The Urban Golf Academy

CREATE!

2011-12-12T18:29:00.002-05:00

“When meeting people from a foreign culture, offer a few gifts that reflect your interests as a gesture of friendship. Better yet, give things you’ve created yourself. Also, explore their interests and their culture. Ultimately, the best way to forge a lasting friendship is to create something together. Whether it’s a meal, an art project or a spontaneous dance party, when you create something with others, you build a connection that lasts a lifetime.” – International Diplomacy Guidebook

That was the quote that sat on the big screen as we walked into Blueman Group last week. Needless to say, it sat with me, too. I loved the performance—it was moving and engaging and a thrilling treat—and I just kept coming back to this original quote. It’s what I try to do with the children in my program. It’s what I always talk about--- getting on their level. Listening. Being present. But the quote also put it into new words for me—creating something. Yes. Creating.
We create experiences, memories. We create a moment together. It’s not about the golf swing, it’s about the experience surrounding that moment. It’s about how we learn, the ways in which, in that classroom, we come together.
Getting on a child’s level isn’t about teaching them something. It’s not about imparting wisdom, projecting a learning system. It’s about sharing something. It’s an offering. It’s saying: “For this hour, this afternoon, I am yours. I will be completely present for you. I will offer you what I know in exchange for what you know, and we will make something together.”
The shared experience then becomes something they can be free in. Be themselves in. We have rules, of course we do, but because I communicate in their language--- because I get on their level--- they are free to really open up. To begin to internalize and understand in a way that works for them.
I always say I do not set out to teach golfers, I set out to teach the child. In the process, of course, the child teaches me. The child teaches me the way they learn. They teach me how to explore their own abilities with them--- what they need from a lesson, how they wish to move forward. By just being present, by offering, they instruct me on everything I need to know. It’s no wonder children keep coming back to the program. A love of golf develops from a love of the experience. From the love of the moment
Of course, The Blueman group was not referring to children. They were referring to diplomacy, to life. Try, in your interactions, to offer. Try to share. Instead of telling someone how you see it, try to listen to how they do. Hold space for them to express where they’re coming from. When you get on someone’s level, you open up the moment to be something bigger than the both of you. And that moment, that expansion, has the ability to last a lifetime.
Play in love,
Kate

Play/Golf

2011-11-22T08:39:00.001-05:00

Play/Golf
by guest blogger Lars J. Hanson

KTUGA's number one goal is to get children excited about playing golf. We believe that joy of the sport, of the experience, is what commits children to golf. Nothing makes us happier than seeing students empowered by their successes in our program!

This Thanksgiving season we are supremely thankful for having jobs where we get to do this everyday.

We are equally thankful when parents like Lars tell us how much they understand and appreciate the totality of our approach. One Saturday during class, Lars shared with Kate his appreciation for her technique. His feedback made Kate's heart sing so we asked him to write this blog.

Thank you Lars! Thank you KTUGA students!

Happy Thanksgiving from the entire KTUGA team.
Kate, Mari, Christy, Buddy, Eben, Deborah, Val, Gina Gr., Gina Go., Wally, Krystal

Play/Golf

When I watch my son Graydon play golf with Kate Tempesta’s Urban Golf Academy, I see a child immersed in the lessons and flow of Play.

KTUGA offers a change of pace and place from the golf course and the driving range. Playing with a golf ball that doesn't travel all that far to begin with (or might even look more like a napkin ring) means that the focus won't be on how far the ball was hit. Rather, the focus can be on how the ball was hit.

Playing golf in Central Park and not at a golf course means that Graydon is engaging his imagination as he devises the par level and creates the course.
Expectations that usually come with playing on a golf course or at a driving range are not really applicable because the usual pressures are not there when “playing to learn” with KTUGA.

I also appreciate how Graydon’s confidence thrives when he is designing a golf course in Central Park. He is having fun while he makes choices about the obstacles and the par level, refining his technique as he plays the course he has just created.

Because Graydon has been playing golf for three years, sometimes it is easy for me to forget that Graydon is only eight years old. And guess what? Eight year-olds enjoying playing!

