Junior development

Having a competitive teenage son or daughter in the family or for that matter a teenage student in an Academy can be very challenging for parents and coaches to manage. Their passion, desire and enthusiasm are great motivating factors but in this day and age of instant gratification their lack of patience and perspective very often prevents them from enjoying the process and having fun in their chosen sport. Creating the environment where a teenager feels free to explore, make mistakes, progress at their own rate and enjoy their passion is perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing parents and coaches in sport today.

Tiger is one of many golfers who have made the game of golf cool but has his well chronicled junior years negatively impacted the way juniors develop their games? His dedication to the game at an early age has given him extraordinary wealth and fame but how many youngsters have given up on their sport after following the same path? As adults we have experienced nature taking its course and realise the physical playing fields start levelling out as we approach the end of our teen years but natural physical development is very difficult to accept when you are in your early teens.

Type of shaft, weight of club married to loft in the case of a Driver certainly makes a difference to distance and it should be noted that clubs too heavy or too light can influence the way a junior develops their swing and can result in injury if the clubs are too heavy. However, far too often do the coaches at KeNako see and hear a well struck shot being negatively criticized by the student for lack of distance knowing full well that the student is maximising their talent at that moment in time.

Personal strength, power, balance, flexibility, co-ordination or the lack thereof all have a direct impact on how one can generate clubhead speed; any one of these factors influence the distance a ball can be hit but good kinematic sequencing related to a golf swing really determines how much clubhead speed an individual can generate on a consistent basis. While the kinematic sequence to a golf swing through science has been identified the speed of that sequencing is dependent on the physical conditioning of an individual.

Letting nature run its course along with age appropriate physical conditioning programs will allow a shorter hitter to become a longer hitter but should they not be introduced to the creative part of the game and develop non distance related skills while this process is taking place. Put emphasis on pitching, chipping and putting with measurable records so that progress can be seen with the idea that creativity and feel provide enjoyment and success in this area will lead to the positive feeling of accomplishment. All juniors eventually start hitting the ball longer but at what price – neglecting ones short game because the focus is entirely on distance does not develop an all round game and can lead to enormous frustration when distance starts increasing and scoring remains the same.

Self confidence and self image play an immense role in a young athletes development where it appears that the teenager who measures his/her progress against themselves have a better perspective and the most fun. The enjoyment factor must be there in order to maximise ones talent and to participate in a sport until the body calls time which in the case of golf can be when one is well into their latter years.

roger-wessels
Roger Wessels