Photo Courtesy Of Gail Hall

Sun shining bright on her face, Senior Paula Danemann Soto walks the golf course with her sights set on the next hole. Carrying her 35-pound club bag with ease, she strikes every shot with poise and strategic club selection.

   Raised in Ensenada, Baja California, Danemann Soto’s early athletic career was mostly made up of defying perception, often having to play in male-dominated leagues due to no female counterpart existing. “It really forced me to work twice as hard, helping me build my character as an athlete,” said Danemann Soto.

   Occasionally playing as a kid in the driving range, Danemann Soto was finally able to realize her golf potential upon moving to San Diego during the pandemic. Joining the UC High Girls Golf Team once back in person, her sophomore year, she “instantly knew” that she would stay for the rest of her high school career.

   Danemann Soto reached a new personal benchmark this past September when she finished a 9-hole match against Bonita Vista High School with a 39-stroke score. Regarding the match, Danemann Soto said, “Everything just felt right. I wasn’t making any mistakes and I just felt connected with every single aspect. The score gave me much confidence and joy.”

   Head Coach Gail Hall couldn’t be happier with Danemann Soto’s role as the team captain. “She organizes all the group chats, instructs them on what to wear and where to be. She is in charge of all the communication with the team. During practice, she helps out the newer players and gets all the information,” said Hall.

   “Her score keeps dropping and dropping. She plays well with everybody and takes the game very seriously. She’s delightful,” said Hall.

   Senior Eliza Hudson, one of Danemann Soto’s closest friends and the team’s co-captain, considers her a role model to all. “She’s super dedicated to everything she does and I think that really resonates with the people around her,” said Hudson.

   Danemann Soto has also excelled in other sports across UC High. She played on the girls soccer team for three years and took an interest in track and field her sophomore year, where she does long jump and the 4-by-100-meter team race.

   She said, “I knew that I had to put more effort into [track and field] and that it was going to take up a lot of my time in high school. I started putting in the work and junior year was a great year for me. I long-jumped a personal record of 16 feet and 8 inches, and I also qualified for CIF that year. This experience has definitely given me a lot of self-confidence and motivation.”

   Junior Isa Neri said, “Paula is always one step ahead…. She’s been a huge motivator for me.” She added, “Paula’s best quality as a golfer is her consistency and as an individual, her sense of humor. As a team, we will miss a player that we could always count on.”

   Danemann Soto has found golf immensely helpful both on and off the course, taking lessons learned on the green with her moving forward. She said, “Golf has really taught me to stay calm. If you just lose control, every single shot that you take after that probably won’t reflect your best. It has helped me keep that mental aspect of sports in check.”

   She added, “I can’t imagine myself getting through a school year without athletics. Sports have been key to my development both personally and academically.”

   Although her time on the team may be nearing its end, Danemann Soto is immensely grateful to have partaken in the sport. She said, “Even when I have a bad round, I leave the course happy and I leave the course satisfied with those three hours that I spent there. I know they’re well spent and I’m going to miss that feeling of starting the year with golf and ending it with track.”