Austin Reynolds is excited to be back at his old stomping grounds as the new head coach of the Corbin High School girls golf team. As a member of the CHS Class of 2019, he played football and baseball for the Redhounds before going on to develop a love for golf after completing his undergraduate work at Union Commonwealth University, formerly Union College.
“I had a buddy who said I should try it,” Reynolds said recently of getting involved with golf. “I have dedicated the last three-and-a-half years to getting good, and I love it now. It’s what I do with my free time.”
Reynolds graduated from Union in 2022 with a history degree. This past spring, he accepted a teaching position at Corbin High School as a special education teacher. He said that returning home has been a big relief, adding, “Being back and being a Redhound means the world to me. I am a proud graduate and was a student-athlete there myself.”
Once Reynolds found out that the school was in need of a new head coach for its girls golf team, he said that he prayed about it and ultimately felt as if he was being led to apply for the position. He got the job, and is now looking forward to what the upcoming fall season has in store.
“I’m anxious to get going,” Reynolds said. “I love competing, and I love watching my players compete. I am confident in what we’ve got, and that we should be able to go out and compete. We’re super-young, so we will build up as the season goes on, but the most important thing is just playing golf and getting experience.”
The Lady Hounds golf team will include just one senior this season, Xandria Beller, as well as two juniors. The rest of the team will be comprised of underclassmen. Two of those underclassmen – freshmen Makena Myatt and Kalyn Watkins – continue to prove that youth definitely does not always equal inexperience.
“They’re phenoms,” Reynolds said of Myatt and Watkins. “One day, there is a good possibility that you’ll see them on TV. That is exciting, for sure.”
Myatt and Watkins have helped the CHS girls golf team reach new heights as middle schoolers in recent years, putting in strong showings in both regional and statewide competitions. This summer, they have both continued to compete at a high level and polish their respective games ahead of what will be their first season of varsity golf as high schoolers.
The future is bright, indeed.
Moving forward, Reynolds said that he hopes to see the entire team focus more on things like course management, club selection and, as he put it, “just learning the game of golf.” His hope is that the big-picture goals, such as future championship opportunities, will naturally come as a result of staying focused on all of the little things that players will inevitably encounter while out on the course.
The Lady Hounds will be kicking off competition soon, and have a tournament scheduled each week throughout the season. Reynolds said he hopes the team will have another strong showing in the Kentucky 2A Championships, and he has high hopes for sending players to the 2025 KHSAA State Championships as well.