Kate really gets that about kids and golf and that is the primary focus of KTUGA’s curriculum and how the entire team teaches/plays golf. When Graydon turned 7 we approached Kate to lead a Birthday Party for Graydon and a number of his friends.

Graydon and his friends had a blast in the gymnasium because the party wasn't all about golf. Games incorporating balance and ball trajectory were mixed in amidst running, leaping and a scavenger hunt.

I have always been grateful to KTUGA because they understand the invaluable role that Play serves in teaching the fundamentals of Golf to beginners and youngsters. Graydon loves his lessons with KTUGA, is steadily improving as a golfer and I am most certain he is hooked for life.

-Lars Hanson

Lose Yourself

2011-11-22T08:35:00.000-05:00

You know those moments where the stars align, the universe opens, and you just loose yourself? Sometimes it can happen in nature—on a hike, witnessing the perfect sunset. Sometimes it can happen in a conversation with a loved one. And sometimes, like last night, it can happen at a rock concert.
I went to see a band I’ve loved for a long time, and they played a song that has been a favorite of mine. The music began to surround me and all of a sudden I felt myself opening to the moment. I was totally and fully present in my life—right here and now. We often talk about “losing ourselves” in the moment, but that loss of self is actually self-realization. It is total awareness. And it’s what I find every single day that I teach.
It is a gift and a blessing to have the knowledge that you are right where you need to be in this life. I know when I teach, when I’m with the children, that there is nowhere else in the world I should be, and no one else I should be with. It’s the deepest, purest kind of presence—it’s knowing that the moment is exactly as it should be.
There are times in our lives where we cannot be where we need to be, not in the way I just mentioned. Duty calls. Money needs to be made. People need to be fed. Hearts need to be healed. Life is a journey and not every moment will be one we relish. The trick, then, is to let the moments that DO feel divine, that open us up, to act as reminders. Feeling present is not dependent on circumstance, but instead on attitude. It’s a choice. Am I going to love what I do, and give my all to it? Or am I going to suffer through my day? And as we move with that attitude, the attitude of grace, we begin to get clearer and clearer about what we want in our life—how to follow our heart to the path where our circumstances match our internal landscape, our attitude.
It’s not always easy. There are days when it feels like being present is no more than a pipe dream—like picking up in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday and deciding to go to Paris. Sometimes we need to do those things, to live spontaneously. Sometimes our life is calling us to just hop a plane. But other times, most times, we are just called to pause. To be present. To appreciate. And to know you are on your way. Even if you are not in Paris, if you’re not a rock star up on that stage, you are on the path. Simply by being, you are on the path.
Do I think that band woke up one day and had a bestselling, platinum album? Absolutely not. Were there tough days, years of being starving artists? Of course. But they hung in because they knew they were on the path. And the path delivered them where they needed to go.
I think the thing we often don’t realize is that the very core of life is a process. There is no “there,” there is just becoming. We are all works in progress. The children remind me of this constantly. They remind me to not think about some day far off in time where “it will all be worth it,” because it’s worth it right now. The worth is in the moment. It’s in getting on a seven year old’s level and watching him smile. It’s in playing a warm-up game with a five-year old girl and seeing the pride on her face as she picks up a club. Real success is honoring the path. It’s understanding that happiness does not come from reaching the mountaintop, but from enjoying the climb. It’s in living every moment—washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, running, cooking, working-- like you’re playing to a sold-out stadium.
Lose yourself in a moment today. Trust me, you just may find something else.
Play and love,
Kate

Get Off the Bus!

