February 2012
83 posts
1 tag
Is it difficult for a coach to get funding for...
For some coaches it is difficult and for others it is not—it completely depends on the budgets of the universities. Mostly, it just needs to be worth the time and money. Depending on the amount of money and time spent, there may be some pressure to make sure something good came of the trip. I would say that a decent percentage of the top coaches recruit internationally at least once a...
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After a freshman's first year when and what is the...
General NCAA guidelines don’t allow coaches to decrease scholarships solely for athletic performance. How each school deals with this is highly varied. You should have this discussion with any coach in the recruiting process.
At the end of the year I always meet with the student-athletes to discuss the following year’s scholarship and roster position. The scenarios are: 1) renewal...
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After a recruit makes a decision on where he is...
You should definitely tell any coaches recruiting you as soon as possible. That is the right thing to do. The sooner you do it the sooner they can adjust their recruiting strategy elsewhere. How to do it depends on the relationship and the recruit can be the judge of what is appropriate. If I have a personal phone relationship with a recruit and have developed a good relationship I would expect a...
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What defines a "Lower D1 school"? and how do i...
By “lower” I would mean “lower-ranked.” Rankings come and go and it is important to take a look at rankings over a reasonable amount of time. A great program might have a low poor ranking for a while in a bad year and a mediocre program might have a spike and be ranked high in a given year. So as far as identifying who is consistently at the top and the bottom I would...
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How do most coaches determine who qualifies and...
All coaches do it a little differently. Generally, there will be some “exempt” players based on past performance and some others playing for the remaining spots. How many exemptions there are and what it takes to get one varies for each coach. Who is allowed to qualify and how long the qualifyings are also varies. Some coaches even choose who goes after the qualifying. It’s...
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will you be at the PNGA boys championship
Probably.
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How often do the kids go to Aldarra?
They can go whenever they want. It usually probably works out to 2-3 times per week most of the year.
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How important is academics with your team and with...
School is very important for us. This is one of the top academic institutions in the world and anyone that chooses our school is doing so, in large part, because of the great education. It is challenging to keep up with the travel. This is why it is so important that we recruit the right people who have extraordinary work ethic, discipline, and purpose. Not just anyone will be successful. It...
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What grades and scores do you expect from a junior...
This is a really hard question to answer because, frankly, it sort of depends how good the player is and how much we want them. If someone’s academics are a little borderline coaches have to essentially vouch for them with Admissions and put their name and credibility on the line to bring them in. To do that, a coach needs to know they are very important to the team and that they will be...
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Is there an expectation that older players will...
No. I’ve never even heard of an older player offering to give up some scholarship for new recruits.
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Congrats on your recent win! Besides a great coach...
With solid player and coaching you pretty much have what you need. Solid players and coaches will create an environment where success is the only option. They will work closely together because they need each other to reach their individual and team goals. So much of team success is about leadership and while a coach’s leadership is very important, the leadership inside the team is even...
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What is the number one skill you look for when...
The ability to shoot low scores under pressure. Really, what else is there (from a golf standpoint)? As far as specific skills, I’d say the ability to control the ball. Ball control is multi-faceted and can include, distance control, trajectory control, miss quality, spin control, touch around the greens, etc. I often say “it doesn’t matter how far you hit it. It only...
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Are golf coaches expecting to recruit a player...
This completely depends on the school. Most of the top DI schools are looking for recruits who can play immediately. Freshman are now a huge part of success at the highest levels so they are expected to play immediately at the top schools, in most cases.
Some coaches have larger teams and can afford to have a couple players on the roster that may not be ready now, but hope to develop and help...
SAT/ACT--- Foreign Students
Often international recruits can’t take either the SAT or the ACT in their home country. That’s okay! Most schools will accept either. Also, both work with the NCAA. Just make sure you take the full versions of either test you take. Most students in the US will take the SAT and some schools will require the ACT. It’s easy to do both here.
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What is the best time of the year to send your...
Coaches are recruiting all the time. Consider when a coach might be most interested in hearing from you. It may not be best right in the prime part of the season as the coach is thinking about the team more than recruiting. So I would try to find a time when they are most likely to look at it and it could be different for each coach.
We get way too many “profiles.” I encourage...
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What year in HS should a recruit send a video of...
Other coaches may be different on this, but I don’t really use much video. If I’m really interested in recruiting someone I’ll make sure I get out to watch them live. The golf swing on video really doesn’t tell me anything about what kind of golfer a person is. Other coaches that can’t travel to recruit as much as me may use video more, but it rarely matters to me....
