The Gate April 2019 | Page 8

BGGA = EXPERIENCED AND TRUSTED COLLEGE RECRUITING PLANNING, DEDICATION AND PERSEVERANCE YIELDS COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE RESULTS By Darcie Patrick, IJSA Director of Education + Development During my first months as a member of the IJGA/BGGA team, it has been a privilege to meet our fabulous, student- athletes from around the globe. These young men and women have come to pursue their road to U.S. College and for that, we are honored to have been entrusted to help prepare their path. I have been involved in the American system of education for over two decades and have visited hundreds of college campuses. There are over 3000 colleges and universities in America. For our male student-athletes - 1289 of the 3000 colleges have golf teams (Division I, Division II, Division 8 THE GATE | APRIL 2019 III, NAIA or NJCAA). Our female student-athletes have 939 colleges to consider that have a golf team. So, it is important to note that roughly half of all of the U.S. colleges and universities have men’s golf teams and roughly one- third have women’s golf teams. As a student prepares for college, the two most important areas of focus that will dictate the outcome, include: • Strive for the lowest average golf score • Strive for the highest GPA and SAT/ACT score To achieve the lowest golf score, the student-athletes will work hand-in-hand with their golf coaching team, including: Directors of Golf, their lead coach, strength and conditioning coach, mental performance coach and custom club fitter. Together, with their Junior Golf Scoreboard ranking, the students will naturally fit into a college/university team’s scoring average. To achieve the highest GPA, a student will work closely with their school’s guidance counselor and their academy’s