By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — Los Fresnos Lady Falcons golfer Allison McGinnis is headed to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene to continue her golfing career.
Coaches and family said McGinnis put in an enormous effort to get to where she is at right now.
“Allison started from the bottom,” Los Fresnos golf coach Luis Gonzalez said. “She transferred over from softball her freshman year. Allison’s parents asked how she can get better, and they followed through. They all put in the work.
“We are going to miss Allison, but we are proud of her and it is a great opportunity for her. It is no longer a dream, it is a reality.”
When McGinnis first got the idea of playing golf, she wanted to make the varsity team as a freshman. Robert McGinnis, her father, took her to play a round of golf. After that round, he told his wife, Ruth, that there is no way their daughter would make varsity.
Now she is going to Hardin-Simmons.
“I am really excited, but I am nervous as well,” Allison McGinnis said. “It is a long drive from my family, but they all know I am doing this for a reason, and they are all proud of me.
“I am really proud of myself,” she added. “I was not just working with my team, but I was also working hard on my own, even on my off days. Getting to this point is amazing, but I am ready for the next challenge.”
She will join the Hardin-Simmons golf team on an academic scholarship and will look to major in criminal justice. One day, she hopes to be a federal agent and work as a criminal investigator.
“Words cannot describe how proud we are of Allison,” Robert McGinnis said. “It was four years of constant practice, hard work and dedication by Allison. We are just happy to help her along.”
Said Ruth McGinnis, “Allison has given up a lot, vacation days, family meetings and off days, but now she is here. We would have to get her to stop and make her take a break. We are so proud of her.”