Hira’s desire to be the best leads to her success as one of East Tennessee’s top golfers

Maya Hira has played a wide range of sports in her life, ranging from football to lacrosse to tennis to golf, and all of them have helped her to identify her true favorite sport.

The sport of winning.

“I was never sure if I loved golf, but I knew I loved winning, and this helped me to develop my love of golf,” Hira said.

Hira, who is in her junior year and her first year as a team captain, finished on 5StarPreps second team this past season. Her desire to win helped her into having a big offseason that saw her grow not just the physical side of her golf game, but also the mental side of it.

“I have improved my mental game a lot since last season,” Hira said. “I am now able to stay focused and keep the pressure off while still having fun and joking around, which is something that a lot of competitive golfers struggle to do.”

This offseason training helped Hira get off to a fast start to the season, as she finished tied for second place in the 5StarPreps masters tournament played in late July. 

Coach Tyler Lane has been around Hira since her freshman year at Bearden, which has allowed him to get a first hand view of Hira and her passion for winning. 

“Maya wants to be the best at whatever she does,” Coach Lane said. “Whether that means getting up early to work on extra drills or inviting her teammates to go get extra work, she is going to do whatever it takes to win.”

Her ability to always want for her and her teammates to improve their games was one of the many factors that went into the decision to appoint her a team captain.

“Maya has a lot of great leadership qualities, and people are drawn to the way that she goes about playing golf,” Coach Lane said. “So when it came to the decision about team captains, I knew Maya was a great choice.”

Junior Tessa Larmee loves the spirit that Hira brings with her and what she does to encourage  her teammates.

“She never fails to have a positive attitude and is always super uplifting when it comes to our games,” Larmee said. “I think Maya being the team captain has really brought the team closer together and has helped all of our games improve.”

With the district tournament beginning next week, the Lady Bulldogs hope to repeat as district champions and make it past the regional tournament, where they finished in third place last season. 

The Lady Bulldogs will play their last regular season match of the season this Thursday as they take on Farragut and Kingston. 

Coach Lane knows what he needs from Hira if the Lady Bulldogs hope to make a run in the postseason.

“We need her to post great scores,” he said, “and I have full confidence in her.”