It has become widely known that FC has partnered with both Tower Christian and Sierra View Christian Academy to allow the students enrolled in these two PSSP (private school satellite program) schools to participate in sports. For freshman Michael Cliff, this has been a very beneficial opportunity.

Coming from a family of extremely avid golfers, Cliff is prepared for any competition that will come his way. This year, Cliff will be starting his first season on the varsity golf team here at FC.

Cliff began golfing at a very early age. He was first introduced into the sport of golf by his father; he instantly fell in love with it.

“I first played golf when I was six years old,” Cliff said. “My dad had given me a golf set. I loved it. I played with that golf set everyday. It had an instant affect on me like no other sport. It just felt good to me. I have played basketball, baseball, and soccer, but this one was different, and I could tell right away.”

Christian Saylor ’14 has spent little time with Cliff but can already tell that he will be a large part of the teams success.

“Michael is a solid player,” Saylor said. “To come out and put up as low of scores as his older brother, Daniel, is amazing,” Saylor said. “He is going to go a long way with his career and influence any team that he plays on a lot.”

Cliff’s older brother, junior Daniel Cliff, also plays on the FC golf team. They have grown up golfing together and learned from each other’s mistakes.

“I like it {playing alongside my brother} a lot,” Cliff said. “We started at the same time and have always played together. Plus getting to be on the golf course with my brother is like an added bonus.”

Jeff Hopper, the Eagles golf coach, admires Cliff’s role on the team as well as his passion for the sport.

“Michael is the newest addition to our team, a freshman who comes to us via one of the homeschool charters,” Hopper said. “He loves the game and works hard at it. He is tournament proven, having played and won local junior tournaments, as well as being very involved in the First Tee. Still, as a freshman, he is getting his first taste of high school competitions and he has high expectations for himself.”

Hopper has great expectations for Cliff at FC. He believes that Cliff will grow stronger in his skills every year and be an even bigger contribution to the team later on.

“Over time, he’ll learn how to get better and better at meeting those expectations, but also at responding competitively rather than emotionally when the day is making it tough to reach the expectations,” Hopper said. “He’s already making us much stronger at pushing toward a D2 Area and Section title, but as he improves and encourages our other guys to improve along with him we should be able to give those titles a real run, even this year.”

Having followed the footsteps of his brother and joining the FC team, Cliff has enjoyed starting his high school golfing career.

“I have loved every second of it,” Cliff said. “I love the matches. I love the practice. I just love being apart of it all. It is very special to me.”

When you are as serious with golf as Cliff, then you may consider taking your career into college. Cliff explained what he hopes to accomplish when it comes time for him to graduate.

“I am really hoping to get a golf scholarship to a division one school,” Cliff said. “My ultimate dream is to eventually get good enough to join the PGA Tour. Right now though, I am just going to focus on getting better and receiving a scholarship.”

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @beal_trevor. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.

For more sports, read the Feb. 28 Boys basketball sport shorts: Bakersfield Christian article.