Opinion & Analysis

The biggest influence on your child’s development in sports

Published

5 years ago

Nov 21, 2018

If you had the answer to youth development, you would have a very busy calendar. But joking aside, no one holds the golden ticket. The development of children is multi-faceted, diverse, and certainly does not follow a linear pattern; but what is possibly the most important factor to consider in your junior program?

Forget the grip, length of swing, or throwing skills. Social aspects are arguably the greatest influence on youth development and actually underpin everything we do. More worryingly, they have often been dismissed and unaccounted for in widely used participant development models, such as the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model.

So, what social aspects may be affecting children on your program?

Family

Parents are the bulk of this category and can often, but not always, act as role models whilst providing access and opportunity for children. On the reverse, parents can be can harmful and grouped into

the uninterested parent, who is never present
the overcritical parent, who is never satisfied
the yelling from the sideline parent, who often shouts louder than the coaches
the parent who coaches, who often contradicts the coach
the over-concerned parent, who is afraid of the dangers of sport and threatens to remove their child.

Do any of the children enrolled on your programs have parents that sound like the above? And how could this be affecting their performance and development?

It may also be worth mentioning at this point that siblings also play a huge part in development for obvious reasons related to motivation and role models. Have you ever wondered why it is so common for the youngest sibling to be the best goalkeeper? Is this luck? Another classic is children turning up late for sessions: this is obviously completely out of their control and coaches should not single out or highlight the fact that a particular child is late. The late child often wanders in with their head down, embarrassed about the fact they are turning up late.

Finally, has a recent divorce or family death affected a child in your Saturday morning class? The reason for their quietness and ‘uninterested look’ may in fact be stemming from a much deeper root. And to not pick this child for a team or to single him out for not being interested would be a disaster move at this point!

Socioeconomics

These are closely linked to parents and are quite simply financial factors. The cost of memberships, transport, equipment and time can often be a barrier for children. Can the family afford to pay for practice buckets out of sessions? And how could this be affecting a child’s development? Furthermore, should a child who hasn’t been practicing be inadvertently singled out when the reason for not practicing may often be totally out of their control? Again, how can we as coaches best handle these situations?

From a slightly different angle, how does the child in the group who has ‘hand me down’ clubs and an old scruffy bag feel? And how does the fact all the other children have brand new shiny clubs make them feel? More importantly, how can we as coaches make that child feel at ease?

Schooling/education

The guy that Henry sits next to on his first day of high school could quite possibly shape his future. The influence of peer groups is a huge factor in how attitudes, interests and ultimately behaviors are developed. Furthermore, the friendships developed at golf sessions could be pivotal in future development. What are we doing as coaches to create the best possible social environment for our players?

Additionally, the provision of sport varies across schools and can limit opportunities for different groups of children. This is totally out of a coach’s control but must be acknowledged. The popular named fundamental movement skills can heavily be influenced by the amount of school sport experienced; are children being dismissed from ‘talent ID’ programs for a lack of fundamental movement skills? And is this purely down to a lack of opportunity to develop these skills?

Finally, relative age effect has been shown to play an important role in youth sport and relates to the birth month of school children. Children born close to the start of the academic year (September in the UK) are often selected for school teams as opposed to children in the same year group that are nine months younger (born in Spring/Summer of the following year). The reason for being selected is often only because these children are bigger and stronger so therefore ‘suit’ the team better. So much for little Billy who loves the game but just gets “out muscled” by the big kids! (is this just bad luck?).

How can we tackle these issues?

Of course, we cannot hand out questionnaires to children and parents demanding fine details about their personal lives, however a big part of this puzzle does lie in TALKING to children and parents.

Talking to children/parents during a session about more than their grip or posture is invaluable for everyone involved.

For starters, these chats will help you build relationships with the children, a vital component of Self Determination Theory which is linked heavily to lifelong participation.
You will start to gather important information about the child. It is surprising what you may find out, but this is not nosey! Discovering that a child is being picked on at school may in fact be the most important thing that child has ever told you. And can for sure help you in how you behave and interact with that child.
Some of the most useful sessions are the ones spent talking for over half the time with the parents. Finding out what is going on in a child’s life could play a pivotal role in how you interact with different children.
Also, spending time with parents educating them is just as important. Let them know your plans/views. Pushy parents are the evil in youth sport but education can help them change their approach. Imagine if you could change the car journey home conversation from, “Why did you miss that putt?” to, “Did you enjoy that today? I love watching you play!”

Summary of points

Whilst participation development models that acknowledge physical, technical, and other assets do hold great value, a model that completely disregards any social aspects of development has to be questioned. Below are the important take home points

Social aspects underpin everything we do and an acknowledgement of unique social situations is paramount in youth development
Luck can often play a huge part in youth development
Children should not be judged or selected based upon something that is out of their control.
Be aware of relative age effect/biological age…..(but, do not make it your priority as neurological age is more important than biological age!!
Talking to parents and children is the key catalyst to bridging the gap between development and social issues.
The relationships we develop with children are critical to motivations and lifelong participation.

Reference

Bailey, R; Collins, D; Ford, P; MacNamara, A; Toms, M; and Pearce, G. (2010). Participant Development in Sport: An academic review.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

3 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

3 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

7 days ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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