Today I want to talk about two basic topics that should be interesting for both parents and young players.
The first topic is: "Why do children not want to play golf?"
Possible reasons are:
- It's no fun
- They are being forced to play
- They can’t make friends
- They are playing from the wrong tee
- They were placed in the competition too soon
- Fear of failure
- Too much pressure
- Bad coaching
- They hurt themselves
Why do kids not want to play golf?
If children and teenagers have no fun during training or on the course, they will stop playing sooner or later. For girls, the most important thing is to have a friend who also plays golf. Why? Because the dropout rate for girls between 12 and 16 is over 80% in all sports and the main reason is that their friends do not do the same sport. It is important for parents to understand that they have to build an environment that includes:
- Enjoying both training and environment
- Finding friends
- Feeling of belonging
- Challenge, but in moderation
- Find a children’s / junior coach
If you follow these points, your children will play golf for a long time.
The second topic I want to talk about is that children and adolescents of the same age can experience a difference in physical development of up to five years.
Basics of chronological / developmental age
As all parents with multiple children confirm, children rarely develop at the same rate. We try to break the mold to teach all children of the same chronological age in the same way.
Chronological age - The number of years and days since the child was born. This can be calculated using a calendar.
Developmental Age - The level of physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional maturity of the child. This cannot be measured with a calendar. For a child's developmental age, you need to deal with skeletal development, sexual development, growth rate, functional movement patterns, basic movement skills, and athletic skills.
Growth - Increases a child's height, body weight, body fat, and limb length.
Maturation - process in which the child's body changes to increasingly approach an adult. The body does not need any signs of growth to mature.
It is important that parents and coaches know the child's developmental age and level of maturity. This knowledge enables us to prescribe development-appropriate skills and exercises so that the child has more fun playing and excels faster. We try to divide the players into three groups:
- Early Maturers - These are 8 year olds who behave and act like 10.5 year olds.
- Normal maturity - These are 8 year olds who behave like 8 year olds and perform accordingly
- Late Maturers - These are 8 year olds who behave and act like 5.5 year olds
As you can see, children can be up to five years apart from each other due to their development, but due to their chronological age they can be classified in the same golf program or golf tournament.
