Kane Lauterman '20 Recruiting Profile

I come from a very competitive family. As a young boy, I wanted to beat my dad at everything from golf to ping pong. During our intense contests, my dad would never let me win, I had to earn it!  As I look back, I feel it was a very important life -lesson for me because it taught me from a young age, that simply showing up in life was no guarantee for success. I am now 17 years old and I still embrace that concept. My actual love for golf started in 8th grade, although I had been exposed to it as a young boy.
One major struggle that I had to deal with fairly early in my life, was when my family moved to Hong Kong for three long years when I was 12 years old. I had to leave my home, my school and my friends and adjust to an entirely new way of life. It was a very difficult transition for me academically as well as socially. When I returned to the United States, and enrolled in my old school, nothing felt as comfortable as it once did. My friends had moved on to other friends and I was not doing well academically or socially in middle school.
My second big obstacle was dealing with an eventual dual diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder coupled with dyslexia ! My inability to focus on my assignments and difficulty reading had a negative impact on my self confidence in general. There were moments in that period of my life when I felt like giving up and quitting but that was not how I was raised by my loving and caring parents. Because of the early lessons I learned in life, I chose to persevere through school rather than just “show up “ Although it has been a rough road, I firmly believe these experiences have helped build my character.
I had played golf recreationally but as my middle school career came to an end, I became obsessed with the game. Each time I went out on the course to play a round, I became more addicted to the many different challenges the game has to offer. As a direct result, I cultivated a deep determination to improve my skills.

The game of golf has taught me much about myself and life itself. The inevitable “bad breaks” that arise in any given round of golf are opportunities for me to test my resolve and my character. The same logic applies to my life in general; I practice acceptance in my life and try to win with grace and lose with dignity. Another important part of life for me is academics. Thus far in high school, I have consistently achieved Honor Roll status each grading period. I plan to earn a bachelor’s degree while hopefully competing in golf at at an accelerated level. Due to my achievements on the golf course and in the classroom, I was awarded a Merit membership to the Meadow Club in Fairfax, California.
I think what truly sets me apart from my competition is my natural drive and competitiveness in all aspects of my life.