RecruitPKB: Understanding the Coach’s Gut Feeling

Many parts of the recruiting process are difficult to understand and explain but a coach's "gut feeling" is definitely one of the toughest, especially in my role with a player and parent who are trying to figure out if and what they may have done wrong. I recently asked a college coach to share her thoughts on that "gut feeling" and this is what she had to say: "Last year I tried to soul search for the best way to answer that because I realized I haven’t ever signed two players for the same reason. The only thing they all had in common was a feeling I got at some point along the way that told me I need her on my team! And now I just own it because it really is true. No resume stands out for being great, the only ones that “stand [...]

By |2018-07-26T11:16:26-04:00July 26th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: Embrace Being Different

We were all made to be unique individuals. We all look different, think different and act differently. 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 to 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 [...]

By |2018-07-19T10:42:25-04:00July 19th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: Advice for Incoming College Freshmen

It’s almost that time, time to enter one of the biggest, if not THE biggest transition of your life.… Being a college golfer! In case you haven’t heard, you are getting ready to embark on the 4 best years of your life. You are going to meet and make so many friends from all over the world, travel and compete with all new teammates, live away from your parents for the first time and learn what it is like to make your own decisions and choices about what you do every day. While this all may sound like a blast now as an 18-year-old female, who probably feels mature, independent, and disciplined enough to conquer this transition like a champ, you might be surprised at how much you still have left to learn. Since it has been more years than I care to count since I first [...]

By |2018-07-05T14:48:35-04:00July 5th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: Ladder Drill

No matter how good of a short game you may have, it never hurts to work on basic fundamentals. This ladder drill is a great way to work on consistency with your chipping. If you can't consistently land the golf ball where you want to on the green then you are keeping yourself from maximizing your potential. There are several different ways to keep the ladder drill engaging and creative. Lay 3 or 4 clubs or alignment sticks a few feet onto the green. Leaving about 3 feet in between each one. Try to land a ball inside each space in a row going up the ladder, repeat coming back down. If you miss a space then start over. Repeat with a different club. Try to call which spot you want to land the ball in and see how many times you can successfully hit the correct [...]

By |2018-06-29T09:02:15-04:00June 29th, 2018|Player Performance Articles|1 Comment
Read More

RecruitPKB: Coaches take on Finding the Right Fit

I asked the coaches to share their thoughts on what a recruit should consider in order to find the right fit, here are some of their responses.   “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 “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.” – Division 1 Women’s Golf 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 [...]

By |2018-06-15T16:56:34-04:00June 14th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: Find the Right Fit

The ultimate goal through the college recruiting process is to find the right fit with both the school and the golf program. As much as I wish I could say this was the easy part, unfortunately, it can be a very stressful time. Even if you take lots of visits, do the research and ask all the right questions, it can still be a tough decision. Sometimes you may end up having to go off that gut feeling that you get about a particular school, other times it may be an obvious right fit and for some, they may not feel they have found the right fit but are determined to make it the best 4 years of their life. But no matter what, you must do as much homework as possible so that you can make the best decision based on the options that are available. [...]

By |2018-06-15T16:57:07-04:00June 7th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

Recruit PKB: Ask the Right Questions

In order to begin to determine if a golf program and university is the right fit you must ask the right questions. You need to find out as much information about the coach's philosophy, how the program is run, what the university offers and if you are compatible with all of these. Make sure you keep track of the answers and compare what you feel is important for each school. Below are just a few questions to help get you started. Examples: What are the admissions requirements? What are common majors for golfers? Are there specific rules/regulations? Sororities/fraternities, curfews, mandatory activities, etc… Can you live off campus? What is a typical week of practice and workouts? How far are the facilities from campus?   For more help on the college recruiting process please contact RecruitPKB College Consultant, Brandi Jackson at bjackson@pkbgt.org    

By |2018-05-31T10:13:01-04:00May 30th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: NCAA Women’s Golf Championships

Well for those who watched the NCAA Women's Golf Championship you got quite an exciting show put on for you. Every year those matches have come down to the wire and this year did not disappoint. For those who didn't get a chance to watch click HERE for some highlights. I had a tough time watching because I couldn't decide who I wanted to win. The Alabama women's head coach, Mic Potter, was actually my college coach at Furman. So obviously I wanted to see him win another national championship there at Alabama. I made it to NCAA Nationals as an individual my senior year at Furman and I had Mic alongside me the whole way. I will forever be grateful for all that he taught me. He is one heck of a coach! On the other hand, Laura Ianello, the women's head coach at Arizona is [...]

By |2019-01-18T12:07:12-05:00May 24th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: Take Visits

All steps of the recruiting process are necessary in order to successfully find the right college fit, however taking college visits is when the process really begins to take shape. Due to an updated NCAA policy that went into effect in April 2018, college coaches and athletic staff are no longer allowed to meet with prospective student-athletes when they are on campus until Sept 1 of their junior year. At that point, however, official visits are now allowed to take place. While the days of freshmen and sophomores taking unofficial visits to meet with college coaches are over, the importance is now placed on communication prior to that time and the impression a recruit makes on those visits during junior year. You can still visit and tour the campus prior to Sept 1 of junior year and communicate with the coach within the contact rules via phone [...]

By |2018-05-17T15:38:43-04:00May 17th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More

RecruitPKB: Contact 75+ Schools

After you have familiarized yourself with the NCAA rules, built your resume and researching schools, now it's time to contact coaches. The topic of contacting schools is a question that I get asked numerous times throughout recruiting seminars and individual consultations. As with many parts of the process, this tends to be very specific to where the individual recruit is at in her own recruiting process. Obviously, the higher ranked players don't have to work as hard to contact coaches because they are being sought after by the coaches and will generate enough interest through a smaller number of intro emails. However as you move down the rankings list, the number of coaches you need to contact in order to ensure you find the right fit increases. While some will be able to contact a small group of schools and generate enough communication and interest, it is [...]

By |2018-05-17T11:31:17-04:00May 10th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
Read More
Go to Top