graduates of PCHS so she views this opportunity as a "coming home" moment of sorts. In her spare time, she enjoys working on a family farm that's located on HWY 22W and raising her chickens. Last year, she received her bachelor's degree in Respiratory Therapy from NKU and is currently working in that field full-time. She's also engaged and planning a wedding.
As far as what to expect from her as a coach, Walthers says she just wants to help her girls accomplish everything they want to with the game of golf.
"I want to be known as someone who's positive and supportive of the players. I want to motivate them to reach their goals whether it be at the high school level, or putting them in a position to play the sport at even higher levels."