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What made you decide to coach college golf? What...
My college coach, Bruce Brockbank at BYU, offered the Assistant Coach position to me at the end of my senior year. I had always been intrigued by coaching so I decided to do it (while I waited for my then fiancee and now wife to graduate). I immediately loved it and have been doing it ever since.
The best part of my job is just working with awesome young people and competing with them every...
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going on an unofficial visit to a stretch school -...
I’m a fan of transparency with coaches. I think there are two ways to look at doing this. First, telling a coach (or a coach telling a recruit) puts one in a weaker negotiating position. If getting the largest scholarship is your aim I don’t think telling them you are their #1 choice would help that. However, if you are just trying to get a spot at the best place for you or one of...
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How do you guys chart the course during the...
We basically just learn the key yardages to and over important hazards and things. We make sure we know where to lay shots up. Mostly we chart the greens so we know how far it is to fly bunkers, tiers, etc. We link to chart the slopes so we know where to hit our iron shots to have easy putts and chips. We can only do so much with one practice round. Often the coaches do most of the work in...
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What would you say to a 2013 recruit who had a...
Coaches are often short-sighted (I try hard not to be, but it is tough) and the most recent results stick in the mind. It doesn’t mean they would rule out someone with past success and current struggles, but just understand that the recent results sometimes carry the most weight.
I would just recommend that recruit shouldn’t worry too much about what a coach is doing and just become...
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If a prospect's folks can swing the entire college...
Often coaches are working with very little scholarship money. So much depends on who they have recruited already and who is returning. Often they are put in a situation of having to decide to give a little extra to a deserving player already on the team or a recruit.
With little or no scholarship they may be looking for the very best player they can find for the least amount of scholarship. ...
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Is the summer before your junior year of high...
It is really important. That is the time coaches put their lists together of who they are going to recruit starting Sept 1. The next summer is important too, but in recently that summer after Grade 10 is carrying more weight.
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What kind of grades and scores do you expect for a...
Every school is different in what they expect for grades and scores. At my school the GPA needs to be high (probably over 3.5 at minimum) and the scores low.
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Coach, If a good prospective recruit makes...
Yes. I love to do this. I attending a couple of high school hoops games last year to watch golf recruits. I played hoops myself in high school. I really like recruits who play other sports. Recruits who have played other sports are usually far more coachable and understand the team concept. I strongly encourage all golfers to play another sport competitively at least for a while.
Ask...
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Coach,
In jest you listed a characteristic of an...
I wish I knew the end of this question. It got cut off. “Would I……….?”
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Coach, What would the ideal local recruit's...
I think a nice mix of the big national events and qualifiers, local events, and amateur events would be perfect. Depending on where you live the name of those events would change. I think a mix of domination of local/regional events, competitiveness in national/international events, and some success and maturity from amateur events would cover them all. Check your local junior golf associations...
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Coach,
What does the NCAA say about a golf coach...
Perfectly legal for a college coach to contact a swing coach/instructor any time. The calling rules apply to the recruit and his/her family members. All other calls are fine.
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When walking with a player during a tournament do...
Tough call. Sometimes. I don’t try to hide it from them, but I also would rather them not worry about it. Coaches are often quick to tell the players when the team is doing well and tell them “don’t to worry about it” when they are playing poorly. This obviously doesn’t make much sense as the player can see through that. So I’m usually honest if they ask,...
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It must be exciting as a coach to see Richard Lee...
Very exciting. You can’t find a better person and teammate than Richard Lee. We’re very proud that he is a Husky.
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When we get recruiting questionnaires they always...
I like to contact coaches to find out more about the personality of the kid. I gather my thoughts about their game by watching them play, but their coaches, teachers, etc. can tell me more about what his personality is like. Everyone will say they are great kids and hard workers with lots of potential. What I want to learn is what really makes them tick and what are they going to be like in...
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What are some of the best questions to ask a coach...
Just be you. Do some research. Know about the program and just have a conversation. Find out whatever you want to know. There is no magic formula or set of questions that will wow a coach. First and foremost, are you the right fit for the program? Secondly, just get to know each other. Be yourself and ask what you would like to learn about. This recruiting thing is so much more about...
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Can a "breakthrough" summer before your senior...
Absolutely!! It happens to several recruits every year.
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How many days a year does your team not practice...
We only have a few every year. We have an indoor facility to use if we need it, but we play year-round. If it is too bad to play we’ll hit some balls at the range, practice indoors, or just study or have some other non-golf fun. It really isn’t an issue for us.
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Will you recruit me?
