|
Coaches know that the main difference between
being good and being great is in the quality
of the athletes they recruit. At the
collegiate level, golf coaches discover great
athletes several different ways throughout the
recruiting process. Sometimes discovery takes
place at junior tournaments where coaches see
players for the first time. In other cases,
talented players initiate contact with coaches
through letters, phone calls or emails.
Discovery also occurs when a third party
(alumnus, golf professional, parent, etc.)
recommends a prospect to a coach.
Regardless, coaches are faced with the
challenge of identifying and recruiting the
best available players in order to help their
team improve. They must consider how much
scholarship money is available to offer,
whether or not the player meets the academic
qualifications of the school, and the playing
resumes of all available recruits. The
overall process is far from scientific. Many
coaches claim that they award scholarships
based on their instinct, not necessarily on
statistics, playing records, or national
rankings.
Junior golfers who aspire to compete at the
collegiate level need exposure among coaches.
The best way to gain this exposure is to
compete at the regional and national levels.
Players who are successful in competition will
be discovered by a college coach. This
guarantee results from the fact that so many
college coaches are now visiting the
recruiting trail on a regular basis throughout
the year. And while most of the recruiting
takes place in the summer, coaches are out
traveling and evaluating talent throughout the
academic year as well. The AJGA, FCWT, IJGT,
and SJGT are several examples of tours where
players gain invaluable exposure among college
coaches. Numerous stand alone junior
tournaments, such as the US Junior, Orange
Bowl Junior, Doral Junior, and Future Masters,
provide great exposure as well.
College coaches typically receive hundreds of
letters from interested junior golfers every
year. Some programs may even receive 500-1000
total letters throughout the season. The goal
is to make this an effective communication
process for both the prospect and the coach.
Letters should be written to coaches where the
prospect's golf scores and abilities match up
with the current team's top players. Prospects
should read the PING American College Golf
Guide and visit Golfstat.com to learn more
about collegiate tournament results and how
good different teams actually are.
Unfortunately, inquiries are generally received
from prospects that have failed to do their
homework in advance. This can become an
inefficient use of time for both the coach and
the prospect who wrote the letter.
If you elect to write or contact a coach, make
sure there is a realistic chance for you to
gain admission into the school and to
ultimately compete on the team. Apply to the
university first to ensure you have the
necessary grades and SAT/ACT score.
Additionally, research the team’s results over
the past several years and make an honest
assessment of whether or not you could help
the team. Consider the difficulty of the golf
courses where the team has played, the weather
during their season and the 36-hole college
format. Each of these variables has a
significant impact on a player’s scoring
average in college.
Most college coaches have extensive
relationships in the golf industry. They
network with other coaches, golf
professionals, school alumni, golf
manufacturers, and various other members from
the golf industry. Junior golfers who have
similar contacts should exercise these
relationships to help them gain exposure among
coaches. Phone calls and letters of
recommendations are helpful tools for coaches
to rely on in order to make sound recruiting
decisions. In many cases, who you know can
make the difference in recruiting.
In the final analysis, college golf coaches
discover talent in a variety of ways.
Sometimes coaches are very calculated in their
discovery process while other times they rely
on luck and opportunity. From a junior
golfer’s perspective, the most important
things to focus on are work ethic and
attitude. Work ethic and attitude will also
be the difference between two comparable
players in a case where a coach only has one
scholarship to offer. These attributes will
lead to direct success on the golf course and
ultimately to exposure among college
coaches.
Coach Brooks
Red
Numbers Golf®
|
Back to Going to College
