Any High School Coaches on Here???

[rms25thta]

Considering taking a coaching position in my area.

Hey guys, just wondering if there are any high school golf coaches on here. I am considering applying for the coaching position at one of the new high schools being built in my area. I used to assist with the junior program at the club I played at back home. I was just wondering what the pros and cons are that you have experienced. Any adivce or suggestions that you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Rich

[rms25thta]

I really would have thought that there would have been some feedback on this one.

[astamm8]

i coached a few years ago for 3 years (actually i was the assistant coach, but not much difference and the coach was out for most of a season, so i was in charge then). i really enjoyed it. this school is an urban public school. in the 3 years i coached there was 1 player that had ever really played before high school (and he was pretty good). so for the most part, i was working with beginners. that part can be frustrating. players don't really have any dedication or concentration, so it's hard to really work with them on anything. i felt confidant coaching beginners in the short game, but as far as beginners and full swings, that was tough for me. i spent most of my time working with the best 1 or 2 players on how to play, e.g. manage the course, score, etc. that part i loved. and it meant that i played a ton with them, which was great.

 

downsides (other than what i've mentioned). i had to do a lot of driving kids around to practice, etc. that got old quick. matches take forever and are quite boring, although the other coaches were cool, and i just practiced.

 

overall, i guess i'd highly recommend it. i'd love to do it again, but my schedule just doesn't allow it at the moment.

[rms25thta]

Thanks for the response.

[swingdoctor]

I am a H.S. golf coach and I can tell you that if your effort exceeds the kids effort, you will enjoy it tremendously. There is no question that during the golf season your time commitment is large. Our season is only roughly 60 days so it is a small sacrifice for the opportunity to help out youngsters get better in this game we all love. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

[Berndog2]

I've been coaching boys varsity golf in FL for 12 seasons, it's awesome! The hours are very long and the pay is little. But I love it.

[blaird]

I am a coach down here in MS. Our season is very long, starts in jan and ends at the end of april/early may. The worse part is the dedication and focus. I have a couple good players but they dont play during the offseason so the first couple months back i am trying to get them to get a feel for everything again.

 

I have a couple younger ones that are trying to get more into it so that helps. I also dont get a cart at our course so i have to walk and no holes are by each other so i can only work with 3 players a day.

 

The upside is good though. It is great to see a kid play good. It is fun to tell the guys if they win a match, I take them out for pizza afterwards, they love this. Matches are scheduled around 3 so i get to miss a little bit of school and its excused. I also get free shirts and stuff.

 

It can be aggrevating and rewarding at the same time. If you are a golf nut and enjoy spending time with jrs. then go for it, you will like it.

[bassman1308]

My son coaches the local HS team. He loves golf and that helps but he definetly has more patience than I do. Last year they finished last in most of the matches. With a couple exceptins, the kids only play in season and then only at practice, but he had good numbers out and is hoping to build the program. He says all the area coaches he knows do little actual swing coaching. Mostly fundementals, course ediquette, and try to keep them from hurting each other. He had one hit in the forehead with a club 2 yrs ago. They had to call an ambulance. I think 9 stiches solved that problem. The better golfers usually have a dad or grandparent who have helped them, maybe even paid for lessons, so you have to be careful about what you try to teach them. I know this sounds like the bad news bears golf team but the good outweighs the bad. He makes more than when he was assist football coach, and the main thing is he gets out of school to got to the meets where he usually plays with the other coaches. Sometimes I get to tag along so I have that going for me. You should give it a try. If you don't, some day you'll wish you had.

[gaterrier]

I've been coaching high school for 12 years, and it is my dream job. I'm lucky enough to have coached at two different schools that have great tradition and support. My current job is awesome, but with great expectations, so I really have to work year round.

 

My philosophy is to develop the junior program in my area to create a feeder system. It has seemed to work very well, as I've got a steady stream of good talent. I also take great effort in developing close relationships with my guys and their parents. I can't stress this enough. The parents really have to trust that you know what's best for their kid. Otherwise, they'll second-guess what you're trying to do when adversity hits (kid begins to play bad, loses focus, etc.).

 

I almost mandate that they play junior golf. Of course, having such competition for a spot on the roster almost takes care of this.

 

PM me if you have any questions.

