THE SIT-DOWN
WITH LEE-ANNE MISSELDINE
What’s the most
important thing we
can give to juniors
to prepare them for
college golf?
The most common
challenge with the
college process
is unrealistic
expectations. PSA’s
(prospective student
athletes) - or in many
cases their parents
- have aspirations
to attend the top golf universities without
an understanding of the golf and academic
requirements for admission. For example,
Stanford University, a favorite for Asian families,
requires a near perfect SAT score and very
competitive golf scores. Holding out hope for
recruitment to Stanford would be a foolish
ambition if a player was not in that range
academically or athletically.
Being very objective in the college process is
a critical success factor because it allows for
accurate and realistic planning and execution.
At IJGA each student builds a list of “safe,
target and reach” schools, creating viable and
workable options, but allowing for growth and
improvement.
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however I do work with a number of our girls
in a mentoring capacity to help them build
their own internal strength and resourcefulness.
Many teenage girls go through a difficult time
with relationships as they are finding their
identity and sense of self. This can be even
harder when they are so far from home and
away from the safety and security of their
family and friends. Being able to work through
the challenges in a caring and empathetic
environment that allows girls to express their
feelings and emotions is a very important
aspect of nurturing positive change.
How does golf create opportunities for junior
athletes?
The USA is unique in that the universities
have organized sports for athletes, outside
of the academic programs. A student can
study business or engineering but also be a
student-athlete. NCAA Division I and II, NAIA
and NJCAA offer athletic scholarships and
student-athletes can often receive academic
scholarships as well. Golf provides the
opportunity for students to get an education
and improve their game while competition on a
college team.
When juniors don’t have reasonable goals for
college based on realistic golf and athletic
performance, they become frustrated and
disappointed in the process. Even worse, they
miss out on opportunities, hoping to get better
offers down the road. Every challenge is an opportunity. How do you
teach your student-athletes to embrace them?
Mindset is the greatest predictor of success or
failure. There is no doubt that athletic ability
and natural talent are important factors in sport,
but the difference with top performers and
everyone else is mental acuity and toughness.
A growth mindset embraces challenges as an
opportunity to learn and does not see failure as
fatal, but as a step in the learning process.
How do you empower young women to take
on leadership roles and be stewards for
positive change?
Leadership and character development are
a core program at IJGA for both men and
women. At this time, we don’t have any specific
curriculum to empower women specifically, At IJGA we teach our student-athletes how
to develop a growth mindset and give them
individualized plans to build mental skills
such as resilience and grit. Techniques include
visualization, goal setting, stress management,
emotional regulation, routines and positive self-
talk, to name a few.