What advice would you give parents to better support their kids throughout junior golf?

“Don’t make decisions or discourage the decisions your children make. Help them learn how to do things for themselves.” – D1 Men’s and Women’s Coach

“Let the kid push themselves because in golf you need to be self-motivated once you get to college golf” – D1 Women’s Coach

“Let them be responsible for themselves, making schedules, filling out applications” – D1 Men’s Coach

“Stay out of the way and don’t interfere with golf swings. Let the instructor or coach deal with it and let it be their responsibility” – D2 Men’s and Women’s Coach

“Parents need to realize that not every kid is going to be a superstar, in fact, most often, their child will excel when they play a supportive role behind the scenes.” – D1 Women’s Coach

How much of an influence does parent behavior have on your decision to recruit a player?

“More than they might imagine!” – D2 Men’s and Women’s Coach

“A ton. Don’t recruit some kids because of their parents. But also, don’t recruit some kids because of the way they treat their parents.” – D1 Women’s Coach

“Their relationship is very important. If a parent is doing all of the coaching, hovers all the time, that is a huge red flag to the coach. Conversely, if the player is rude to the parent, I want nothing to do with that player. I am old fashioned enough to see the ‘apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’. A parent will never help me decide to recruit a player, but they can always hurt” – D1 Men’s Coach

“I watch parents as much as recruits to see how they interact and treat each other. I also watch to see how involved they are going to be in everything the recruit is doing, don’t need a parent telling me how to coach their son or daughter”. – D1 Men’s and Women’s Coach

“A lot! I will not recruit a player that has a know it all parent or an overbearing parent because I don’t want the hassle – D2 Men’s and Women’s Coach

“Parent behavior doesn’t have an ultimate influence, but it is a factor.” – D1 Women’s Coach

 

– Survey questions provided by Brandi Jackson Golf (www.brandijacksongolf.com). Responses do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Brandi Jackson Golf or the PKBGT.