How Bryce Bearson brings a 'Pocketful of Sunshine' to the Ames girls golf team

Bryce Bearson knows how deflating it feels when things don't go well on the golf course.

The Ames senior has taken some lumps this spring, including Tuesday's quadrangular meet at the Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames. She shot a 62 over nine holes Tuesday afternoon and didn't make the cut for counted scores in the team standings.

Bearson only managed to shoot par on one hole.

“I came in and was like, 'I never want to play another meet again,'” Bearson said. “When you have a bad hole it’s hard to get over that. You can definitely see that in my score today. It was bad hole after bad hole."

But, when it was all over, her teammates were right there by her side.

“They’re so supportive,” Bearson said. “They always surround me with love and kindness. They’re the greatest thing that I could ask for.”

More: After winning state as a freshman, Gilbert's Eden Lohrbach continues golf dominance

That's what has mattered most to Bearson during her high school career — creating lasting relationships while also playing pretty dang great golf, which she usually does. Even though she had a bad day Tuesday, Bearson has had a productive senior season. She has the third-best nine-hole average on the team at just above a 48.

Her combined adjusted average over all meets, including 18-hole tournaments, is 53. That also ranks third behind freshmen Elizabeth Duncan and Emersen Motl.

But for Bearson, her senior year is all about memories and helping others succeed.

“Honestly, my goals aren’t related to golf,” Bearson said. "They’re related to my team. I am just so proud of where we are and how supportive we are as a team. That to me is more important than how we play.”

Bearson came up in the program with fellow senior Ellie Nusbaum.

“Bryce and I have been playing together all four years, but last year we really bonded,” Nusbaum said. “Over the summer, we loved going out and playing together and it made our friendship so great. I love being able to have my best friend on the team.”

They appreciated what they learned from the upperclassmen before them. They are more than happy to return the favor.

“I love teaching the underclassmen,” Bearson said. “(Head coach R.J.) Voss called me his assistant coach because I’m always teaching.”

Bearson hasn't had many opportunities to help the younger golfers along this season, due to poor weather this spring. Though the weather has been cold and dreary for much of the Spring, Bearson has maintained a positive attitude the whole time.

She'll take whatever time helping her teammates she can get.

“She keeps everything pretty light," Voss said, "and doesn’t let the girls get too down.”

The favorite activity for Bearson and Nusbaum is continuing a tradition they took over from last year's seniors. They love forcing Voss to listen to their selected playlists on rides to and from meets.

“We started it just to annoy R.J.,” Nusbaum said. “But now it’s become our routine. This has been a really rough spring because of weather, so just to have some sunshine — even if it’s just in a song — shows we can still have a good time.”

Fittingly, their favorite song to pump out in the van is "Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield.

After coaching for 25 years, Voss has learned to just roll with the punches when it comes to music in the van.

“I’ve gotten used to it,” Voss said with a laugh. “They might think they’re getting to me, but they’re really not.”

More: How Kyle Kingsbury and Christian Hawbaker aim to keep Nevada a powerhouse in boys golf

Bearson and Nusbaum appreciate what Voss has done for them over the past four years. And they want to do all they can to help him make the season a success.

But right now, Ames is having a tough time on the course. The Little Cyclones have finished no higher than seventh in three tournaments. They lost a dual meet to Waukee Northwest and placed fourth during Tuesday's quadrangular.

In spite of that, Voss still thinks this team has potential to make a run at state.

“We’ve got time yet,” Voss said. “We’ve just got to get some good weather so we can get some practice in around the greens. Our short game needs work.”

But no matter what happens on the course, Voss wants to see his players enjoy the season and their high school careers as much as possible.

“I might have a couple girls that are going to play golf down the road, but most of them are not,” Voss said. “They’re going to remember these times that they spent together on the road and in the van and playing at meets. That goes a lot farther than playing Division I golf for most of these girls.

"I've talked to Division I golfers who said high school is the most fun they’ve had on the course. That time together as a team means a lot.”

Bearson would like nothing more than to see her teammates succeed.

"It would be nice to make it to state because I would love for the girls to have that experience," Bearson said. "They are honestly the greatest team I could ask for."

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Bryce Bearson brings a 'Pocketful of Sunshine' to Ames girls golf team