Time management is a recurring topic that many college coaches say their players struggle with on a regular basis. So why not prepare now for that transition. Once you get to college you will have to manage classes, workouts, practice, meetings, laundry, social activities, studying and traveling. It may seem easy to manage your time now, but you won’t have your parents there to help keep you on track and there are many more distractions once you get to college. You will be responsible for yourself, your time and your priorities.

Your college coach will determine much of your schedule but during the season they are only allowed to schedule 20 hours/week of practice, qualifying, workouts and meetings and 8 hours/week during the off season so you will have to manage your time during the other hours of the day. And most coaches will expect you to put in extra practice time and workouts beyond the scheduled hours so that 20 hours of golf usually becomes much more than that. And during weeks of competition you may only have 2 or 3 days of being home before you leave again for the next tournament so you must manage your time wisely both while away for the tournament and while you are back on campus.

Start now by setting a schedule at the start of the week. Write down all of your planned activities for the week, then schedule practice time, workouts and studying around your scheduled events. Prioritize activities and always get the important things done first. At the end of the week assess how you did with following your schedule. If you struggled to stay on track then plan accordingly for the upcoming week and make adjustments. Stick to your schedule and you’ll be able to get everything accomplished each week.

What else beyond their golf game can they do to better prepare for college golf?

“Time management is the biggest problem for Freshman. If you can start making a weekly schedule now it will help you when you get to college.”- Division 1 Women’s Coach

“Improved time management skills to help manage the year around golf schedule in college.” – Division 1 Women’s Coach