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Sports Girls Play Go-Getter Award – Trailblazing Middle School Golf Girl
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While catching up on my favorite sports blogs earlier this week, I came across a few posts by Heather at Real Women Golf about her very exceptional daughter, Miss E, who decided to try out for the boys golf team in middle school and made it!!! I am awarding Miss E the Sports Girls Play Go-Getter Award for being a leader and an inspiration for other girls following their dreams in sports.
According to Heather, Miss E. made the declaration way back in second grade that she was going to try out for the golf team when she got to middle school. Just so happens, the school doesn’t have a girls golf team, so Miss E’s only choice was to be a trailblazer and be the first girl to try out for the boys golf team – ever – at her school. Trying out for any sports team is a challenge, but being the first girl to try out for a “boys” team takes a lot more courage and confidence.
It sounds as if Miss E is a fantastic golfer for her age and her teammates and coach are very glad to have her. They just have a few challenges like … they may need to rename the team and they will have to expand the team’s uniform to make sure Miss E has a shirt made for a girl.
Anyhow, congratulations again Miss E! Your go-getter attitude is going to take you a long way in life.
Photo – Provided by Heather of Real Women Golf.
I’ve Created a Golf Monster
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How’s that for a crazy title? This summer I signed my 8 year old daughter up for golf camp with a few different motives in mind.
One, I wanted her to try a new sport – she is a very good swimmer, but I want her to expand her horizons a bit. Second, golf is one of those life long sports and I’m thinking of my own future here – in addition to golf weekends with my husband, I think some Mother/Daughter golf weekends could be a lot of fun! Third, it was a bargain when it comes to summer activities for kids! Not only did the kids get 3 hours of quality golf instruction each morning for a week, they also fed them lunch from the cafe at the golf course – all for $120 for the week.
But, what I didn’t see coming was this… I have now created a golf monster. She absolutely loves it. She asks daily if we can go to the driving range, managed to talk us in to playing 4 different mini golf courses in a week on vacation, she just went to the backyard with a bucket of foam practice balls, and has even requested a golf outing tomorrow morning – the last free day she has before school starts again. Gotta love it!
Golf camp was a really great experience for her and I was really impressed with the entire staff at the camp. Each morning they started off with stations where they practiced their swing using various fun golf trainers, learned chipping, practiced putting and spent time at the driving range. After a quick snack they had sessions on golf rules and etiquette, then each day they had a different closing activity which ranged from a chipping contest to actually playing 4-5 holes the last two days.
The last day of camp they had an awards ceremony and really made a point of recognizing each child for their efforts. Something tells me that her great experience at golf camp this summer contributed to the creation of my little golf monster! She is already talking about playing in a tournament or two….
Athletes and Back to School: 8 Things Parents and Coaches Can Do To Make It Easier
Posted by: | CommentsNote: I originally published this last year, but since it is that time of year again, I felt like it needed to be revisited.
Our kids go back to school tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the first day of practice on the fall schedule for the gymnasts I coach and my own kids go back to swim team practices this week, as well. As a coach and a parent, I know the next 3 weeks are going to be HARD! That’s because it is going to take about 3 weeks for the kids to adjust to being back in school all day and then going straight to practice a few times a week. But it’s going to be okay. Experience tells me that these first few weeks will be tough, but the kids will adapt.
As a parent, you can help make this transition time easier by:
- Make sure your athlete is going to bed at a reasonable time. Summer sleep schedules were lax at best around my house so it is time to recalibrate the kids’ sleep schedules. I aim to have my 7 year old in bed between 9 and 9:30 on school nights. She can sleep in until 8 so that gives her plenty of time to rest. My 11 and 13 year old have to get up earlier but don’t seem to need quite as much sleep so they go to bed no later than 10 – closer to 9:30 on night’s where the homework load is light.
- Make sure your athlete is adequately fueled. Long school days mean less opportunity for snacking but it also means that they will be hungrier when you see them after school. Start with a balanced breakfast – no a frozen waffle on its own does not count. Encourage your athlete to help pack their lunch or at least give you input so the chance of them eating it all is better. If you are going straight from school to practice, make sure you provide a healthy mini-meal to refuel their systems (check our list of Healthy Snacks and Mini Meal Ideas). After workout try a tall glass of chocolate milk and a banana or bagel for immediate muscle recovery!
- Communicate with teachers! If your child is still in elementary school, definitely let their teacher know what days they have sports practice. Many teachers will be willing to give homework at the beginning of the week so that you can focus on homework on off days, or at least conquer the more time intensive pieces on non-sports days. For middle school and high school students, it is a great time to learn time management skills. My kids have learned how to take advantage of in-school study halls and extra class time to get a jump on homework so they don’t have as much to deal with after school.
- Allow for downtime. Be sure not to completely over schedule your child these first few weeks. Add activities incrementally and allow for some relaxation time. Time to read, play, enjoy family time and just chill is just as essential for kids as the sports they do!
As a coach, you can help by:
- Being aware of the transition that your athletes are dealing with. Just acknowledging the new schedule and challenges will go a long way to helping the children relax.
- Taking a few minutes to communicate with your athletes. When we start practice we have the girls all line up first so we can give them any pre-practice information, greet them and we usually go down the line and ask them each how their day was or some silly question. It helps the girls change gears and it helps facilitate the coach/athlete bond.
- Stressing the importance of school. Remind your athletes that school comes first. If they need an extra 15 minutes at the beginning of practice to finish up homework, give it to them. As the year goes on they will find their stride and will learn to manage the homework/practice balance better. Allow athletes to leave practice early on night’s where they need to study for a big test or have a larger than normal homework load.
- Adjusting practice intensity. Know your athletes and know the signs of fatigue. The first few weeks of school you may need to adjust the intensity, number repetitions and lower your expectations a bit.
Years of experience from the coaching side and now from the parenting side have taught me that kids are resilient, they adapt and even the busiest schedule can be a positive thing – IF – parents and coaches are working together with the athletes as a TEAM.
Do you have tips for making the transition from the lazy days of summer back to the structure of balancing school and sports? If so – share them in the comments below! We can all benefit from working to support our athletes.
