RecruitPKB: Trying Out Competitive Golf Again

For those who may follow my social media (@bjacksongolf) you probably saw that I decided to play some competitive golf again for the first time in almost 8 years. My last full season was in 2009 where I played 11 LPGA Tour events that year and the rest on the Symetra Tour, then I only played a handful of events on the Symetra Tour in 2010 and officially gave up full time playing by 2011 so it has been quite a while since I played competitively. And within those 8 years since "retirement" I don't exactly play much golf period, except a few charity outings every year so this was quite the decision to play some competitive golf again. So for the last 4-5 weeks, I tried to commit some time each week to practicing and playing some rounds of golf. I switched my workouts from training [...]

By |2018-08-24T13:52:34-04:00August 16th, 2018|Player Performance Articles|0 Comments
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RecruitPKB: Bad Attitude in College Recruiting

How much does a bad attitude affect a golfers chance for a scholarship? "Positive attitude is the number one thing I look for and a bad one is an instant radar killer. Have one and you’re off my radar immediately." - DI Women's Head Coach "Depends on the coach. Attitude might not affect scholarship but may affect how many options he/she has. A bad attitude usually reflects character, and character is the number one thing we look for in a recruit." DII Women's Head Coach I was recently asked this question on Instagram during a Q and A session so I reached out to a few coach friends of mine to see what they had to say. A bad attitude is definitely a consistent factor in a coaches "red flag" list. Keep in mind tho that all coaches do have different player styles that they like to see [...]

By |2018-07-26T11:53:53-04:00August 9th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: College Coaches Advice to Parents

  What advice would you give parents to better support their kids throughout junior golf? "Don't make decisions or discourage the decisions your children make. Help them learn how to do things for themselves." - D1 Men's and Women's Coach "Let the kid push themselves because in golf you need to be self-motivated once you get to college golf" - D1 Women's Coach "Let them be responsible for themselves, making schedules, filling out applications" - D1 Men's Coach "Stay out of the way and don't interfere with golf swings. Let the instructor or coach deal with it and let it be their responsibility" - D2 Men's and Women's Coach "Parents need to realize that not every kid is going to be a superstar, in fact, most often, their child will excel when they play a supportive role behind the scenes." - D1 Women's Coach How much of [...]

By |2018-07-26T11:24:19-04:00August 2nd, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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RecruitPKB: NCAA Rules and Regulations

Knowing the NCAA rules and regulations will not only help you navigate the process better but it will also show a coach that you are serious and prepared. Keep in mind, a student-athlete can always make phone calls and send emails to coaches. A student-athlete can tour the campus at any point but coaches or athletic staff aren't allowed to meet with prospective student-athletes until the designated time. Coaches can make verbal offers at any point but NLI's are not signed until designated periods of a recruit's senior year Similar to the Rules of Golf there are many different variations and interpretations of the rules. If you aren't sure of the rules you can contact the NCAA, Eligibility Center or me if you have any questions. Dates to Know: September 1st of Junior Year: DI coaches may send recruiting emails, make phone calls, send texts and use [...]

By |2018-04-30T14:14:51-04:00April 26th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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