The North Haven golf team gravitated towards a great deal of recognition among the SCC and state rankings in 2024. One of the biggest focal points of that progress was the uprising of the youth on the roster, including the rousing rookie year of James Sagnella.

The incoming sophomore grew up playing football, basketball, and baseball before he was steered towards the links by his family. James came into his own as a freshman this year for the Nighthawks. He was part of North Haven attaining tandem top five finishes at both of its postseason draws by finishing runner-up at the SCC Championship and fifth for states in Division II–as he shot a 79 for his states round. He also attained a spot on the All-SCC Team and finished 10th overall at the State Open.

“Golf is such a hard sport, but it is so rewarding at the same time. You develop a sense for the game, and you continue to get better. You never fully master the game, and you are striving to get better daily,” says James. “I am blessed to have my dad helping me, as he played golf when he was younger. He helped me get a sense of the game. I also think hanging in there mentally has been big. It has helped give me chances to succeed and move onto the next opportunity, rather than dwelling on a past mistake.”

When he reflects back on his state championship performance, James recalls it got off to an auspicious start. Rather than be intimidated by the slow start on the big stage as a rookie, he took a mature mentality and just put one foot in front of the other and strung together some solid strokes.

“It is a tough sport, and I did not have the best start and had bogeys on a couple of holes,” says James. “I think one of the things I did well that day was forgetting about those bad holes and focusing on the next shot. I just kept continuing to push myself forward and not worry about the next shot. I just hung in there and gritted it out.”

With more reps on the green, it yields more of a tenure. James explains that he saw some great ebbs and flows through all of his time out there. It also gave him an emotional boost by showing that any one disastrous showing is certainly something that can be surpassed.

“As I started playing more, I developed more experience. I had good sessions and rounds after bad ones with that experience,” James says. “From that, I started to see that one bad round or practice session will not define me. I started to also see that yesterday does not matter. The experience that I gained really taught me that you have to let things go from the past and just focus on today.”

James openly and honestly admits he can grab better positioning when it comes to setting himself up to reach the pin. Yet once he is inside or near the hole, he can tally some superb marks on his scorecard with his putter and wedges.

“I can definitely improve on my ball striking and putting myself in better positions on the fairways,” says James. “But I think my putting, chipping, and overall short game have improved over the years. If I am not having the best day, I can get around that by using my short game to help me still have a decent score.”

The youthful element of the Nighthawks’ clubhouse this year bred a lively atmosphere wrought with competition. Yet the boys never lost sight of why they were all there: to help the team attain victories and success on the biggest stages of the sport.

“We had a lot of freshmen on the team, and so with the younger team, it pushed a more fun and competitive environment last year,” James says. “We also had a really good coaching staff that helped us this year. Everyone wanted to start and play well. We won and lost as a team, and that unit factor helped us be successful.”

James’ impact on the team was not only shown on his and the squad’s scorecards on match day. It was evident daily and year-round with his personality and work ethic becoming really infectious to a majority of the club, according to Head Coach Kevin St. Pierre.

“James came to the North Haven High School program with tons of experience prior to high school. Not only does he bring the passion to the team, he is also a great student-athlete and person to be around. He is always smiling and having fun. James' dedication to the game has not gone unnoticed, as many times after practice I will find him on the practice putting surface or range working to get better,” says St. Pierre. “His hardworking traits and passion were contagious to the rest of the team. About midway through the season, it wasn't just James working after practice. 70% of the team was staying and trying to get better. It was a fantastic site to see.”

The boys will look to parlay the strides made in James’ freshman season into future postseason prizes for the program. James eagerly anticipates being part of the development of the group as they go for the gold, while he just looks to keep his solo targets quite simplistic.

“I think we put ourselves in a great spot at SCCs and states this year, and our goal going forward is to win one if not both of those,” says James. “Seeing this young team grow over the next couple of years will be fun, and I am looking forward to it. For myself, I want to see constant improvement in my game, and then just see what happens from there.”