Does Your Junior Golfer Need A Sport Psychologist?
?My son gets so angry on the golf course that he cannot
perform in competitions?. ?My daughter gets so nervous when
other people are watching her play that her game completely
falls apart?. ?My kid hits it so well on the range, and then
hits it all over the map in a tournament?. These are the
kinds of comments that I often hear from parents of junior
golfers. Do these kids need a golf psychologist? No. Nobody
needs training on the mental part of the game. I take the
word need very seriously. I believe we need air and water
and sleep and food. I certainly wouldn?t suggest that
anyone needs mental training, anymore than I would suggest
that anyone needs golf lessons or physical training. What I
would say, however, is that I have yet to encounter any
player who couldn?t benefit from proper mental, technical,
or physical instruction. Thus, I believe any junior golfer
could benefit from mental instruction. Most people simply
don?t understand what this training is or how it works.
When I ask parents what percentage of their kid?s golf game
is mental, I rarely get a number less than 75%. Conversely,
when I ask those same people what percentage of their
child?s training time is devoted to working on the mental
game the answer is rarely greater than zero. And while
parents see the ?problem? with their child?s mental game,
the young player doesn?t know how to work on the mental game
and the parents don?t know where to look for answers to
their questions.
?What exactly do you do?? Most people outside of sport have
never heard of sport psychology, and many people in sport
have little knowledge about the nature of the job itself. In
a nutshell, golf psychology- or mental training for golf- is
consultation and education that exposes a player to the
requisite mental skills necessary to create an internal
environment to enjoy the sport more and achieve excellence
in performance. These skills are in conjunction with, but
not contrary to, the mechanical and physical instruction
that might be given by a swing coach or fitness trainer.
Here?s what it?s all about: Among other things, mental
training for golf is to help:
Understand how to deal with lapses in concentration
Deal with situations of accumulating frustration
Develop coping strategies to deal with increasing anxiety
Improve decreasing motivation
Examine and reinforce slipping confidence
Create strategies to reduce breakdowns under pressure
Craft procedures to increase consistency of preparation and
play
Generally the process first involves some type of
assessment. Next, there is a period of education and skill
development, followed by on-going follow-up and adjustments.
The specifics of the actual mental training will vary from
player to player, with the vast majority of interaction and
consultation done via telephone, on the golf course, at the
range, or on the putting green.
The added benefit for junior golfers is that the training
typically also has positive life effects. Understanding the
power of one?s thinking, learning how to differentiate those
things over which we have control from those over which we
do not have control, deepening an understanding of how to
take responsibility for our actions and our reactions to
events are among the many, many golf/life issues explored
and addressed. Ultimately, the more the junior player knows
him or herself, the more they understand the nuances of the
game, and the more they have specific strategies to apply,
the more they will be successful in golf and in life!
Jeff Troesch, MA, LMHC is an internationally recognized
expert in the mental side of golf. As the former Director of
Sport Psychology for the David Leadbetter Golf Academies,
Jeff has worked with thousands of golfers nationwide and
brings a wealth of experience to seasoned golf professionals
as well as the recreational golf lover. You may contact Jeff
directly through his website, http://www.fitnessforgolf.com.
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