Introducing our Student Athlete of the Week: Ocean Springs’ very own Mackenzie Smith
This week’s Student Athlete has grown up on the links and it shows to say the least! Her resume speaks for itself and her best is yet to come as she’s currently closing out her sophomore season.
Introducing our WXXV Student Athlete of the Week: Ocean Springs’ Mackenzie Smith.
Heading for the links at just four years old, Ocean Springs sophomore Mackenzie Smith lives and breathes the game of golf and it all started with her father. “I first picked up a golf club with my dad. He started me pretty young. I’d always go to the golf course with him and I really enjoyed it and I just never really put it down. It was just something I’ve always enjoyed and it brought me peace.”
She went from being shorter than her clubs to now owning the clubs. As a tenth grader, Smith is a two-time state champion, two-time district champion, and just last week, she competed in the Mississippi High School Coaches Association All Star Tournament and was named the south team’s most valuable player. “It was an honor to be chosen for the All-Star team and even a bigger honor to be an MVP. I think all of us played awesome and I’m really honored that I was given that award. All of the girls that we there I knew very well and they’re all my good friends. We all played well and pulled it together and I was really proud of us. We pulled out a good one.”
Although the All-Star Tournament signals the end of golf season, time on the links never truly ends with Smith. “Even though my high school season is over, I still continue to come out here every day. Consistency is really key with golf and I’m going to continue to play in tournament all year round and I have college camps that I’m going to attend within the next couple of months and I’m really excited.”
Going to the course day in and day out takes a lot of determination and discipline. Smith says she plays with passion and purpose each and every day because of a personal reminder on her scorecard. “I give all my glory to God. I wouldn’t be where I am without Him and every time, I go to a course I write on my scorecard Psalm 46:5 and that’s just a reminder throughout my round that I’m doing this for Him.”
Her relationship with God inspires her the most, but she’s also pretty inspired by a fellow Greyhound. During her middle school years on the high school team, Smith had the opportunity to play with the now Mississippi State golfer and SEC champion Avery Weed. Smith says seeing her live out her dreams on the national stage inspires her to do the exact same. “Being able to play with Avery Weed was such an honor and seeing all her awesome accomplishments. It really puts a drive in my heart to go to that next level and it would just be awesome if I could do that too.”
