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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Recruit PKB: Support Without Pushing Too Hard
The next series of "Recruit PKB: Recruiting Process" articles will cover a parent's role in the different aspects of the college recruiting process. The first topic addressed is one that I get asked very often from parents who are concerned with pushing their daughter too hard, but who also know their daughter needs some guidance and structure in order to stay on track towards her goal of playing college golf. I am not a parent myself but I do understand that there is a very thin line between pushing too hard and just trying to keep a young girl motivated to succeed. Below are 5 recommendations that I believe can help a parent understand how to best support their daughter and work together as a team throughout the recruiting process. Continue to ask your daughter what she wants out of her golf: First and foremost, it must always be about what she wants from playing golf and not what the parent wants. Given that [...]
Recruit PKB: College Coach Perspective Part 5
As many players make their college decision over the next few months here are some thoughts to consider that college coaches feel are important factors. From a coach's perspective, what are some factors to help a junior golfer determine the right fit? “Do they like the school, the coach and the team? Does the school have the correct major for the student? It is important to establish a relationship with the coach and to know the students on the team. The student must be qualified academically. The student has to have a solid tournament record.” – D1 Coach “The Coach, what is expected by the coach out of the student athlete, size of school, area of study, how far you want to be from home, the team.” – D1 Coach “Does the school have my major field of study? How many players are on the team? Is the program set up to help me elevate my game from a practice environment?”- D1 Coach “Learning [...]
Recruit PKB: College Coach Perspective Part 4
This is part 4 of a series based on a survey sent out to 50+ college coaches at all division levels. This is great feedback from college coaches on what mistakes they see happen most often during the recruiting process. What mistake do you see most often happen throughout the recruiting process? “The parents and the students think their daughter is better than she is and continually makes excuses about high scores. Also, the parents and students make decisions on how much scholarship is offered vs the right fit and where the student will be happy and improve.” – D1 Coach “Parents talking to the coaches at tournaments when coaches cannot talk back. Remember we cannot talk to a parent until July 1st before the senior year.” – D1 Coach “Choosing a college based largely on social life and/or a significant other. The lore of big time Division I and/or facilities. A grand facility will not make you a better player; it may give [...]
Recruit PKB: Happy Father’s Day
"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He BELIEVED in me" - Anonymous We all know that I couldn't write a Mother's Day article and not do one for Father's Day, especially since I am a proud "daddy's girl". Don't worry though, I haven't gone completely "sappy" in all of my articles. But as I get older and work with more and more junior golf families, it has certainly led to a better appreciation for what my parents did for me during my golf career. I just hope that by sharing my experiences with the girls, they will have a better understand of the opportunity they have to play golf, travel and compete. I believe true appreciation, gratitude and awareness are key components of a strong, mentally tough competitor. It's not the case for all girls who play golf, but typically the father-daughter relationship is very influential throughout a junior girl's golf career. I know for me, it was [...]
Recruit PKB: Happy Mother’s Day!
With Mother's Day around the corner I thought this would be a great chance to give all of those golf mom's some recognition for what they do. Because many times it tends to be the dad who does most of the coaching and caddying, the moms don't always get the credit they deserve. Many of their responsibilities are pre-tournament or behind the scenes such as getting the junior golfer to practice everyday, signing up for tournaments, booking travel, packing, providing snacks and being the cheerleader. From my own experience, my mom always made sure I had snacks on the course. Sometimes it was a superstition factor that decided what she would pack, such as marshmallows, other times it was grapes, granola bars or a sandwich. She helped plan my travel as a junior golfer and made sure I packed what I would need on the road. When my dad wanted to recap my round she would always remind him that I probably didn't actually [...]
Recruit PKB: Warm Up Like a Pro
I hope many of you got the chance to watch The Masters this past week. I know for me it is definitely "a tradition unlike any other". I've been fortunate to attend 10+ times starting when I was just 6 or 7 years old. I absolutely love the thrill of walking in the gates and seeing the beauty of Augusta National that not even the best HD TV can come close to capturing. But the part I like the most is the chance to watch the players warm up. I could spend the majority of my day down there sitting on the practice area watching the players warm up. You may not be able to hit the ball like the pros do or putt like they do but you can certainly learn a few things from how they go about warming up and getting ready to play. Notice how deliberate they are when hitting balls on the range. They don't just hit balls to [...]
Recruit PKB: Upcoming Schedule
A very important step to remember is to email coaches with your upcoming schedule. Heading into the spring and summer months is a great time to get this done. Coaches have no way of knowing where you will be playing unless you tell them. So if you want them to come out and watch make sure you let them know where you are going to be. Don't wait until the end of summer to send them your results, make the opportunity available for them to come out and watch you play. For 2015 recruits, coaches are able to reply to your emails so it's a great idea to ask them where they plan to be this summer or if they have any suggestions for tournaments. This way you can try to play in tournaments that you know they plan to attend so you have a higher chance of them seeing you play. If you are a sophomore or younger you don't want to ask [...]
Recruit PKB: Just Say No to Negative Self Talk
Every time you hit a bad shot, have a bad hole or make a mental mistake stop for a second and ask yourself this question. What would I tell my playing partners if they did the same thing? I highly doubt you would tell them "that was stupid" or "geez what were you thinking" or "you're terrible". More than likely you would tell them "it's OK" or "shake it off" and not really have much emotion towards their shot. You may feel bad for them if they are having a rough day but you would never put them down or belittle their golf skills. So why do that to yourself? Why beat yourself up about a bad shot or mental mistake? Shouldn't you be as quick to boost your own self up as you would be to do it for somebody else? We can all be our own worst enemy and while a small amount of criticism towards yourself can be a good motivator, [...]
Recruit PKB: Be Different
We were all made to be unique individuals. We all look different, think different and act different. But as a middle school or high school student it can sometimes be difficult to accept the things about yourself that are different. It is so tempting to want to fit in and be part of the popular crowd. But, the truth is, the people who learn to embrace the things about themselves that make them unique tend be the ones that go on to be more successful than those that don't. They are more confident and secure because they know who they are and they know that their uniqueness sets them apart from everyone else. I promise that what you think is popular now will mean very little a year from now and especially once you get to college. Growing up it wasn't necessarily "cool" to be a girl who played golf. This was before Tiger Woods came along and made the game of golf "cool" [...]
Recruit PKB: Find Your Mantra
According to Wikipedia a mantra "means a sacred utterance, numinous sound, or a syllable, word, phonemes, or group of words believed by some to have psychological and spiritual power". Mantras are personal and self-motivating. They are words that inspire an athlete to excel and stay focused. Every athlete should have their own mantra. It can be original or one that is borrowed. It can be one word or a whole sentence. But it must be something that you can remember and always turn to when you need it. It must inspire you to get through whatever obstacles you struggle with both on and off the golf course. Here is a great article on some mantras from athletes in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Two of my favorites from this list are "breathe, believe, and battle" and "if you think you can't, you won't and if you think you can, you will". Two of my mantras through my life and golf career have been "forget about [...]