There isn’t much Albert Lea senior Kelli Hanson tries that she doesn’t do well in, but in her final season on the girls’ golf team she’s learned how to handle things when they don’t go perfect.

The pressure and stress of trying to do everything perfectly has hurt her play at times, especially during the state tournament last season. She’s has worked to change her mindset entering a round and will savor her second trip to the state tournament when she begins play at Bunker Hills Golf Course Tuesday in the Class 3A tournament.

She advanced to the state tournament after posting back-to-back 81s at the section tournament to finish tied for second.

Hanson finished tied for 57th last season with a two-day total of 183. She shot 90 her first round and 93 her second round. She conceded that nerves and other distractions got the better of her, but she’s ready to put that behind her this time.

“I’m going into it kind of without nerves,” Hanson said. “Last year I was really nervous about it, but this year it’s just going to be fun. I don’t want to try to worry about placing or anything like that. I just want to play golf because I think getting to the state tournament is a big enough accomplishment in itself.”

Pressure is something Hanson has dealt with throughout her career as the No. 1 singles player on the girls’ tennis team this past season, the starting goaltender in girls’ hockey and the No. 1 player on the girls’ golf team since her seventh-grade year, not to mention she’s a 4.0 student and class valedictorian.

“She’s kind of gotten over that hump of pressure and stress and ‘Oh my god, I gotta do this,’” said Tigers head coach Shawn Riebe. “She’s really enjoying golf and that’s why the end of the season has gone well for her because she’s finding a point where she’s taking it in and enjoying the moment as opposed to forcing herself to have to play well.”

While she’s content to just play in the state tournament, she’s certainly capable of playing with the state’s best. Last season she shot 80 in her practice round, but worrying about the weather, bugs and a new driver during the competition was a burden.

Her determination to be perfect has been tempered through golf where no round is ever perfect.

“I think I try to strive too far toward perfection than I really need to,” Hanson said. “I think that this (golf) is a definite step toward knowing that I don’t need to be perfect.”

While Hanson, who is ranked at No. 44 by the Minnesota Golf Association, is handling imperfection better these days, her senior season has turned out to be nearly perfect as the team won the Big Nine Conference and went undefeated during the regular season. It was the first conference title for the team since 1995 and Hanson would have been just as satisfied with the season if she didn’t make the state tournament.

“I’ve always wanted the team to be successful,” she said. “If I would have totally blown up at sections and not made it to state I still would have seen it as a very successful year because the team did very well.”

Even with making the state tournament for a second consecutive season Hanson still points to the team’s success as the highlight of the season.

Golf has also helped Hanson break out of her normally reserved shell. As a younger player she was typically the quiet one on the team, but with maturity she has grown into the role of being a leader. She’s used her own experiences to help create an inclusive environment on the team this season, especially with the younger members like freshman Morgan Field and eighth-grader Megan Pulley.

“I definitely had to learn how to be a little more outgoing,” she said. “As I got a little older, I think I was a little more included in things and so I’ve kind of tried to include the younger girls as I’ve gotten be an older person on the team because I think it’s important to have senior friends and people to look up to. I think golf has definitely helped me in that.”

Hanson will use all of the lessons she’s gained from the course this fall when she heads off for the University of Minnesota to attend the Carlson School of Management.

“Rarely do you get a girl that’s a three-sport starting athlete in ninth grade and valedictorian of the class and can pretty much take anything that she wants to do and do it at an unbelievable level,” Riebe said. “She’s definitely going to be one of the most amazing people you’re going to meet in your life.”