Washington State freshman Kaitlyn Helm knew she would be a starter on the first tournament. yet, she still remembers being nervous on the day of her first tournament. She placed 53rd, posting a 14-over par score. After calming down the first tournament jitters, she surprised herself by holding first place in the next tournament after two days. On the final day, Helm remembers feeling the weight of the moment.
“I think I lost focus on the last couple holes,” Helm said. “I was kind of thinking about what these holes mean. I didn’t know I was winning during that time, so I was just played normally and I kind of put too much stress on those shots.”
Helm finished the tournament in third place, while she let her position slip on the final day, she is still able to acknowledge the weight of her accomplishment.
“In the moment it was a little hard,” Helm said. “But I have definitely built off that as more courage and more momentum just to play better and just to stick it all the way through the end no matter what.”
Helm has started in every tournament this season for the Cougars. She finished the season with a 73.88 stroke average, the best on the team. Through the pressure of being counted on as one of the best performers, Helm has found solace in leaning on her surroundings throughout her freshman year.
On her initial visit to Pullman, Helm remembers how everything felt so close. She is from Phoenix, so Pullman felt a lot smaller. As she describes it, she can walk down the street and go to a baseball game. This has brought Helm to a variety of sporting events throughout the year.
She's gone to hockey and baseball games despite never having watched those sports before. She remembers coming across an Instagram post one day about a WSU club hockey game, and she decided to go with her teammate. She enjoyed it more than she thought and in a similar fashion, she found herself at a baseball game in the spring.
The community of athletes has also helped her transition into college life. She has made friends on the golf, rowing and volleyball team, and the connections are one she expects to carry out throughout her time at WSU.
“It's really nice to have a community around you, like supporting you because the athletes always know each other, and I think that has really helped me transition into college life,” Helm said. “Just the support around each sport is absolutely amazing.”