Instruction
A Roadmap
For Your
Junior Golfer
Y
our child is ready to pick up a golf
club for the first time. Great! But
where to start? What’s the best
plan for optimizing your child’s experi-
ence on the golf course and allow his or
her love for the game grow naturally?
Dr. Jean Cote, an internationally
renowned sports science researcher dis-
covered the three stages that children
progress through on their way to becoming
elite athletes in any sport. Following the
roadmap below will help get your child on
the right track, right from the beginning.
IF YOUR CHILD IS 6-12 YEARS OLD
These are called the ‘sampling years.’ This
is not the time to specialize in one sport.
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Exposing your child to a variety of sports
will allow him or her to experience a vari-
ety of skills that will serve them for life
(balance, coordination, running, jumping,
throwing to name a few). At this point,
your child should be exposed to 6-8 dif-
ferent sports and activities, and coaches
should reinforce fundamentals, fitness and
movement education.
The emphasis at this age is on play and
games. Don’t make it too serious, too early!
IF YOUR CHILD IS 13-15 YEARS OLD
These are the ‘specializing years.’ At this
point, he or she has narrowed down what
activities in which they want to participate.
We hope golf is one of them! Ideally, you
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 9
will want to find sports in opposite seasons
so they are continually engaged. If he or she
plays golf in the spring and summer, maybe
basketball in the fall and winter is a good
choice. This is the time to begin specialized
practice and to dedicate equal amounts of
time to deliberate play and practice.
If your child is serious about improving,
consider a plan that features 72 holes or
more per week for seven-plus months
while spending about 15-20 hours per
week on deliberate practice that will help
improve on-course performance. At this
point, they’re serious about golf; practice
and play should facilitate that commitment.
With structure comes measurement,
and this is the time to begin to measure
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by LEIGHANN ALBAUGH, M.ED., PGA