What is the RecruitPKB platform?
The path to collegiate golf can be difficult and intimidating. The first step in the recruiting process is establishing a game plan. That is where we come in. We are here to help you understand the process and help you achieve your dreams of playing college golf.
RecruitPKB offers a way to connect current PKBGT players with opportunities in the collegiate game. This new service offers advice from our college consultant, insight into the recruiting experience and ways to become a more complete golfer. Our network of over 650 PKBGT alumni in the college ranks along with our resource center can help you on your way to playing college golf.
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RecruitPKB: How to Contact a Coach
Last week I explained why I use the "contact 75+ schools" in all of my tips and checklists. I hope you had a chance to read that because that gets misunderstood quite often based on the situation. So this week I just wanted to provide a little insight into how you can go about contacting those coaches. Keep in mind, this is for initial communication and getting your name out there. It takes organizing your list into the programs you really want to focus on and then doing your best to build a relationship with those coaches. That takes quite a bit of time and effort so you can't expect to do that for all of the schools you may initially contact. Make sure you have a good resume that has all of the necessary information, along with a swing video. (Junior Golf Scoreboard has a great template for using their an online resume service.) If you are not a junior yet then [...]
RecruitPKB: Get Better vs Get Scholarship
I want to cover some topics during what is a busy time in the recruiting process for juniors and seniors as they are making their decisions to play college golf, whether it’s a verbal commitment in the coming months or signing their NLIs to make it official. This specific topic of Get Better vs Get Scholarship sparked my interest after a conversation I had with Coach Holly Clark at UNCC, who I absolutely love chatting with about all things college and junior golf. If you didn’t know, UNCC Women’s Golf is currently ranked 28th in just their 3rd season as a program! But something I have discussed with many coaches who have voiced this as a frustration in their recruiting and coaching approach is trying to distinguish between girls who are playing golf to get better and which ones are playing to earn a scholarship. So I wanted to spark some thoughts for the girls to consider as they are tackling this process [...]
RecruitPKB: What Freshmen and Sophomores Need to Know
Freshmen and sophomores..... are you wondering what you should be doing now that the NCAA rules prevent you from communicating with college coaches and taking visits? While the purpose of the revised NCAA rules was to limit the communication between coach and player so that early commitments could not happen and allow players more time to develop, this doesn't mean you can just sit back and wait. There are still many things you need to be doing before that date: Create a resume and video Introduce yourself to coaches via email Keep them updated on your progress and schedule Show your interest in the program Attend the right camps and showcases Take academic tours Play the right tournaments for your goals Develop your game and practice habits Improve the "intangibles" Begin a workout and nutrition regimen After 6 months of the process taking shape, we are seeing that coaches are focused on fewer players as potential recruits and are narrowing down their choices much quicker. [...]
RecruitPKB: Parents Being Awesome
I can not imagine where I would be today without the support of my parents. Yes, there are some parents out there of junior girls who need to look deep into how they behave and treat their daughters when it comes to their golf games. It breaks my heart sometimes to hear how girls feel because a parent has pushed them to a point of being so unhappy on the golf course so that was a big reason in starting this series. But so many of you are doing your best and having to learn as you go. I know its tough to want to see your daughter succeed and do well on the golf course but to have to watch her struggle. You have the ability to see years down the road and understand what this game and all of the experiences, opportunities, and growth it can provide for her. You want so badly to make sure she sticks with it even [...]
RecruitPKB: College Golf Qualifying
Let’s talk about qualifying once you get to college. Right now you’re seeing a lot of programs posting about team qualifying going on as their fall season continues. So how is qualifying handled? A general rule of thumb is that players will compete in a series of qualifying rounds, usually at a few different area courses, to earn a spot in the lineup for the first tournament. Ex: Players will play 5 rounds, the 3 lowest total scores will qualify for 3 spots and the coach has two picks. There are some cases that once a coach gets a lineup then they stick with those 5 players all fall season but usually players will have opportunities to earn their way on to the travel team throughout the season. Typically certain criteria are set to allow players in the tourney to earn their spot at the next tourney via a top finish or score. Depending on the turnaround time between tourneys sometimes the players [...]
RecruitPKB: Post-Round Conversations
I recently started a series through my newsletter called "My Two Cents" to share some advice and insight with parents of junior girls. This purpose is to share "my two cents" as having experienced being the daughter and golfer, but not being a parent myself. I have, however, spent 10 years consulting players and parents through their experience of playing junior golf, going through the college recruiting process, and as collegiate athletes, so I feel like I've witnessed a wide array of family dynamics to have a unique perspective. The car rides back home or to the hotel after a rough day on the golf course is dreaded by nearly every junior golfer to ever play the game. Even if you are the positive “keep your head up” type of parent or not one to get involved with your daughter’s golf game, it can still be a very long, miserable few mins to several hours in the car for her if she just [...]
RecruitPKB: Make Your Decision
This is the perfect time for this step of the process to be front and center as many 2020 and even 2021 recruits are making their college decisions. While this part of the process is very personal and specific to each player I wanted to share a few things to keep in mind as you are making your decision on where to play college golf. Consider all variables that you’ve learned thru the process and base your decision on the reasons that are important to you. These factors may be different than your friends (both golf and non-golf friends) so stick to what you feel is going to be right for you. Do not get caught up in the appearance of getting golf scholarship over what is the best fit. Yes, for many families the scholarship amount is a big part of the decision making process, but do your best to not let the idea and appearance of it override the better fit. In [...]
RecruitPKB: Begin the Research
Once you have your resume and video put together then you need to start researching schools and golf programs. You need to understand what it takes to compete at different programs and what the school offers in terms of academics, majors, class size, post grad success, tuition, and financial aid. Finding the right combination of strength of golf program that is realistic to your resume and abilities, along with the academic and personal preferences of the school can be difficult. Be sure when you start to do research that you utilize the PING College Guide and Golfstat.com to help you better understand the golf programs and how they rank. Keep in mind college scores are usually 2-3 strokes higher in comparison to what a score would be as a junior golfer due to the difficulty of course, conditions, and expectations of a collegiate golfer. Also, coaches are not looking to replace their 4th or 5th player, they are trying to replace their 3rd best [...]
RecruitPKB: Create a Recruiting Video
To go along with your resume, or as a follow up, you need to create a good quality recruiting video. A coach needs to physically see you, your swing and your short game, many times before they'll decide to come watch you in person or not. The video needs to be the correct angles, no unnecessary footage, good sound quality, and easily accessible for the coach. Keep it reasonably short so that a coach will watch it all the way thru (2-3 mins should be enough to get what you need, but no more than 5 mins max). You need a variety of swings at a minimum, plus some short game and putting. A good personal introduction is the perfect way to start the video. If you want to include some slow-mo swings that is ok, but you need regular speed swings. You can upload to YouTube or share as a Google or Dropbox file. A video of that size will be difficult to [...]
RecruitPKB: Understand The NCAA Rules
Over the past 2 years there have been some significant changes in the recruiting process that affect both players and coaches. It is imperative that you understand what is allowed at certain times, otherwise you will get very confused and misunderstand a coach’s intention. Most of the rules affect the coaches and their allowed contact with you as a prospective student athlete. There isn't much you can do in terms of coach contact that would get you in trouble but knowing the rules will help you be proactive in the correct way. You can see the updated rules from April of 2019 at this LINK along with some info on how the rules may affect you as a prospective student athlete at this LINK There are also many other rules beyond contact rules that you need to be aware of in the sense of amateur status, eligibility, and much more. You can learn about many of those rules at the NCAA Eligibility Center. [...]