Monday, January 13, 2014

The Winter Golf Program is here!

The winter golf program will kick-off on February 1st. 


The program combines a fitness program tailored for the golf-athlete and golf instruction/coaching. Half the classes will take place at OffTheField located at Axiom Performance Center in Meridian and the other half of the classes will take place at Falcon Crest Golf Club.

Our OffTheField Performance Coach will be Taylor Bateman and golf instruction and coaching will be conducted by me, Erica Haney. Both Taylor and I are excited for this program, and we guarantee the juniors will be excited to participate and we expect to increase each athlete's club head speed, strength, and self confidence. I also expect to see golf swings improve and other fundamentals important to the swing.

There will be 9 class sessions total. Juniors will be divided up into two groups based on ability and age.
The two groups are The Winter Linksters and The Snow Strikers.


The Winter Linksters category is for juniors who are at a higher playing level. These juniors take golf seriously and are looking to improve their skills before spring when high school golf starts, or are looking to improve their skills for competition and their upcoming goals for golf in 2014. 

The Snow Strikers category is for juniors who may be a little younger but still want to keep golfing throughout the winter. This class will focus on fundamentals, but also more advanced instruction will be given as the fundamental skills are achieved. 

Both classes will work on nutrition as it relates to golf & being an elite athlete, and the physical fitness component of golf. The physical fitness training will be golf specific. 


Durring the winter it is vital to prepare for the upcoming season and draw attention to the fitness fundamentals that improve our on-course performance. In this winter session I'm aiming to take advantage of the off-season, for those juniors who want it, by focusing on 3 major areas: stretching, nutrition, and resistance/isometric fitness training. By focusing on these 3 areas, a strong balance will be created and that will allow us to see improvements in their game. 

Fitness movements will be centered on strengthening juniors' rotational core muscle groups by learning exercises based on the transverse plane of movement. This will increase club-head speed, distance, endurance, accuracy and symmetry in their golf swings. 

Nutrition is an integral part of daily lives and junior golfers need to know how to fuel their bodies on and off the course for success.

Stretching before and after golf rounds is essential to a relaxed swing and positive mental readiness. In the class we will also focus on some athletic stretches that will create flexibility needed to avoid injury and fatigue! 

The above summarizes the fitness component of the class. For more information you may contact our Performance Coach, Taylor Bateman at 208-353-4068. 

In conjunction with the fitness training we will also be working on the golf swing. Swing Analyses for each individual will be conducted regularly and individual instruction will be given as well as group coaching. 

I will expect the juniors to work on some of the things from class outside of class. I will provide golf drills and Taylor will provide different exercises, the activities we provide can be done at home. 

Schedule:

February 1st - all juniors from both classes will meet at OffTheField at noon for initial evaluations and program rundown as well as nutritional information. 

Snow Strikers will meet on Tuesdays at OffTheField from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. 
Dates: February 4, February 11, February 18, February 25

Snow Strikers will meet on Fridays at Falcon Crest Golf Club from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. 
Dates: February 7, February 21, February 28
no class February 14, instead class will be on Wed. February 12

Winter Linksters will meet on Thursdays at OffTheField from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.
Dates: February 6, February 13, February 20, February 27

Winter Linksters will meet on Mondays at Falcon Crest Golf Club from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.
Dates: February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24

9 classes total for each group. 
In addition, I will be scheduling on the 1st Saturday we meet individual time slots of 30 minutes for one-on-one swing analysis with each junior golfer. 


For additional information or to sign your junior up please call me at 208-890-6426 or email me at ericahaney@pga.com

Thank you!
Erica Haney

Erica Haney named 2013 Top 50 Honorable Mention for US Kids Teachers



U.S. Kids Golf has announced the recipients of the Top 50 Kids Teachers Award and Honorable Mention Award, which annually recognizes the world's most outstanding youth golf instructors.

I am pleased to announce I was recently recognized as an Honorable Mentioned Top 50 Kids Teacher for 2013. I was also awarded this award for 2012 and am honored to receive the accolade again this year. From the state of Idaho I am one of two people who have ever been awarded as a Top U.S. Kids Golf Teacher.

Dan Van Horn, President of the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation wrote the following:
This year's pool was the largest and strongest ever, and your selection as an Honorable Mention recipient recognizes your commitment to youth golf and the impact of your program. From the record-setting pool of nearly 750 applicants, the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation Committee has recognized 150 instructors - 50 earned the Top 50 Kids Teacher Award and 100 instructors earned Honorable Mention accolades. 

I would like to thank the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation for selecting me as one of the top junior instructors in the world and for honoring my dedication as a junior coach and my dedication to making an impact through developing the game of golf among our youth.

I also would like to thank all my junior golfers I have coached and taught over the last 4 years and all the parents for your support and for your confidence in me as your child's coach and your trust in my junior programs.

- Erica Haney