2011-09-21T12:05:00.002-04:00

I like to tell the following story about my uncle Brian:
He’s a big golfer, and once a year he goes over to Ireland with his buddies to play a few rounds of golf on the gorgeous Irish courses. They always rent a van and on this particular trip, and for the purposes of this particular story, they were making their way from one course to another, and en route to a hotel. They were passing a bar my uncle had heard of and he wanted to stop. “Let’s have a drink,” he pitched to the group. No one agreed. It was late. They had an early-morning tee time. Who cares about some bar? Let’s just get to where we’re going.
But my uncle persisted. He had a feeling. He wanted to go to this bar! He made the bus pull over and with just one other guy, he got off. They went to the bar for a drink--- a small place, definitely off the map. It was packed. Jammed to the brim. My uncle thought hey, he was right, this place was a hit! Just then some musicians came in to play. People cheered, slammed down beers. My uncle and his buddy listened to Van Morrison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Woods for the next couple of hours.
When my uncle tells the story he always ends it this way: Sometimes, Kate, you gotta get off the bus.
A few weeks ago, my uncle invited me on that same golfing trip. He offered to fly me over, put me up, play with me. I could, of course, think of a million reasons not to go. KTUGA is just back from summer. We’re starting new programs, picking up with our students. There is a ton of work to be done, work that needs my time and attention and presence. But then I remembered this exact story--- sometimes you gotta get off the bus.
I went.
It was an incredible trip, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to go. It was wonderful to spend so much time with my dear uncle, and to get to play on some of the world’s leading courses. But truth be told, the lesson was really the greatest part of the vacation—get off the bus. Often we think that saying “yes!” to things is a way of meeting a challenge--- of standing up to work, to difficulty, and bellowing our intention. This is true and it’s a big part of what I teach--- “Yes I can!” But sometimes saying yes is just getting off the bus. Sometimes saying yes is saying yes to adventure, to a change of course, to a silly idea no one has time for. Sometimes saying yes is giving yourself the opportunity to allow your ideas about success, progress, productivity-- to shift. It would have been prudent for my uncle to stay on that bus, to get a good night’s sleep and play a good round the next day. But he didn’t say yes to prudence, he said yes to something else--- some impulse of FUN. And he has a story now for the ages.
Think about getting off the bus this week. Think about saying yes to all aspects of your life--- to challenge, to adventure, to joy.
With love,
Kate

Saturdays with Lily

2011-09-01T14:44:00.002-04:00

For the last three summers I’ve worked with a little girl named Lily. Lily is going into second grade this fall and we began our time together when she was just about to start Kindergarten. Saturdays with Lily are one of the highlights of my week. I’ve seen her grow from a shy, soft-spoken girl into a force to be reckoned with. Lily has some health challenges that make it difficult for her to do contact sports. Her mother, wisely, did not want Lily to miss out on physical activity and thought golf would be perfect for Lily---she was right. This is another thing I love about golf---how accessible it is to people of all needs. It’s truly a lifetime sport and something I feel blessed to journey.
Every Saturday Lily shows up for our lessons with a smile on her face. Her progress has been extraordinary, but that’s not what I want to share here. What I want to talk about is the ways in which Lily has made me a better instructor. I talk a lot about allowing students to be exactly where they are. I also say that it’s important for teachers to “get on their level.” Speak in language they understand, use games to demonstrate techniques. But the single most important thing I believe you can do as a teacher is to hold space for a child to be where they are, when they are. If they’re having an off day, be silly. If something isn’t working, change it, and change it again. Children are remarkably adaptable but as adults we sometimes forget how important it is to sway, to move. To shift. To be.
Working with young children is an incredible experience in presence. In order to hold space, to allow children to be exactly where they are, when they are there, I need to be present. That means I’m not thinking about outcomes. I don’t spend the lesson worrying about what their shot is going to be like at age fifteen or whether they are going to go pro. Those things will happen if they are right for that child and as that child reveals to me the directions they want to move in, we will move there. But the child must lead. The reason my program works is because I work with children, not above them. We’re in this together. As partners. Friends.
Saturdays with Lily are a constant reminder of my partnership with these children. Of the deal I make with them when they step into my classroom or onto my course: I will hold space for you to be exactly where you are, when you are there.
It hasn’t failed me yet.
Be where you are. When you are there. And then play there.
With love,
Kate

