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: What NOT to do with an intro email
This past week I received a message from a college coach who wanted to share an email she had received. This email had so many things wrong with it that she wanted to make sure others knew and didn't make similar mistakes. I won't share the actual email but I do want to list out the mistakes that both myself and the coach concluded were necessary to address. Keep in mind this email was considered an "introductory email" where you are trying to make the best impression on a coach. The email was written and sent by the parent and not the player, a major turnoff to most all college coaches The email was typed on a phone and not a computer, leading to numerous formatting, grammatical and spelling errors. Simple words like "you" and "and" were shortened to "u" and "n" The very first sentence addressed the cost of tuition, something that should be discussed later There was no resume or important info [...]
RecruitPKB: Are You an Athlete?
Are you an athlete or do you just play a sport? This is a question that I have struggled with honestly answering for a lot of my life. For a long time, I thought I was an athlete simply bc I had the physical ability to play sports. I grew up playing basketball, softball, volleyball, and golf. I only played basketball until my sophomore year of high school but continued playing volleyball and of course golf throughout high school. I thought that because I was pretty good at them that meant I was a good athlete. And I thought because I went on to be a collegiate and professional golfer that meant I was a successful athlete. Now, years later, I finally realize what being an athlete really means. Every day, through my actions and decisions, I strive and sometimes struggle, to continue to become a better athlete in hopes that it encourages rising junior golfers to embrace their inner true athlete. I wanted to share a few [...]
PerformPKB: So Many Tournaments… Which Ones to Play in 2018?
by Chris Finn, MSPT, CSCS, TPIMP - Founder, Par4Success I had the recent honor of speaking to a large group of junior golfers and their parents down in Pinehurst and one of the topics we discussed was the all-important question of "what is the point of a tournament?" I was very pleasantly surprised at the answers I received from those in attendance as they ranged from having fun to learning how to compete and everything in between. The #1 goal of playing in a competitive tournament is to learn. If you are playing competitively, your goal needs to be to assess your game in the competitive environment and take away something from the experience that propels your game forward. Unfortunately, many kids and parents are so concerned with winning that if they don't win or shoot a higher score than expected the totally miss out on the growth opportunity. There were more than a few top 20 PGA and LPGA professionals who did [...]
RecruitPKB: Q and A with Western Kentucky
RecruitPKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson recently conducted Q and As with college coaches at all division levels across the country. Here is some insight from Coach Adam Gary, Head Women's Golf Coach at mid-ranked DI Western Kentucky University. Do you prefer that a recruit fills out the online questionnaire or sends their resume? Or both? I really like to have both. It's nice to have all of the player's information in one place with our questionnaire database, but I like to get more detailed information from the resume also. What do you look for when observing a recruit on the course? I look for how a player interacts with their parents, players and host facilities. I think it's important to have good body language and show gratitude toward parents/volunteers. Obviously, I'm interested in technique, power, course management and short game skills as well. How important is it that a golfer needs to begin a workout program before freshman year? Extremely important. I think a [...]
RecruitPKB: Include Your References
"This is frustrating. A request with no opportunity to respond. It would be good if you could do a blog to your mailing list and tell kids to be specific about times, places, (swing) coach's numbers for responses and figure out whether or not the coach is interested....... By the way, I think it's rude if I just no-show a kid and I wouldn't do that if it was possible to avoid it, but this makes it tough to avoid. My goal is to treat all players with dignity and kindness whether or not we are interested or not." This past week a college coach at a top 75 ranked DI program forwarded an email to me that she received from a 2020 recruit. She thought if I shared why the email frustrated her as a coach it might help others not make the same mistake. The email was a request for a last minute visit because the player was going to be in [...]
RecruitPKB: Q and A with Lee University Coach
RecruitPKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson recently conducted Q and As with college coaches at all division levels across the country. Here is some insight from Coach John Maupin, head women's golf coach at top 20 ranked DII Lee University. Do you prefer that a recruit fills out the online questionnaire or sends their resume? Or both? We prefer to receive their resume, it is much more likely to get our attention in a timely manner that way. What do you look for when observing a recruit on the course? Very rarely are we looking for a specific result when observing a recruit on the course. We already typically have a good idea of their average score, so we are trying to observe the intangibles. How do they prepare for their round? How do they react when something goes wrong? Do they communicate/rely on their parents for things? How is their composure/focus on the course? Those are examples of the things that we are [...]
RecruitPKB: Is It Too Early?
After giving up my professional golf career in 2010, I started working with junior golf families throughout the college recruiting process. I was speaking at high schools and tournaments all across the country about the realities of college recruiting and how to navigate the process. This was the first time I had become aware of how much the process had changed since I had gone through it as a junior golfer. One of the biggest eye openers for me was how early the process starts (and ends) and how unaware some families were about what it takes to play at the college level. I am a huge believer in keeping the game fun and not putting too much pressure on a young player. Nowadays there seems to be a lot more responsibility put on kids and more specialization of sports at a young age. I couldn’t imagine not having the experiences I had as a 3 sport athlete. Unfortunately, those are rare these days. [...]
RecruitPKB: Happy New Year
Wow! Another year has flown by! I hope you are excited about 2018. As we kick off this new year, I wanted to pass along a few ideas on ways to approach the new year in terms of junior golf and college recruiting. As we all know many people like to set resolutions and goals at the start of a new year. These can range from work to fitness to financial to personal goals and resolutions. So why not take advantage of the start of the year excitement and write down a few goals of your own for golf and college recruiting. As you have read in many of my articles, outcome goals only give you a reference for creating your goals, you must dig deeper and create smaller, actionable goals in order to achieve those outcome goals. A dream is only as big as the plan you set to achieve it. And setting a plan is still only the first step, you must [...]
RecruitPKB: Merry Christmas
I just wanted to take this time to say a very Merry Christmas to all of the PKB Girls Tour members and their families. This is such a wonderful time to spend with family and friends. I hope you are enjoying the holiday season as much as I am. Safe travels to all of you who are on the roads this time of year.
Recruit PKB: Don’t Overlook DIII Programs
"As a DIII coach, I see families who overlook the experience that can be had at a DIII level for a strong player." This was the answer to “what is the biggest mistake you see junior golf families make in the recruiting process?” John Rogers, Head Coach at DIII Bridgewater College gave a great answer to shed some light on the experience you can receive playing DIII college golf. Yes, it’s great to have a big goal of playing DI golf but that isn’t always the fit nor the best opportunity for many players. And don’t be scared off by the absence of “golf scholarships”, I have seen numerous players get as good if not better packages at a good DIII program than any DI or DII program was going to offer. Coach Rogers full quote: “As a DIII coach I see families who overlook the experience that can be had at the DIII level for a strong player (potential access to national championship, [...]