From the Sidelines: Tyler Lee’s Annaka Watts

Published 8:36 pm Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Name: Annaka Watts

School: Robert E. Lee High School, Tyler

Parents names: Ron and Cindy Watts

Brothers/sisters: no siblings

Sports you play: Golf

Favorite high school sports memory: I have a lot of great high school memories, but one of my favorite memories was shooting 1-under par 71 in a high school tournament (2020) at Hidden Falls Golf Course in Marble Falls, Texas. My other favorite sports memory was riding down the hall of the hotels with some of my teammates on the baggage carts the night before a tournament. Good times!

Plans after high school: I am going to Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.

If college, what schools are you considering, and what do you plan to major in? I will be playing golf for Texas Wesleyan, starting in fall of 2020. I am not totally sure about my major but I will be studying in some area of exercise science, physical therapy with possibly some psychology thrown in.

Favorite song: Honky Tonk Badonkadonk

Favorite food: Spaghetti … all the way!

Favorite TV show: Friends

Favorite movie: High School Musical

Who are your role models? My parents and President Trump

Which coaches have had the most influence on you? Why? I have had encouragement from a lot of great coaches over the years but if I have to pick one, Coach Christian Sarran from The First Tee has had the most influence on me. I spent a lot of years at The First Tee of Greater Tyler with Coach Christian. He was always encouraging. He helped teach me the game of golf as well as some life lessons. As far as high school, Coach John Taylor was there for me when I was playing great or terrible and he always found a way to put me in a better mood. Coach Taylor would always ask me “Annaka, what are the two enemies of golf?” And I would say, “Greed and anger!”

Who is your favorite teacher? Coach Kniffen at Lee because he would let me watch “The Masters” golf tournament in class.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I hope to be in some type of sports medicine helping athletes as well as others with their pain and injuries.

Something about yourself that most people don’t know: Most people do not know that I had seizures for several years as a kid. I was blessed to have grown out of those seizures, unlike a lot of other kids, so I was asked to be in a research study by my neurologist at the time. During the research study I was followed for a few years; frequent phone calls checking on my progress and I had to do all kinds of tests once a year at a Dallas hospital. Hopefully, the data they got from me will someday help them treat other kids with the same type of seizures.

What will you miss most about high school sports? I will miss being together with my friends. I will miss the golf team (and) Coach while traveling, eating, telling stories and enjoying ourselves after a tournament. I will definitely miss not being able to finish my high school year and especially my last high school golf season due to the coronavirus.

Notes: Watts is a two-time winner of the Azalea Trail Junior Golf Classic. She won the Hollytree event in 2017 and 2019. She will defend her title in the tournament, which is scheduled for July 20-21 in Tyler.