Eric Castellon is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Liberty High School for AZPreps365.com

Staring at the downhill slope towards the pin, Mattie Frick only had one thought in her mind. If she sinks this birdie putt, she is a state champion. It took a lot to get to this moment, as a late collapse from the rest of the field allowed her the chance in a one-hole playoff, but now the opportunity was officially there.

An unusually chilly and windy day at Tucson National Golf Course in southern Arizona, where temperatures early on were below 60 degrees, with wind gusts blowing over 25 mph, caused a lot of issues and turmoil among the field of young golfers. 

Little did Frick know that this would end up being the setting for the dream of a lifetime to finally come true.

Standing over her ball, pressure and nerves went out the window and the world moved in slow motion, and Frick sank the long birdie putt to become the Arizona girls’ Division I golf state champion.

“I feel like I blacked out for a moment,” Frick said of that Oct. 27 afternoon. “My teammates said I just stared at the ball in the hole for almost a minute.”

 It may have taken a while, but she finally understood what had just happened, and the emotions started to set in.

A hug from her coach, Kyle Pooler, as well as her fellow teammates, was the fitting end in what was a perfect day in the eyes of the 16-year-old Liberty junior.

A dream she had been working on achieving since learning to play golf, came true.

“I finally did it, I mean it was so overwhelming,” Frick said.

Raised her whole life in Peoria, Frick has gotten very familiar with the place she’s called home ever since she was born.

Golf was a game that allowed her to interact with her father, Matt. It was something that brought them closer together.

This became more possible through her family’s membership at Blackstone Country Club in Peoria in March 2010. Being able to play, as well as get lessons there, plays a huge part in her success as a golfer. 

“There’s a lot that makes her a good golfer,” Matt Frick said. “Her work ethic, ability to take information, and her natural ability to create power and speed.”

She first started learning how to play golf when she was 8, quickly adapting to the many lessons and pieces of advice she was given.

By the time Frick was 10, she had been given the opportunity to play in her first competitive golf match, and she was feeling just as anyone would expect her to feel.

“I was really nervous but excited more than anything,” Frick said.

Despite the fact that she placed third out of only three competitors, Frick said this was a great way to get her used to the feel of a competitive match, and to prepare her for future tournaments and competitions.

Almost every athlete has a superstition. It is sacred to almost everyone in their own way, and when it comes to her golfing, Frick is no exception.

It all starts with almost the exact same breakfast every morning when she has a match or a tournament. It’s always an egg, a protein, a fruit, and some type of carbohydrate. So that basically means eggs, bacon, any fruit and toast. 

It gets even more complicated and elaborate when it comes to her routines once she arrives at the golf course. Frick says she has been doing things the same ever since that first competitive tournament. 

Once she gets to the facility, she heads straight to the driving range. From there, it is the exact same order of golf clubs that she warms up with, always short-range to long-range.

Frick starts out with a 54-degree wedge, then on to her pitching wedge, then a 7-iron, 7-wood, and finishes things off with her trusty driver.

From there it is always to the putting green first, and then the chipping green. Always the same amount of practice balls used.

But it does not end after practice. It continues all the way up to the first tee, where Frick slows her mind and heart down with some breathing techniques, which get her mentally ready to compete for the day.

She also has a unique way of keeping her mind stress-free during the 18-hole matches.

“I always have to talk during a round,” Frick said. “It helps me take my mind off the pressure, and it makes it fun for me when I get to talk to other people.”

Once she got to Liberty, Frick was intimidated by her teammates, especially since they had more experience than her at the high school level. 

Not only that, but it was the first time she had been a part of a team that was more focused on the future instead of the present. 

“It felt weird because I was the only freshman in the top five, but they knew how good I was,” Frick said.

Now a junior, Frick has evolved into a leader for the Lions, offering a lot of advice and tips to some of the younger students who are in a spot she was in not too long ago.

In fact, the Liberty girls’ golf team fared pretty well at the state championship in Tucson, placing fifth out of 13 schools that participated. 

Coach Pooler has expressed his love for coaching this girls’ golf team, especially watching Frick win her first state title this past week. 

“I’m pleased with how she did, it was a great experience coaching her this year,” Pooler said. “She put a lot of pressure on herself and rightfully so, because she is in my mind the best golfer in the state of Arizona.”

With golf season over, Frick does not know what to do with her free time now, mainly because her father Matt asked her to “take a break from golf” for a while. 

“I just wanna go back,” Frick said. “I love the golf course so much, it’s my happy place.”