More than 100 high school golfers and their parents and coaches enjoyed a half-day of college golf coaching at The Bunker in Boardman hosted by Greatest Golfer.
The 4-hour day was split between 2 hours of skills challenges on the simulators and mingling with 10 college players.
Another 2 hours was dedicated to panel discussions from college players and coaches offering guidance on college golf opportunities. The sessions were capped by Annika Sorenstam doing a Q&A with some players.
Sorentsam — zooming in from a golf event — talked about her career, her comeback as senior player, the importance of training and her commitment to growing the game for young girls.
Among the themes offered:
• Having a high school coach willing to help connect you with college coaches is real helpful.
• Emailing coaches to get your name out there was helpful to several players.
• Some players liked using videos and national recruiting sites to showcase themselves.
• Coaches are looking for factors in a player that demonstrate grit and perseverance.
• Coaches think about team chemistry when they recruit players.
• There are many opportunities for high school girls to find college golf opportunities.
• Coaches will look at players’ social media to see what kind of person an applicant is.
• The long van rides to matches become the best bonding time with teammates.
• The athletic demands forced golfers to become better at academics.
Colleges represented included:
Youngstown State, Notre Dame, Lake Erie, Ohio Northern, Allegheny College, Thiel University, Point Park University, California University, Malone, Otterbein, Clarion and Westminster.
The high school attendees came from schools throughout the Valley and as far away as Wooster, Rocky River and Pittsburgh.
Farmers National Bank, Joe Dickey Electric, OnCore Golf and The Bunker sponsored the event.