24 | December 2017 #juniorgolfmag Visit us at juniorgolfmag.net “Be yourself. Don’t try to be something that you are not because your happiness at a university depends a lot on the fit with the team and coach.” What is the biggest mistake you see families make during the recruiting process? “Parents doing everything for their daughter. We are a family here and I love parents to be involved. But I want the daughter to do the legwork and be the communica- tor. She is the one that I am going to be spending the next four years with, so I want to make sure she can do things on her own.” “I see a lot of families start the process too late. It is getting earlier and earlier these days, which is a posi- tive and a negative. Being able to come up with a solid resume and swing video and sending that out freshman year seems to be the norm now!” What things do you look forwhen you watch a player at a tournament? “Attitude is a big one for me. How does that player treat her fellow competitors? How does she treat her family who brought her to the tournament? How she treats them is how she is going to treat her coaches.” “I love to see players who are serious about their games. The ones who have a good routine in their warm-up ses- sions, ones who take practice rounds seriously, ones often come from a student athlete not sleeping enough, not being fully hydrated and then not eating on the golf course.” Howcan a junior golfer better prepare for college golf? “They can start doing their own laundry. It sounds silly, but some kids don't know how to do that. That would be a great start in becoming independent!” “I encourage kids not to procrastinate; that is a killer in college because it’s just hard to get caught up. So if you can be in a habit of “first things first” and taking care of what you need to take care of, then you are just going to be ahead of the curve when you get to college.” What do you feel junior golfers can do to improve their games? “Keep working on that short game. It never fails that, given the option of where to practice, our kids head straight to the tee and want to beat balls, but when we have team practice we spend almost all of it around the greens and that’s because we know that a well-devel- oped short game is going to win out; it’s how you score.” “Course management and short games!!!! The overall lack of knowledge in these areas is one of the biggest hurdles I face as a coach.” Brandi Jackson, a former All-American collegiate golfer and LPGA Tour player, runs her own college recruitment consulting company. She has worked with families all over the globe to con- sult and guide them throughout the college recruiting process. Coaches Speak Out About the Recruits They Like BY BRANDI JACKSON who can set up and focus on their own putting drills and games. I like the ones who get a little ticked off, in a healthy way, after a poorly planned shot and kick them- selves in the butt and get after that next shot.” “Attitude, good ball striking, how they handle bad play and their parents’ reactions.” What other advice would you give to a junior golfer and/or parents going through the process? “Love the game and not the achievements. Find a coach who loves the game as much as you do. Go some place where you can play, because it is rare to improve when you aren’t playing tournaments. Find a place to play where the players feel like they ran out of time at the end of four years.” “Be yourself. Don’t try to be something that you are not because your happiness at a university depends a lot on the fit with the team and coach.” Howimportant is fitness and nutrition with junior golfers? “Fitness and nutrition are huge for all athletes moving forward. We are becoming so specialized so early, that in order to avoid injuries, players are going to have to take careoftheirbodiesbetteratanearlierage.Weareavery one-sided sport, and in order to help limit injuries, they need to be training both sides.” “We have done team presentations on nutrition, wa- ter intake, sleep time, the importance of strength and flexibility-and these things really become apparent as the season goes on. A slump or poor performance can As a college recruiting consultant I have had the opportunity to talk to, and spend time with, many college coaches. I met some of these coaches when we were just nine or 10 years old, playing in junior golf tourna- ments together. Others I met throughout my collegiate and professional golf career, and I have connected with many more since starting my business. If there is one thing for sure, it is that no two college coaches are alike. There are so many different personalities, philosophies, backgrounds and styles that make each coach unique. This makes navigating the college recruiting process difficult because it can be tough to figure out what a particular coach might be looking for and which one will be a good fit for you. Despite their individual differences, when I have conducted Q&A’s with coaches at all division levels, the feedback has been consistent on many points. Here I have compiled the best responses to some of my questions from over the years and wish to share a few of them with you. These are from five Division I Head Women’s Coaches with great reputations in the college golf industry. Top: College golfers help with a community service project Bottom: Brandi Jackson (right) with James Madison U. golf star Katie Turk