Years in the making

For five years, Nolan Jensen kept coming back to the same tournament, hoping this would be the year he made it past the first day. This time, he didn’t just make it through. He and his teammates left Socorro as champions. 

Mesilla Valley Golf Academy’s 17U team won the PGA Junior League Sun Country Section Championship at New Mexico Tech Golf Course earlier this month, earning a trip to the regional tournament in Colorado. The victory capped a weekend in which 27 academy players from Las Cruces competed across four teams, with MVGA’s top 13U squad also reaching its championship match and finishing runner-up. 

“We knew as a team going into the tournament that we were most likely going to play the second day, so the first day was just about learning the course and having fun,” Jensen said. 

By Sunday, that confidence had begun turning into something more tangible. The 17U team advanced from qualifying into a four-team bracket and won its semifinal match, while an upset elsewhere in the bracket changed the picture of what stood between MVGA and the title. 

Jensen said the team returned to the clubhouse expecting to face the No. 1 seed on its home course. Instead, the players looked at the leaderboard and discovered the fourth seed had knocked off the favorite. 

“That’s when we all kind of looked at each other and were like, ‘We can win this,’” Jensen said. 

The team returned to the course with the same approach Jensen had emphasized throughout the day: make pars, stay composed and force the opponent to make mistakes. For Henry Stetina, co-owner of Mesilla Valley Golf Academy, there had already been signs earlier in the day that his players were ready for the moment. 

During the semifinal, Stetina watched players communicate across portions of the course where parallel holes allowed them to follow one another’s matches. 

“I could really sense that they were rooting for each other, bringing out the best of one another,” Stetina said. “And it was that time that I felt like, you know what? We really have a chance at winning this match but also going on and potentially winning the championship.” 

That support continued after players finished their own matches. Instead of settling in at the clubhouse, several went back onto the course to encourage teammates who were still competing, including those struggling through their rounds. 

“We’re building junior golfers, but we’re also building champions in life,” Stetina said. “That’s exactly what they were at that time because they went back out to uplift their teammates.” 

When the championship was secured, years of work gave way to celebration. Players gathered around their coaches and dumped water on them — A moment Jensen said allowed him to reflect on nearly a decade spent in Stetina’s programs and the many attempts it took to reach this point. 

“For me, the celebration was about taking it all in,” Jensen said. “I’ve been in Henry’s programs for about 10 years and thought about winning this tournament since the first time I had played in it. It was about looking back on all the hard work.” 

The accomplishment carried additional weight for Stetina, who said it marked the first time one of his Las Cruces teams had won the section event. He began coaching PGA Junior League locally in 2018 after taking over a program with six players, then expanded it to 106 participants within a year. Many of the children entering the program had little experience with golf, he said, and some of the players who eventually became part of the championship group have been around since those early years. 

MVGA operates programs at Red Hawk Golf Club and Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, where players practice and compete throughout the year. The academy’s younger players nearly added another title in Socorro. MVGA’s top 13U team reached the final after advancing through qualifying and winning its semifinal before falling to an experienced Albuquerque team. For some of the players, Stetina said, the final day brought their first experience playing 18 holes in the competition. 

“I saw them with their heads down at times, but they picked it up,” Stetina said. “They competed. They walked off the golf course proud together.” 

For the 17U champions, the next step will take them beyond New Mexico. The regional tournament is scheduled for Oct. 2-4 in the Denver area, where MVGA will face other section champions for an opportunity to advance to the PGA Junior League national championship in Albuquerque. 

“Personally, I get a lot of satisfaction introducing kids to golf,” Stetina said. “I get to share my joy for the game with them and all the things that I’ve learned and experienced through golf might be in their future.” 

For Jensen, Stetina’s influence already stretches well beyond tournament results. Jensen said Stetina began teaching him when he was 6 years old and at the time, could barely hit a golf ball 50 yards. As he grew older, Stetina became someone Jensen could turn to after a difficult round or whenever something felt wrong with his game. 

“Coach Henry has meant everything to me,” Jensen said. “Everything that I am able to accomplish in the game of golf is because of him.” 

That relationship has also helped Jensen navigate the mental side of golf, where frustration can affect a player long after a bad shot. He credited Stetina with teaching him patience and helping him develop a more positive mindset, lessons that have followed him away from competition as well. 

“He gives countless hours of time and energy to me,” Jensen said. “I text him after a bad round or if something feels off in my game, and he is always there to meet up.” 

For Jensen, however, one of the clearest measures of how far he and Stetina have come together can be found in two photographs. 

About three or four years ago, Jensen and Stetina took a picture together at the same course during the same tournament. Before returning this year, they talked about recreating it for fun. They eventually did, standing together once again after years of practices, tournaments, and lessons. 

Only this time, they had something new to put in the frame. 

“After we had won, we got to put the trophy in the picture with us to make the moment even better,” Jensen said.