Maybe? We’re looking for 4.0 GPA students who always shoot under par and win tournaments and are great guys who don’t want any scholarship at all. :) Still looking for that perfect recruit! A guy can dream.
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Would playing club golf cause you to lose years of...
I’m not sure on that club/eligibility question. Sorry. I suspect you would lose/use a year. I don’t necessarily think it is more likely to have walk-ons in the North. I think you should contact each program individually to see how they specifically handle walk ons and how many opportunities might be available. I don’t think there would be much of a geographic correlation.
...
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We just passed the spring signing date for NCAA...
Fortunately in golf there are still relatively few decommits. Although it seems to be changing in the last couple years (especially this last year) most coaches will stop recruiting a golfer when he/she makes a verbal commitment. I fear that this will change a lot more in the coming decade as things get more and more competitive.
Coaches may “decommit,” but I think it is pretty...
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The school year in some countries are different...
In certain places like Australia or South Africa or New Zealand they may start the school year in January. In these cases, the coaches can’t start contacting them until that start of their actual 11th grade year. I’m not sure of the rules on the exact day and if it is January 1 or the first day of school, but I know it isn’t September 1 like those in the US that start school...
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would you rather have a great golfer with a bad...
Attitude is really important—but not always in the way people think. For example, I prefer confidence to politeness. I prefer occasional anger to always happy even after bad shots. There are two parts of attitude to consider for me: 1) How does his attitude help/hurt him and his golf game, and 2) What kind of representative of our program and person will he be?
I see plenty of guys who...
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What is the best shot you have seen in all your...
The best shot I’ve seen was the chip shot by James Lepp on his 72nd Hole at Caves Valley at the 2005 NCAA Championships. He had to get up and down to shoot 63 and force a playoff. He was over the green, going straight downhill, in ankle high rough. I wanted him to go sideways and try to make a 20 footer because I didn’t think it was possible to stop the ball going directly at the...
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What do you look for in an email from recruits?
I like emails to be personal and detailed. So like when I know it is addressed to me and not a whole group of coaches. I can tell this by how they describe what they know about Washington. I like when they are up on what our team is doing. It just shows sincere interest and that they are smart and interested enough to look things up. That always impresses me.
I also like when they tell me...
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Do players have a hard time adjusting to the slow...
Unfortunately, no. I wish it were a harder transition.
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What is your strategy with regards to recruiting?
The answer to this question is a whole book. What do you want to know specifically about strategy?
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How do you evolute drive or passion to win?
It is really tough to do. I think it something you can feel in them more than anything they can say. It shows itself in how they practice, how they respond to winning and how they respond to losing. I wish I were better at evaluating this, but I’m improving.
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How cool was it to see Kyle S come back and win in...
Pretty amazing stuff. I’m really happy for Kyle.
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Do you always try and get a few kids from...
We definitely focus much of our recruiting in Washington. I think most universities recruit locally first and foremost—especially state schools where in-state tuition is so different from out of state tuition. I think it is always a good think that the makeup of the team is representative of the student body and community as a whole.
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The UW golf team is so fortunate to have you as...
Thank you for your nice words. I think college golf is an easy target. In fact, many of our tournaments play quickly and have better round times than the PGA Tour. USGA events are notoriously slow. I think the USGA and PGA Tour, because they are most influential, carry most of the blame for the pace of play of the modern game of golf.
College golf doesn’t really have set governing body...
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If you could change 3 things about college golf...
1. Slow Play
2. Slow Play
3. Slow Play
Hahahahahaha.
I’d actually like to see teams conferences have an actual regular-season where they play all the teams in the conference a certain number of times and keep track to have a regular season champion. Right now, the regular season has little value if you know you will be in Regionals. It would be fun to have regularly updated...
Question Reminder: Don't Say Your Age If Too Young
If you put your specific age in your question I’m not allowed to answer unless you are in 11th grade or older. I’ve been getting some that say things like “I’m a 14-year old…..” and I’m not allowed to respond to those. Thanks and keep those questions coming!
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Best college golfer who you've ever coached?
All of these guys could be the number 1 in different ways: Andy Miller, Brock Mackenzie, James Lepp, Alex Prugh, Nick Taylor, Richard Lee, Chris Williams, and Cheng-Tsung Pan. Really tough to pick just one.
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Could you give a little insight into your team's...
We practice most every day either as a team or individually. We play at least a few rounds of competitive golf a week, practice our short game a lot, and hit balls a decent amount. When we practice it is always competitive and scored. Our guys workout a few times a week, doing full body work that focuses on core strength, flexibility, explosiveness, and overall conditioning.
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