Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Winter 2012 | Page 19

“We have done the hard yards getting
the policy documents done, selection
policies, high performance manuals, all
the background and the paper work you
need to have in place so you can refer to
it when the time arises,” Calder said.

“We talk about the interstate series and
all those things, but I am equally as proud
of the kids grinding it out in the US college
system,” he said.

“You now have clear plans and guidelines.
From the practical side, we got the
development squad going from the
juniors, colts to the opens.”

“Kids like Jarrod Consoli, who came
through the system, and Curtis Stanton
and those other kids out there mixing it
with the best and getting an education as
they go.”

Calder said the plan was to establish a
broader and strong base rather than
focussing all the attention on the State
team players.

As for the kids, well, Calder is cool. He’s
easily approachable, laid back almost,
and works on the premise that asking
questions is far more educational.

“Previously, it was perceived to be ‘well,
this is the State team and who have we
got left over for the colts’. We changed
that attitude to say it is a pathway, but not
everyone is going to make it.

“For me it’s about asking questions,”
Calder said. “I am probably the least
coaching coach in that I tend to ask more
questions like ‘what are you feeling’ and
‘what do you think is going to happen’
and they get to sort it out.

“The difference is when Queensland says
that we actually believe it while the other
States still push the kids really hard and
assume they are all going to be major
winners when patently that is not going to
be the case.
“You want them to reach their potential,
but we still want good club golfers and we
want people to take over as club captains
and managers and all those things. It’s al