More Sports = Better Development

Do you have dreams of watching your child win a major? It’s never too early to dream or to start him or her on their journey, but be careful of how you go about doing it. Often times we see parents taking their child to the driving range hitting ball after ball 5 to 6 days per week and many times as young as 5 years old. Unfortunately as a golf specific fitness professional, we usually don’t get to work with these golfers until they are in high school because many parents don’t think they should be “working out” until they are older. Our initial intake questionnaire has the following questions: How long have you played golf, how often do you swing the club, and what other sports did you play while growing up?

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Here is what we often see from a 15 or 16 yr old:

• How long have you played golf?  10 yrs
• How often do you swing the club?  Every Day
• What other sports have you played?  None

With these golfers, often times we have to spend many hours getting them to learn how to use their bodies for maximum efficiency. It is hard for them to develop consistent speed and power because of this, and their bodies are developed unevenly and injuries have already started to hinder their development.

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Here is what we would love to see from those golfers:

• How long have you played golf?  5-10 yrs
• How often do you swing the club?  3-4 days per week
• What other sports have you played?  Soccer, basketball, tennis, baseball or pretty much any other sport.

These golfers already have great control of their bodies and are quick learners when it comes to developing speed and power conducive for their golf swing. They are also well balanced physically and have symmetrical strengths on both sides of their bodies.

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So instead of taking your future champion to the range every day, get them in other sports or take them to the park and incorporate the following:

1. Teach them how to skip. Skipping is one of the first fundamental movements to get them to separate their upper and lower bodies
2. Teach them how to throw a ball. This will teach them how to use their lower body and hips to generate power to the upper body. Do this with both arms.
3. Have them kick a ball. This will teach them how to post up on a leg and swing around it. Do this with both legs.
4. Have them throw a Frisbee. This teaches them proper wrist release and body alignment.
5. Have them play on the monkey bars. This will develop upper body and forearm strength.
6. Challenge them to a race. Your child can’t ever be “too fast.” They will benefit their entire life from speed development at a young age.

These are just some examples of how you as a parent can create a future golf champion. These early learned skills will pay off greatly in their long term development, and be crucial in avoiding early burnout and injury.