RecruitPKB: Freshman and Younger Recruiting Primer

  As you begin to look towards your future as a junior golfer, it’s never too early to start developing a game plan. While it’s still early for the actual college recruiting process for most freshman and younger, there are many ways you can begin preparing for it and insure you are ready when the time comes. Many families believe the college recruiting process begins junior or senior year but it begins the day you decide it begins. When you reach junior year and your expectations don’t match up to your athletic and academic resume it can be very disappointing. Now is the time to be focused on goal setting, time management, practice routines, tournament schedule, fitness, work ethic, mental toughness and assertiveness. As we near the end of 2015, it is a great time to set some goals for the upcoming year. Write down a few [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:51:01-04:00November 24th, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Being Thankful and Gracious

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation". - Brian Tracy Being thankful and gracious are two topics that I catch myself emphasizing over and over again in my articles, evaluations and seminars but it simply can not be said enough, especially in today's world. While you may not think about the importance of these when it comes to college recruiting, they really can set you apart from so many others who don't take the time to be thankful or gracious. And not only in regards to college recruiting, they simply teach you two qualities that are so important in the world today and can even help to improve your mental state on the golf course. With Thanksgiving coming up, take the time to [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:45:59-04:00November 21st, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Scheduling Visits

A very important, proactive step in the college recruiting process is to schedule unofficial visits as early as possible. The days of official visits are almost over now that recruiting starts so early. Official visits aren't allowed until first day of your senior year, if you wait until then to take visits it will be too late.  They tend to just be a formality for players who have already verbally committed and are getting ready to sign their NLI.   You can always take unofficial visits until that time though. You must be assertive and take the initiative to try and set up visits early in the process. Visits will not only give you an opportunity to meet with a coach and get comfortable with the process, but they also help you begin to figure out what you want in a school. They help to motivate you [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:51:02-04:00October 20th, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: 6 Ways to be More Coachable

"A proverb says that 'Only stupid men learn from experience. Wise men learn from other people’s experience'." I got this from an article written by August Turak about coachability on Forbes.com - http://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2011/09/30/are-you-coachable-the-five-steps-to-coachability/ One of the number one qualities that a coach looks for in a player is coachability. They want to know that a player is going to be willing to listen, learn, practice and put into play what they teach them. This is one reason you need to do your research on the coach, their background and their coaching style. If you don't respect a coach's principles then you will never allow them to coach you to your potential. You must have faith in your coach because many times it will get worse before it gets better. so you have to trust they are doing what is best for you. You will miss out on so [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:45:59-04:00October 3rd, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Watch and Learn

As a junior golfer you can always learn something from other players, especially ones who have reached a level that you are aiming to reach. This past week was a great example of learning from the best, and you could have done it all from the comfort of your own home. If you are a young female golfer and you didn't catch any of the Solheim Cup, you really missed a huge opportunity to learn and get inspired. I know it had me glued to the TV all weekend, especially Sunday morning as the US team mounted one of the biggest come backs in golf history. It was so exciting to watch it all unfold. Having had the honor to play with most of the girls from the US team and several of the Europe team members, I enjoyed every minute of watching them battle it out [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:45:59-04:00September 25th, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB Perform: Eat and Drink for Less

This article is part of guest series to the RecruitPKB "Complete Golfer" program by Chris Finn, owner of Par4Success in Cary, North Carolina. --- What I would like you to do is create a short mental checklist of what you will do when preparing for your next tournament. If it is anything like most of the juniors I work with it will probably look something like this: Go play a practice round Practice hard the week leading up to the tournament focused on the type of shots I may need or specific clubs I will need to hit more than others based off my practice round. Map out the round including what clubs to hit off what tees, green slopes, etc. If it is away from home, make sure you have balls, all your clubs, outfits for each day, etc. Three things are never mentioned whenever I ask this question, [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:45:59-04:00September 19th, 2015|Physical Performance Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: Nutrition

Nutrition is a topic I get asked by parents quite often who want me to emphasize the importance of eating properly to their daughters, and many times simply just encouraging them to eat on the golf course. As someone who's always had a hefty appetite, eating on the golf course was never an issue with me, eating healthy on the other hand was another story. I had a ritual for awhile as junior golfer that marshmallows were my good luck charm so I would devour a bag of them while I played, not exactly the healthiest of snacks. Having been a Health and Exercise Science major in college and becoming much more interested in nutrition over the years, I wanted to pass along a few suggestions to help get you started. Coming soon for PKBGT members will be more information about fitness and nutrition provided by Par4Success. [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:00-04:00August 1st, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

RecruitPKB: The Landing Drill

When chipping from just off the green you should always pick a landing spot that you want to land the ball on. Assess the shot to determine what club will land about 5-7 ft onto the green and provide the roll needed to get to the hole. Take into account any break in the green and pick your landing spot accordingly. This will make the shot much easier when you can focus on hitting a spot that is only several feet in front of you rather than a pin that is farther away. Drill: Lay a towel or hula hoop about 5-7 ft onto the green. Start about 2 paces off the green with one of your wedges, landing the ball on the towel or hula hoop. You are only focused on where the ball lands. Repeat with SW through 8iron. A good goal is to land [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:00-04:00July 1st, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

Recruit PKB: Wofford Coach Interview

Recruit PKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson caught up with Wofford Women's Golf Coach Angie Ridgeway to get her thoughts on the recruiting process and her own coaching philosophy. What is your own coaching philosophy?  Work hard and have fun.  Regularly evaluate your game to determine weaknesses, then formulate a plan to turn them into strengths. What do you love about being a college coach?  Building relationships with the players on my team, and witnessing their growth at this stage of their lives.  And, love the competition, of course. What do you look for with a resume, swing video?  Good swing fundamentals; the ability to go low now and then What are some good questions you ask players on visits to help determine best fit?  Why do you play golf?  Describe your practice. What are some good questions they should ask you to help determine best fit? What [...]

By |2017-09-13T12:08:47-04:00June 26th, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

Recruit PKB: Thoughts after my day of caddying

Yesterday I had the chance to caddy for one of my girls during the US Junior Girls qualifier in Cartersville, GA. We had the chance to play a practice round on Sunday, then the qualifier was on Monday. And she played well enough to qualify, Oklahoma bound in July! I'm fortunate to have the chance to get out with my players quite often to caddy and evaluate them on the course during a tournament, so I wanted to take the time to share a few of my thoughts from yesterday's experience that may help you all as well. Practice Round: Know your targets off each tee. Know your lay up spots. Know what club you want to hit based on the conditions, don't always assume it's driver. Know the elevation changes into greens and how that will affect club selection. Take note of what you hit during [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:00-04:00June 18th, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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