A Like-Minded Meeting

2011-05-09T12:22:00.002-04:00

Last week I had lunch with sport psychologist legend Patricia Donnelly. She’s an incredible woman and a pioneer in her field. In 1998 she published an extensive study linking child development with golf instruction techniques--- incredible stuff, and what’s more, her findings exactly match my own philosophy. She writes: “Children of approximately 3 to 6 years of age enjoy moving their bodies in ways that are fun.” My early birdies are indeed close to my heart but Patricia and I share a passion for sustained learning. The point of starting children young is that they develop a love for the sport early on, and they can grow with and into it. Patricia goes on to say: “Similarly, a golf teacher could encourage children to find or make their own clubs using sticks or broomsticks…it would also add what Piaget referred to as animism, attributing lifelike qualities to inanimate objects, for example, pretending the club is a snake.”
Wow.
Reading Patricia’s work I was not only encouraged (and validated!) but also extraordinarily motivated--- to keep reaching children in the way that I do. I’ve always known myself that our program works, that it’s effective, but seeing it printed in black and white and hearing her scientist take on it filled me with a supreme sense of purpose. We’re on the right track.
Patricia spoke a lot about how the industry simply wasn’t ready for this type of information fifteen years ago. There weren’t the PGA and LPGA initiatives there are now, initiatives to get junior golfers excited about and committed to the game. Patricia spoke about how she thinks sports instructors are going to start opening their eyes more and more to the reality that sports education is about just that, education. You can be the best golfer on the planet but if you don’t have the education resources to draw on, if you don’t know where your students are at developmentally, you can’t really succeed at teaching.
We spoke a lot about my program. I told her about our affirmations—“I can” before the golf swing. About the games we play and the tools we use. She loved it all.
Our meeting was wonderful for showing me we’re on the right track in our program, a program I have and continue to believe in with my whole heart, but it gave me something else, too. It gave me a mentor. I often advise young professionals to seek out someone who has done what they want to do and done it well. It’s important to have a point of reference, someone to look up. Even as a pioneer, on an unchartered path, there is always someone who has walked it before. That’s what I found so incredible about my meeting with Patricia: everything I do, everything I believe in, she believed in as well.
It’s a remarkable thing to find people who are on your path—ahead, behind or right next to you, side by side. They are reminders that we’re going the right way. No one’s personal or professional journey is exactly like anyone else’s. We all take our own detours, branch off in our own time. But finding like-minded people, people who when you speak and act stand up and say YES, are wonderful things indeed. They remind us of how important community is, and how we all play a roll in the lives of those around us.
This is why I want to get out there and train more instructors, teachers, parents. I want to create a dialogue about physical movement and development--- a dialogue that will remain. Because sometimes on the path you walk you have to stop and plant a tree so that someday, years from now, another traveler can pluck a fruit and be sustained. Patricia’s 1998 study was a seed. KTUGA is now ready to blossom.
PLAY golf,
Kate

Continued Education

2011-03-03T10:33:00.001-05:00

Last week I woke up to an email from a mother of two girls that I used to teach years ago. I had recently re-connected with them out east last summer and the mother was writing to invite me her daughter’s last basketball game of the season. She told me how much her daughter would love to have me there and wondered if I might consider making a stop-by. I had been to another game earlier this year and saw about six other children I used to teach. It was amazing to touch down with these families I love, so when I got her email, I jumped at the opportunity.

I got to Sacred Heart at half time and was greeted with hugs and screams from the girls. Seeing their smiling faces reminded me, yet again, of why I love this job. How much I adore these children. I am so proud to contribute to moments of joy like this in a child’s life and to be someone they are excited to see, in class and outside---In the moment, and years later.

The experience made me think, as I often do, about how much more this job is than just golf or movement. It’s about play and love. It’s about being a role model, one they can look up to and at the same time directly in the eye. One that they know understands, and shares in their joys and successes. I love that I get to be a part of their education, and that I get to participate in their learning, growth and development. It’s a remarkable thing.

