complete golfer

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

Why should you get an evaluation as the first step of the process? There is a lot of information out there and many times it can be misleading or misunderstood. The process is very specific to each individual player so it is extremely helpful to get started by knowing how the process will match up to your own goals and expectations! This is not a one size fits all type of process. This is also not a process that can be taken lightly if you want to ensure you find a good college golf fit. So it is highly recommended to start out the process with an evaluation (or at least in-depth consultation) from a qualified, unbiased, 3rd party who understands junior girls golf, women’s college golf, and the girls college recruiting process. This will provide a much better outline for navigating each step of the [...]

Starting next week I will continue from last week's article about the steps of the recruiting process but this was just something I really wanted to share during a time when it is still fresh on being announced. I've hesitated to share this story because this is not to highlight my involvement in how this played out but it’s just too good and impactful not to share.  I talk quite a bit about first impressions and how much impact one can make. I am also very quick to admit that for a lot of my life I may not have always made the best first impression due to my tendency to be reserved, especially in unfamiliar settings. Even as an adult I constantly have to work to fight my natural tendencies and remember the power of a first impression. I also talk a lot about how [...]

It's been awhile since I've addressed some of the basic steps of the process but for those of you just getting started I wanted to do a basic rundown of the steps: Get an Evaluation from a qualified 3rd party who understands junior girls golf, women's college golf, and the girls recruiting process. There is a lot of information out there and many times it can be misleading or misunderstood. The process is very specific to each individual player so it is extremely helpful to get started by knowing how the process matches up to each player's own goals and expectations Understand the NCAA rules so that you know when and what you can do. There have been some major changes in the recruiting process over the last 2 years that affect both players and coaches. Know what is allowed and how you need to still [...]

Players have asked if scholarships are able to be negotiated in the recruiting process. The answer is always my two favorite words "it depends". It may be the case that the coach has already offered all the money that he or she has left or the coach always divides the funds evenly throughout the team. A player needs to be careful when approaching the coach about getting more scholarship money. At the beginning of recruiting, a player can ask general questions about how the coach divides scholarships on the team, without expecting that they are a scholarship player. Also, players should communicate with a number of schools so that they are able to leverage their other offers. The more offers you receive the more opportunity you have to negotiate. When doing this, a player has to tell the truth because coaches talk to one another! Coaches [...]