[Bigap10]

I know you asked for coaches but I figured a response from a high school golfer may help. I'm a junior and the captain of the golf team at my school. Our program is a great one and last year all the graduating seniors received scholarships. Our program is basically year round. Here in northern idaho, we get snow so we are forced to hit indoors for a good 4 months. We have a coach who is a teacher at the school and he is the head coach. Our assistant coach is the pro at a local golf course. Fortunately he offers jobs to most of the kids on our team. When I was in 8th grade, my friend told me that the high school team wanted middle schoolers to come and practice with the team. (we practice at our home course when we can. anyone who is on the team gets to play and hit balls for free there.) Soon after I was offered a job and took it. Our whole varsity team will work there this year. Anyways, our coach is cool, all the golf kids take his class and have a pretty close relationship with him. After the high school season is over the top golfers on our team play junior tourneys all summer, when school starts back up again we have occasional practices.

 

So if I can say anything as a recommendation it would be to try and recruit youngsters before they hit high school. It really helps, as you are practically setting up your team in advance. Another idea would be to talk to courses in the area and see if the pro will give the high school kids jobs or just let them get free balls, or even just use the practice facilities for free or reduced price. If you really put in an effort, it will pay off. Before high school I was shooting 100's and freshman year I was shooting 70's.

 

You won't regret it if you do coach.

[Prich]

If you're going to be coaching boys, go for it and enjoy! The talent and fearlessness is amazing. Now on the flipside. If you're coaching girls make sure you're fully paid up at your shrinks office and be prepared for anything!! At least here in soCal they play Sept. through Dec. (if they make it to team / individual finals). During the season they play nine hole matches at some really rinky dink courses and since most schools have trouble just getting girls to play you can expect three to four hour matches. Yes that's nine holes :0! The drama far surpasses everything else and if you're a fan of the soap operas than coaching a HS girls golf team is your cup of tea. :) There are some great girl golfers, don't get me wrong, but you are very fortunate to get one or maybe two quality players on a team (unless you recruit that is)! :) And a lot of the drama isn't even coming from the kids.......can you say p-a-r-e-n-t-s?? :russian_roulette: LOL!

[SV Golfer]

I'm not a coach, but I can contribute from a player's perspective. I was a varsity player for four years, and developed a pretty strong relationship with the coach. Because I made through all the round of qualifying for states in the fall, we travelled together to the venues for a couple weeks in the fall. It can be a fairly large or minimal time commitment, depending on what you want it to be.

 

I think your experience will really be determined by the type of kids you have. If you have ten kids who don't give two s**ts and can't break 50 for nine holes, it might be a long year. However, if you have a mix of kids who dedicate themselves to getting better in the offseason and commit to winning and playing their best in matches (like my team... lol), you'll definitely enjoy it more.

 

Regardless, you'll definitely get time to play. My coach regularly practiced with the team, when we played nine holes after school every day.

 

There are definitely perks, too. Free shirts, cart for practices and matches (depending on the course), left over balls from the school, etc. Perhaps the most rewarding perk you'll get is the ability to have a close impact on the lives of young people, as I feel my coach did.

 

Good luck!

[A-Train]

25: Did you take the job and if so how did it go?

Also, if I could jack your thread, I'd like to hear from the coaches again on how involved they get into rules and swing assistance. Specifics encouraged.

[astamm8]

[quote name='A-Train' post='2134460' date='Dec 19 2009, 06:20 PM']25: Did you take the job and if so how did it go?

Also, if I could jack your thread, I'd like to hear from the coaches again on how involved they get into rules and swing assistance. Specifics encouraged.[/quote]

as far as rules, i got very involved. i definitely would try to make sure all my kids new the rules because the other team often wouldn't know them at all. and, if a problem came up, it was up to us coaches to make a ruling.

as far as swing, i didn't do much, but that was only because i didn't feel able to. i can get the ball around ok, but i'm not much for see a swing problem and offering a solution. i focused much more on routine, short game, and course management, areas in which i felt much more competent. and with these i'd get very involved.

[Zooko23]

Im young but coach both baseball and golf at a local high school here in arizona. It can be rough but there are ways to make it fun. Most of my kids have their own pros they take lessons from so I take a back seat to instruction unless its a quick fix,say if a kid is sending hosel rockets up his buddies rear. We qualify after every match, we play 6 every match top three are excempt and the bottom three and the rest of the team play a round or two, top three play from that play in the next match. Also teach course management and ettiquete(sp? sorry) and I dunno if your allowed but we,the coaches, get to play along side the kids so umm three months of playing for free is always nice:) 2 kids signed at d2's and one just walked on to a jc in cali dont remember the name of it.

[generaljhc]

I coached MS golf before moving into ed admin. enjoyed it a lot. Would do it at a high school. Getting the middle and high school players involved in junior tournaments would be a must. I do not know the level of your players..but a t a minimum get them playing the local jr tournaments (surely Charlotte as a Junior Tour), NC has the Tar Hill Tour, there are other regional tours..and of course the AJGA. But you must get them playing, guide them according to their ability to the correct tour(s).