A few days after the big game I got another email, this time from the mother of a young girl I had in movement class who wanted to know if she could come to my Marymount program and be my helper. I was thrilled. She showed up with a smile on her face, ready to work. She listened to my instruction and was so helpful with the younger girls--- patient and calm--- she repeated the lessons she saw me giving. She was encouraging and playful and I was thrilled to have sparked her interest in not just golf, but also teaching. I love empowering students to feel like they have lessons to share and offer. It’s a wonderful gift to be of service to others and teaching is an incredible way to do it.

I am blessed to have a job that lets me be present and playful every single day. What I learned this week is that the thing I do has a long-term effect and that the lessons we share in the classroom don’t stop growing inside the children after they leave those physical walls. I am so proud of all of my students, young and old, and thank them for the way they teach ME daily.

Continue to learn, grow, teach and SOAR,
Kate

Educator verses Instructor: How to Get Children Involved in Golf Early On

2011-02-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I went to the PGA show in Orlando. It was a wonderful experience and I got to see and catch up with so many of you face to face. I was sent to cover SNAG (Starting New at Golf) and the conversation quickly turned to something I believe we’re all concerned about in the industry: how to get and keep children involved and interested in the game of golf.

So many children are dropping out of the game. Numbers are on the fall and most programs don’t even have children beginning to come to the sport until seven years old. I see this as a big flaw. I know from my own experience with Kate Tempesta’s Urban Golf Academy that four, five and six are key years in golf development. Let me explain.

Most sports programs offer classes and instruction for children four and up. Four, five, and six are incredibly pivotal and formative years in a child’s development cycle and I believe golf is missing out on an incredible opportunity to capture the attention of youth. If a child comes to the game of soccer at four, by seven they are already a seasoned pro, and love the sport as their own.

It has always been my goal to create a program that was not only child-centric, but early child centric. This means that while golf is the lesson, it is not always the focus. Again, let me explain.

Teaching children sports is about so much more than being skilled in the arena ourselves. This is one of the things I focused on at the PGA shows. In order to be a great golf instructor, you must be a great golf educator. Education is about understanding development levels, the way a child’s brain works at four, or five, or eight. It is about getting on their level and transforming a sport into a playground---putting everything, from the rules of the game to the way you hold your club, into child context.

For instance I was teaching my five year olds trajectory the other day but I didn’t use that word. We played a game called “Over the Alligator,” where they chipped the ball over, you guessed it, an alligator. Bonus if the alligator might swallow a missed ball!

I teach all the traditional concepts of golf but in a way they understand, and have fun with. The name of the game is fun. When there is joy in what children are doing, they put themselves into it, and the results are outstanding.

As sports professionals we often talk about “being in the zone.” That magic place where we’re synced up--mind and body--and things just work. For children, that zone is play. It’s fun. When children experience joy they perform better, and learn more. And when they have fun and learn more, they enjoy their experience…and want to stick with golf for years to come.

The goal of my program is not to make mini golf pros. My goal is to get children, from an early age, thinking about and loving a sport I believe in. A sport that teaches so many life skills right alongside athletic ones.

I’ve always said I think golf is the paradigm sport, one that exists at the fulcrum of the mind-body connection. It is my greatest joy to offer this game up to children, and to create opportunities for newcomers to fall in love with the game for years to come.

One thing I want to stress to you, my fellow professionals, is that teaching golf is about understanding our children—how they think, what makes them happy, and where they are at in any given moment. I would encourage you all to approach your teaching in terms of an education, taking the sport you love and transcribing it into terms children will understand, and respond to.

I’ve listed two links for reading resources that have greatly helped me in my own educational development. I hope they will provide some insight to you, as well.

Have a wonderful week and PLAY golf,

Kate

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Four-Year-Old-Louise-Bates-Ames/dp/0440506751/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_we_play/

Of Surprises and Success

2010-10-08T09:35:00.002-04:00

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. 
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. 
Just walk beside me and be my friend.
-- Albert Camus

