Southington Boys Golf Reaches New Heights In CCCs, States Run
- Dan Fappiano
- Oct 26
- 8 min read
In his second year as head coach of Southington Boys Golf, James McAloon saw a rise in numbers. Thirty golfers tried out for the team, and sixteen were ultimately chosen. Once the roster was official, McAloon knew he had a vast amount of potential to work with.
“There has been an increase in popularity in the sport of golf. We’ve seen an increase in the number of kids going out just from year one to year two,” McAloon said. “This year we had a strong returning upper class. It has been a very competitive group, which has been great for practices and for a great season.”
Southington originally met in the spring to begin gameplanning for their fall season. They worked on conditioning and building off the effort they put in during the offseason. In mid-to-late August, their focus on the mental game and course management began. Those two things became the pillars of Southington’s preparation.
In an effort to ground themselves and improve in all aspects, McAloon introduced Mental Game Mondays. Before going out on the course, the Blue Knights would spend time as a team focusing on their chosen goal of the day. That could be staying in the moment, trusting the process, focusing on breathing, or whatever is necessary for that session. Each lesson is something that could help any golfer improve, McAloon says. Mondays became a sacred time for the Blue Knights.
“The growth really came through the mental game and the work we put into that. Making sure we’re controlling our emotions as well as managing the course. Once our team started to buy into that, we started to see the growth,” McAloon said. “We have plenty of golfers who can swing it. Their golf game is there. Taking it to the next level for a young golfer is really, ‘How do you manage the tough situations?’ The bad shots, getting over having a bad hole and not letting it ruin your round. That’s when we hit our run. A lot of guys contributed to that success during that run.”
Another challenge McAloon had as head coach was keeping practices competitive and pressure packed. That is why Southington competed in a season-long in-team Ryder Cup Tournament.
The Blue Knights were split up into two squads, Team USA and Team Europe. They would don team polos and compete in challenges built around creating a competitive mindset and playing team golf. Just like in the actual 2025 Ryder Cup Tournament, Southington’s Team Europe came out victorious.
Yet for all their preparation, the Blue Knights would soon have to compete for real. They had a strong practice plan in place, but facing off against another team brings a very different set of challenges.
Southington Braves Slow Start For A Standout Regular Season
Through their first six matches, Southington went 3-3. Five of their first six battles were away from their home course, the Southington Country Club. McAloon noted that golf is a sport that lends itself to home course advantage. Competing on the course you practice on plays a big role in success.
But that wasn’t the only issue for the Blue Knights. McAloon had figured out who his top golfers were going to be. Determining the rest of the lineup was another story.
“We struggled early,” McAloon said. “I really had an idea of who my number one and two were based off of last year. But figuring out who three, four and five were going to be was a challenge early on. We really had a revolving door of golfers who could fill the role. It was really a good and a bad problem for a coach to have when there were so many guys capable of it. But we had to figure out eventually who that lineup was going to be.”
From that sixth match on, Southington found their stride and never looked back. They finished their regular season with a 14-3 record, going a perfect 7-0 at home. That was a goal the Blue Knights set at the beginning of the season and one McAloon was proud to see come to fruition.
“That was something we discussed at the beginning of the season,” McAloon said. “Controlling the controllables and making sure you can manage your home course. Take advantage of the practice days on those greens, knowing certain spots to leave it. That was something we’re really proud of as a program.”
For all their success at home, one of the Blue Knights’ biggest moments of the season came during an away match. Against Farmington on October 8, Southington carded a 148. That was the lowest score McAloon could find in team history dating back at least 20 years. He called it a special moment for the team and proof of the squad’s growing confidence.
Southington would come up just short in the Central Connecticut Conference West, as Conard won the division with a 17-1 record. However, the Blue Knights gave them their only loss. McAloon was impressed with the team’s performance overall, as they accomplished their goal of being competitive within the conference.
“When we start the season, our goals are to finish as high as we can in terms of a record to compete for a conference championship,” McAloon said. “We were just a couple matches off of that. But we gave ourselves a really good chance at winning our division. I look back at it and I’m very happy with the team’s performance in general.”
Still, Southington’s campaign was far from over. They had the postseason to compete in. The Blue Knights wanted to parlay their regular season success into even greater achievements.
Blue Knights Shine At CCCs, Qualify For States
Heading into the postseason, McAloon didn’t want the lights to get too bright. The Blue Knights had worked diligently to get where they are. If they stuck to their tenets, the team would succeed.
“Heading into the postseason, it’s about applying all the things that we had practiced at that point,” McAloon said. “We had prepared for it. We talked about not making the moment any bigger. You really have to step back and focus, one shot at a time. Our guys did a really good job with that at CCCs.”
Southington didn’t get out to the start they wanted. Playing from the challenging white tees at Stanley Golf Course, the Blue Knights found themselves in the back of the back through the front nine. But Southington didn’t sheath their drivers and head back to the clubhouse.
