Moises Rocha does everything with a smile – he has to.

Life isn’t a cake-walk for the Federal Way Eagles golfer. The high school senior has juggled personal challenges at home and in his own head.

But Rocha simply takes a deep breath and smiles anyway. His smile and raw ability helped him emerge as the Eagles’ leading scorer this year, averaging 11.6 points per meet, and earned him his first trip to the 4A State Qualifier Oct. 17-18 at Gold Mountain Golf Course, where Rocha made the cut to play on day two.

Despite managing anxiety and regularly watching a toddler, all while trying to be a top golfer with the focus of breaking into the professional circuit, Rocha was named the Eagles 2016 Player of the Year.

Though the road to reaching the PGA ranks is a winding one, Rocha said, like everything else, he’s looking forward to the challenge of getting there and to do it with a smile.

“I always watch the professionals,” Rocha said. “They always have a serious or confident face, they never throw a tantrum. I believe it’s proper to keep correct posture, keep your head up and smile. It should be fun to be an adult who gets to play a kids game.”

Bart Turchin, the first-year head coach for the Federal Way golf program, said he knew of Rocha by name and reputation only. Their first interaction came on the golf course at Northshore in late August for the first day of team tryouts.

“I knew of him last year, heard about what he was doing with this program,” Turchin said. “Within the first couple minutes, you could tell he’s the nicest kid you’ll ever meet.”

Picking up the game

Growing up in Federal Way, Rocha spent a lot time trying to figure out something he could do to spend time with his father.

After much trial and error, the two found golf. An instant bond formed.

But almost immediately, Rocha found the game, and the potential for success hidden within, a tough nut to crack.

“Golf started as a hobby, as a way to connect with my dad,” Rocha said. “I never really looked at the game competitively. I never had the expectation that I would be good at it.”

Rocha said he didn’t view the game as much of a sport at all growing up. Instead, he found the peaceful-yet-challenging game to be the perfect escape. His own version of Neverland.

It was his time, he said, and his time alone, to be around his dad without the stress of school, the hectic work schedules, and the family’s bills.

Those were the days that inspired him to do more.

“I wanted to make a career out of it,” Rocha said. “Hopefully make it university-level and possibly the professional-level.”

So far so good.

Rocha tried out for the Eagles golf team his freshman year and, as expected, made the team. Now the leader of that team, Rocha helped lead Federal Way to a five-win season and impressive league tournament results.

But he rarely thinks about the wins. It’s the losses to Kennedy Catholic and Kentwood, and it’s not finishing first in the league tournaments, that quite literally keep him up at night.

Being the best is the only option

Rocha finds himself awake at odd hours in the morning.

It’s not uncommon for him to look at his phone and see it reading 2:30 or 3 a.m. He wakes up in a slight panic, sweating, with his heart racing.

Rocha regularly dreams about a crucial putt he missed, that ball he sliced on the ninth green, that bogey on the par 4 from days or even weeks earlier.

Golf can be a cruel mental game, and on many nights, it gets the best of him.

“With golf being a mental game, you have to leave everything outside,” Rocha said. “That’s always been a challenge for me. When I wake up, it’s tough to shake that stuff off.”

Just like when he was a kid, Rocha said the only thing he’s been able to do to shake those thoughts is to get back out on the Northshore grass as fast as possible. There, the restless thoughts determine his approach at the driving range: The harder they are to let go of, the more balls he goes through.

While he takes swing after swing after swing, he forces himself to only think positive thoughts.

“I’ve been day-dreaming as I play, I guess you could say,” Rocha said. “Just thoughts like, ‘If I can replicate a shot during a match, it’s a shot that could put me in the professional ranks.’”

Turchin said he’s aware of the mental struggles his team leader goes through. But he said once Rocha gets out on the course, it’s like they don’t exist.

As a former PGA golfer, Turchin has seen a wide variety of demeanor on the course at every level. He said Rocha’s is one of the best he’s ever seen.

“Whether he plays well or not, he’s always got a smile on his face,” Turchin said.

“He’s just so consistent,” Turchin said. “All you have to do is look at his points per match. Very little fluctuation between each match. He’s always solid, always consistent.”

Rocha admitted his short game, specifically putting, is not where it should be. It doesn’t match the rest of his skill set.

It’s what keeps him up at night the most.

Rocha said a lot goes into being a solid putter, from feeling the nooks and crannies of the greens, to reading them properly, to getting the right speed and break.

Turchin echoed Rocha’s need to improve his putting, but said he’s seen tremendous improvement after talking it out.

“I think if he putted better (this year) he’d have scored a lot more,” Turchin said. “We sat down, had a nice conversation about it, now he’s building to the future.”

Family first

Being invited to compete at the state qualifier tournament is quite an accomplishment for Rocha given what he’s had to battle all season long.

Not only do the misses, pars and bogies limit his time on the course, but family responsibility does as well.

Rocha doesn’t have an after-school job. He doesn’t need one. Taking care of his 2-year-old sister while his parents work full time is a job in its own right.

He said the surge in responsibility has made him extremely grounded. It’s helped make clear to him that there’s more to life than being a wild teenager.

“I’m really more of a stay-at-home kid,” Rocha said. “If I’m not on the course, I’m probably at home with my sister.”

The responsibility comes with consequences, though.

Watching his sister on an almost-daily basis caused him to miss multiple days of practice this season. Turchin said Rocha’s teammates were understanding, realizing also that some things are bigger than even sports.

“He’s had to miss days this year because he has to take care of his sister,” Turchin said. “His teammates always ask him if he needs anything, anything they can do to help. I think that kind of responsibility has made him a stronger player.”

Rocha said he’s thankful to have the responsibility. Helping his family raise a 2-year-old has taught him great lessons in patience.

The lesson carries over onto the golf course. It helps tame the 3 a.m. worries. As far as his career goals go, watching a child is a subtle blessing.

“It’s taught me that patience is everything,” Rocha said. “Taking care of her has given me the patience I’ve needed on the course.”

What’s next

Patience played a large part in Rocha, along with teammate Carter Berry, representing the Eagles in the state qualifier. It’s also helped clear his head enough to determine the next step he takes in golf.

Rocha said the next step is to take time and bring down his handicap score. In order to do that, Turchin said, practice is key.

“I wanted to be on the tour when I was a kid, too,” he said. “But looking back now, you don’t realize how many hours and hours the people you see on TV work. Moises will have to learn on his own that it’ll take four to five hours a day. Dedicating your life to get better at it. It’s just practice, wanting it.”

To accomplish that, Rocha plans to start at Seattle Community College, where he can lower his handicap and potentially get some looks from Division I programs. He’d like to be recruited and signed by the University of Washington or the University of Southern California, which he hopes will lead to earning his player card with the PGA.

But, just as he’s handled his late-night doubts and his family responsibilities, he’s got a plan in case his player career doesn’t pan out.

“If that doesn’t work, I’d love to be a golf coach,” Rocha said. “I just want to be around the game I love.”