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Back In The Swing
If you have a budding sports star in your family , the last 12 months have likely been very frustrating . With so many facilities closed practice has been difficult and sometimes impossible , even for a socially distanced sport like golf . Will your child be able to make up for lost time ? Has COVID-19 reduced your child ’ s chance of “ making it ”?
Playtimes asks the golf coaches at Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy ( HKGTA ) to share their insights on youth sport talent and how to overcome the challenges of the last year .
Q : What are the most important factors in youth sports talent ? A : Multi Sport activity from a young age . Through participating in multiple sports , children will be able to identify their talents in different sports .
Q : Do you look for particular predictors of sports talent when coaching your players or do these naturally emerge over time ? A : There will always be a little bit of both . We are constantly looking out for certain talents during lessons , but of course talents can be built over time .
The coaches at Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy offer advice on developing youth talent in sports and overcoming the impact of COVID-19
Q : If a student doesn ’ t initially present with “ talent ”, are you as a coach able to bring about a decent level of sports competence through practice ? A : Of course , we can develop additional skills and better techniques over time with drills and practice . Of utmost importance is for the student to actually practice what they have been taught .
Q : Are there “ natural ” athletes who don ’ t have to work very hard to succeed … or do they all require practice , practice , and practice ? A : There are some players who are natural athletes , but even at the highest level , it takes practice , practice , and practice !
Q : What will get an athlete further , natural talent vs hard work ? A : That ’ s almost impossible to answer . It really has to be a combination of both . Talent and lots of practice together is the best .
Q : What have you advised your students to do when they can ’ t have in-person coaching due to COVID restrictions ? A : During lockdown we asked our students to keep practicing certain set-up positions and basic swing movements at home with the help of a mirror . Also we gave some exercises to do at home to keep the golfing muscles working and ready for return . Q : Have students managed to keep their skills up while facilities have been shut ? A : With great difficulty - golf is a game that you ABSOLUTELY need to keep hitting balls to maintain levels . So upon return , we saw a lot of very rusty swings .
Q : What have you observed in terms of focus , ability and motivation in times of not being able to play sports ? A : A lot of people were very frustrated with the closures and it certainly made everyone more appreciative of the facilities upon re-opening . Also , many felt like they needed to work harder to get back to where they were before the lockdowns .
Q : Do you think COVID-19 and the closure of sports facilities will have a lasting impact on the next generation of professional athletes ? A : I think it ’ s obviously slowed down progress temporarily , but hopefully we stay open for a while now and the kids can get back on track .
Q : Will they be able to make up for lost time ? A : Everyone is working harder to try to achieve their goals and get back to where they were before and excel further again .
Q : Do many of your students aspire to play professionally ? A : It seems that most of the parents of the children I ’ ve coached want their child to go into a certain profession rather than trying to become a tour player . A lot of my students will move on to college golf teams in the U . S . though .
David Freeman , Mareli Joubert , Aaron Sy and Sharon Li are PGA of America Learning & Performance golf instructors at Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy ( HKGTA ). HKGTA offers patrons exclusive access to an outstanding sporting community in Sai Kung . In partnership with two world-class golf and tennis training institutes , and toptier coaches for swimming , fitness and wellness , patrons and their families benefit from year-round programming and state-of-the-art facilities .
Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy 81 Tai Chung Hau , Sai Kung , Hong Kong Email : enquiry @ hkgta . com website :
www . hkgta . com