I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! As we get ready to bring in the new year I want to wish everyone a great start to the new year. It is always a great time to reflect back on the things we accomplished and get ready to focus on how we can make 2020 an even better year. Happy New Year! If you would like to kick off the new year on the right foot, please take advantage of your free 30-minute consultation. Please email me at bjackson@pkbgt.org to get that setup!
I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas! It's been another awesome year as the RecruitPKB College Consultant to provide education and insight on the college recruiting process. Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey! If you would like to take advantage of the holiday break you can still schedule your free 30-minute consultation. Please email me at bjackson@pkbgt.org to get that setup!
One of my favorite putting drills from my college and professional days is something very simple but extremely effective at building confidence and putting a little bit of pressure on making those short putts when it counts. There are several different variations of this one drill which is why I like it so much. Below are a few options to get you started. 3, 5, 7, 9ft line - Place a tee at 3ft, 5ft, 7ft and 9ft in a line on one side of hole. Begin with a fairly flat putt. Start at the 3ft putt, if you make it move back to the 5ft putt, if you make that move to the 7ft. If you miss then you must start back at the 3ft putt 9, 7, 5, 3ft line - After you have gone up the line start from the 9ft putt and move [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
. For the last article in this series, I am going to take 2022 recruits and younger and share some advice to them as a whole. While there are certainly some 2022 recruits and 2023 recruits who have started the process, those are more of the exception so I am going to share my advice based more on the majority of girls at this stage. If you are a 2022 or younger recruit, here are a few pieces of advice: There are soo many stages that a young girl can be at with her commitment level, size, strength, and golf experience during these earlier years. Yes, because the process does still start early you need to start to think about your future plans as you get closer to being a high school student, but don't let it take the fun out of the game. The game [...]
. This week we move along to 2021 recruits and what advice I would have for them at this stage of the process. If you are a 2021 recruit you probably feel like it's time to start the recruiting process, well you're probably correct. If you are a 2021 recruit anxious to start the process, here are a few pieces of advice: Don't feel pressured to "have" to start the process if you don't feel like you are ready but do keep in mind that it can move quickly from this point forward so you don't want to wait too long Don't keep thinking that you need to wait for your game to get better before you start or else you will lose a lot of ground for programs that are more realistic at this point. While you do still have time to improve and get the [...]
. To continue from last week where I gave some advice to 2019 recruits, this week it's time to take on those 2020 recruits and my advice for them. Obviously, if you are a 2020 recruit you are well aware that the process is upon you. If you have not started then it's certainly time to do that. If you are a 2020 recruit still looking for a college golf home, here are a few pieces of advice: Don't panic! While you may hear that many of your friends have verbally committed there is still lots of time left to find a good college golf home. The next 4-6 months are actually some of the busiest in the recruiting process for coaches still seeking rising seniors Make sure you are being realistic and not wasting your time focusing on schools that aren't going to be interested in [...]
