By Daniel Jermak, Founder of Albatross Junior Golf

Believe it or not, planning happens in your everyday life whether you realize it. But, more importantly, planning is inherent to all successful student-athletes and a skill that will serve you well, far beyond golf.

Today, more and more athletes are focusing on a single sport. The pressures from the investment of time, money, and energy can magnify the variety of highs and lows impacting a junior golfer over their career. Statistics indicate, 7% of High School Athletes compete on the collegiate level, and about 2% of those athletes earn some form of an athletic scholarship.

The reality is that plenty of highly talented junior golfers don’t achieve their dream of playing each year collegiately. Often this leaves many asking themselves what they could have done differently.

There are plenty of ways to approach the college search and recruiting process. Some choose to do it themselves, some have their academy do the heavy lifting, and some even use recruiting services.

Regardless of what approach you choose, the focus should be on developing an effective action plan that involves every team member supporting your junior golfer’s journey to becoming a student-athlete.

Why is an Essential Action Plan Important?

  • Gives clear direction
  • Highlights precise steps needed to accomplish goals
  • Creates specific tasks to assign responsibility and accountability
  • Provides an objective view and establishes a united vision
  • Allows for monitoring and the evaluation of progress

Identify your Goals

  • Specific – Clearly defined
  • Measurable – Establish checkpoints to assess progress
  • Realistic – Be reasonable to help manage expectations
  • Meaningful – Align goals to match the vision
  • Timely – Include a finish date

Write down the steps

  • Make sure each task is well defined
  • Incorporate feedback from the entire team
  • Assign action steps to key team members

Prioritize Tasks, Add Deadlines, and Set Mini-Goals

  • Order steps based on importance
  • Include achievable due dates
  • Build confidence by celebrating completed goals

Look at the Big Picture

  • Determine what resources needed during this process
  • Make a plan to acquire these resources that suits the budget
  • Be objective and create a clear vision understood by all

Monitor, Evaluate, and Update

  • Allocate time to evaluate and assess progress as a team
  • Resolve tasks that are pending or delayed
  • Revise and update the action plan accordingly

In closing, there is no substitute for planning, preparation, and hard work. Abraham Lincoln’s quote is a perfect example of having an effective action plan, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Best of luck in your pursuits!

Sincerely,

Albatross Junior Golf