I was met with a wonderful celebration this Sunday in Central Park. Christine, Mari and Monica had organized a surprise party for my being named one of Golf Digest’s best young teachers and one of Golf Magazine’s Fab 40 under 40. The articles put me alongside such pros and contributors as Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa. It was a huge honor but what was even more rewarding? Sharing it with those I love.
There are notions of success as singular. It’s something you work for, and eventually own. What I realized on Sunday is that true success, in it’s best form, is a community undertaking. Not only does it take a village to achieve, but it should also have a village present to celebrate. I talk a lot about the angels in my life, how they build me up, but on Sunday I really saw them in action. There were students and parents, family and friends and what I realized when I looked at all the familiar faces is that I could not have done it without each and every one of them. They were all a part of the last ten years, and the moments that led me to this one.
I believe strongly that great success can never be achieved without service, that it is through making it about something bigger than ourselves that our own dreams are realized. What I saw on Sunday was that true success cannot be celebrated without the acknowledgment of others, either. Because nothing takes place in a vacuum. We are all blessed to support, encourage and affect each other’s lives.

Celebrate Success,

Kate

It's In The Process

2010-10-05T16:08:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I think we’re too focused on the big picture, the end goal, the bottom line. Sometimes I think we don’t have enough appreciation for the process. My program isn’t successful because my students learn how to play golf (although they do). My program is successful because I connect with my students, I get on their level. I understand them and respect where they are at in each and every moment in each and every lesson. It doesn’t matter what will happen a month from now. Right here, in this moment—that’s what we need to get right.

It’s not about the perfect swing it’s about the perfect moment learning the swing. It’s about connecting to the game…cultivating joy, love and commitment to the sport. It’s moments like the ones in class that we often ignore. We consider them “leading up” moments, never realizing they are actually the whole point entirely. It’s these seconds, minutes, hours that make the player. It’s the kind words and the connection and the silly exercises and the laughter that creates the memories of the game and the will and drive to continue to play.

My goal is to construct our lessons in such a way that they not only lay the foundation for all the wonderful things to come but that they themselves ARE the wonderful things. That just by being there and being present together, we’ve made the point. It also allows me to really be focused with the children and to see opportunities for growth. Perhaps they’ll be open to something new—a different way of problem solving, another tool in their magic toolbox. It’s these little moments, this process, that makes the lesson. It’s not just golf, it’s life, and it’s why I teach. It’s what makes me passionate about education and what keeps me committed to the presence, joy and purpose in my own life.

Take a few moments this week to pay attention to your own process. Honor it, recognize it, and celebrate it.

With love,

Kate

SNAG: Starting New At Golf

2010-09-30T14:14:00.000-04:00

This blog has been a long-time coming and I hope it gives some insight into a subject that is the source of a lot of joy (and some frustration) in my program. Yes, my friends, the time has come to talk about SNAG®.

I get asked a lot what SNAG® is and why I use it with the children I teach- children of all levels. Some parents see their son or daughter outside with all these funny, colorful tools and wonder if there is a method to the madness. The simple answer? DEFINITELY.

I believe in having intention in everything I do, including the choices I make regarding equipment. SNAG® tools are created by PGA professionals and are absolutely ideal for teaching children golf. The instruments make the game manageable and digestible for students of all ages and the equipment also comes in a variety of sizes so that children can reap the benefits of training tools designed specifically for them.

SNAG® equipment teaches, reinforces and encourages all of the same concepts and physical movements of traditional clubs-- spine tilt, shaft angle, tempo, wrist hinge etc. Most importantly, SNAG equipment offers endless opportunities to get creative with the game of golf while keeping children engaged in the sport.

It should also be noted that tennis, a sport with a high number of young players, has recently completely revolutionized their junior program, mandating that all players under the age of ten use lighter, smaller racquets and play with different court configurations in tournaments. The transition is aimed to make tennis much more accessible—and JOYFUL—for young players and to foster a dynamic of success and play on the court.

Since our children are city-dwellers, the use of modified equipment is crucial. In addition to enabling us to play indoors and in confined outdoor spaces, SNAG® is a wonderful way to teach the anatomy of a golf course, and makes the transition from our program onto the course a natural and seamless one.