Over an 18-hole tournament, McAloon and company knew that anything could happen. The Blue Knights battened down and focused on the goal at hand. They worked together as a team and bounced back from miscues. Once the final hole was played, Southington had carded a 308, finishing third out of 15 teams.
“It shows that there’s a great deal of resiliency with this group,” McAloon said. “They really bought into the mindset of team golf. Ultimately, a lot of people look at high school golf and look at the individual out there playing. But in order to succeed as a team you need all guys to play their role and check in with a strong round. Nobody let that bad start get the best of us, they stayed the course.”
At CCCs, junior Evan Moscibrodzki tied for third with a 74. Juniors Kaeden Bass and Ryan LaRosa both tied for 15th by shooting a 77 while senior Brady Staszewski tied for 36th with an 80.
Southington finished their season as a team competing at the Class LL State Championship. The Blue Knights finished 15th out of 16 teams with a 334. Staszewski and fellow senior Tyson Mahaffy both led the way by tying for 54th with an 82. Moscibrodzki tied for 62nd with an 83 while Bass tied for 76th with an 87. LaRosa rounded out the top five tied for 79th with an 88.
While McAloon admits it wasn’t the result Southington was hoping for, there were still plenty of positives. Staszewski and Mahaffy got to compete in their first state championship in their final year with the team. For those returning, each one will use the event as a building block to improve further.
“That was a great experience. I know it wasn’t the performance we were looking for. But they gave themselves a chance by being there and having a great season,” McAloon said. “It’s something that the senior captains didn’t have a chance to do to this point. That’s something they can hold their head high on. The guys returning next year, they learned some things from it. We’ll be looking forward to having that opportunity again next year.”
Southington Relies On Upperclassmen
Staszewski and Mahaffy were both four-year members of the Blue Knights. When McAloon took over the job, it didn't take long for him to see the character they brought to the program. Once named captains, the head coach was able to see their leadership skills advance further.
“Brady and Tyson for four years have been a key part of this program,” McAloon said. “I knew that as soon as I joined on, after meeting them and getting an idea of who they are. They’re high character student-athletes. They’re not the type of kids to fold under pressure. You’re never going to see them pouting or throwing a club or doing anything that would be detrimental to our program. Those guys have been incredible leaders. They’re definitely lead by example types of guys, showing up everyday, never missing practice and pushing their teammates to get better. They’ve been phenomenal.”
Jacob Baush-Lynch and Carson Cook make up the rest of Southington’s senior class. McAloon called them just as crucial to the program’s success. With each opportunity, both golfers did everything in their power to make the team stronger.
“They played just as important of a role as the guys that were headed to the tournament,” McAloon said. “They were part of competitive practices. Those guys were shooting competitive scores, out there pushing their teammates. They certainly deserve our recognition and played a role in our success.”
With many of the team’s top golfers in their junior class, McAloon has high expectations for the Blue Knights’ return to action. But with their already established camaraderie, he is confident they’ll be ready to hit the ground running and build off of the success 2025’s team achieved.
“The returning group we have is going to be very strong next year,” McAloon said. “All of those guys are good friends, they like playing golf. They golf together on the weekends. They played a huge role in the success of the team this year and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do for us next year. The sky’s the limit with the golf game and the type of kids we’re bringing to the table.”
The Southington boys golf roster features seniors: Jacob Baush-Lynch, Carson Cook, Tyson Mahaffy and Brady Staszewski; juniors: Kaeden Bass, Jakub Cieslik, Tyler Guerrette, Ryan LaRosa, Connor Matthews, Evan Moscibrodzki and Matthew Siboriboun; sophomores: Benjamin Borges, Jake Dumond and Max Marek; alongside freshmen: Blake Handel and Patrick Holland Jr. McAloon is joined by assistant coach Dave Yanosy.
Southington Boys Golf Builds Legacy
“Southington golf is heading in a great direction,” McAloon said. “There’s a lot of kids looking to be a part of it based on the numbers that show up. The sky’s the limit moving forward. Hopefully we can build that up with some of the youth programs to get that ball rolling.”
On the links, McAloon said the Blue Knights’ biggest strength was their ability to read courses. If a tree was in front of them, they’d be willing to take their medicine and salvage a bogey or par rather than take a circus shot in the leaves. It was a testament to the team’s maturity, as McAloon says that mentality isn’t always common with teenage golfers.
But beyond their prowess with a club in hand, Southington was willing to improve off the golf course, and succeed as a team. Their belief and buy-in for a collective goal drove the Blue Knights forward. The team is on the rise – not just in terms of numbers, but success. They are building a legacy of their own.
“They should look back and be very proud,” McAloon said. “It didn’t just start at the beginning of this season, it started last year when we talked about program goals and what we wanted to accomplish. They’ve lived up to that and put in the work. It’s pretty special to look back at a 14-3 season and third in the conference. That speaks to the work they’ve put in.”