We need to change the paradigm. Instead of thinking about “proper” clubs and getting caught up with “real” equipment we need to acknowledge what is appropriate and accessible for young golfers. We need to understand that while SNAG® is a departure, it is a change in the absolute best direction. It is progress and improvement. We’re taking the tools that we know and trust and bending them to better fit our needs. SNAG works and I will endorse it with my whole heart time and time again.

I believe SNAG® is a big part of why our program is different and why we continue to evolve to new levels of success. I want children to have the best of every world—the “proper” technique of a real golf lesson, the fun, dynamic energy of an athletic activity, and the mental preparedness to take their game out into the open.

Play golf!

Kate

The Power of Priorities

2010-09-28T08:45:00.001-04:00

I started my central park program this week and the first thing I saw trucking up the grass were three boys from St. Thomas More Playgroup- cue the heartstrings. I’ll admit, it was bittersweet, especially when one of them asked with big, eager eyes: “Why aren’t you teaching us movement anymore? We miss you.”
I had to swallow a lump in my throat because the truth is, I miss them, too. But being a teacher, I saw the space of the moment, and jumped in. I got down on his level and asked if he’d ever had to make a decision. “Did you ever want to play soccer and go to the movies and have ice cream but you could only do one of those things? Sometimes we have to make a decision, even if it’s hard for us.”
He seemed satisfied and we had a wonderful lesson but the conversation served as a springboard for me—it made me really think about priorities.
So often in life we try to do everything, and do it well. We work, take care of our families, exercise our bodies, feed our stomachs, support our creative and artistic ambitions. One of my closest friends likes to say this: “sometimes, something’s gotta give.” I used to have a problem with that. It seemed to diminish my capability to lead an expansive, holistic life because the truth is, I CAN do everything and do it well. What I realized after class last week is that something giving doesn’t have to be about dropping the ball. It can be a conscious, thoughtful choice to prioritize.
Sometimes it’s not about doing a million things well but doing one thing well. More than that, even, it’s about doing one thing well and leaving space to do another thing well in the future. Sometimes we’re so focused on keeping all the balls in the air we forget to leave room to for improvement, for growth. We forget to leave room for our dreams to come in and take us to that next level.
Right now I’m missing creative movement so I’m prioritizing that in my life. Not as a job the way it looked before, but as an intention. I’m putting out there that I want to teach creative movement in a way that best supports my life, the one I’m currently living, growing with, and working on.
There are a lot of priorities in our lives and all of them are important. What I encourage you all to do this week is, just a little bit, prioritize space. Prioritize the unknown. Prioritize intention.
Set the space and watch what magic comes in to fill it,
Kate

Teach and Learn

2010-09-21T09:13:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share with you all some experiences from the past few weeks. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to play in the LPGA T & CP National Championship and wow, was it eye opening. Dana Rader, our national president, hosted the event and her presence was a source of inspiration and tremendous support. It reminded me how important golf is, and how empowering.
The first thing I should say was that my game was off. I didn’t play my best, but I wasn’t expecting to. I hadn’t been practicing at that level and I just wasn’t there. The amazing thing was that I pulled up my resources. I started talking to myself. Some of my usual mantras: I can, I am, I will. After awhile I wasn’t concerned with how I was playing. I realized what I really wanted from the weekend was to touch down with people I respect. To make connection.
There were five speakers there and I went to hear Cindy Miller. She’s a legend. She’s been in the top 50 for many years and is welcoming, warm and just so delightful. What she really stressed, though, was not proper swing technique, determination or talent. What she stressed was making light of things. She seemed to exude an air of just having FUN. It made me realize that I do this. With my students, on the course, in the classroom, this is my philosophy--- PLAY golf. Have fun. It was a validating moment for me, knowing I bring this to my students, but it also helped me relax with my own game. To not take myself so seriously. To know that even if I don’t play my absolute best being present and enjoying the experiences of the sport are the most important things.
I smiled through the rest of the tournament. It became a move. Right before I took the club I would smile. It was part of my prep. I was able to organize my thoughts with that smile, rein them in. I was focused and fully present. I was joyful. Smiling changed everything.
I also learned that I want someone like Cindy in my life. That it’s not enough to just teach, that I must continually learn. I realized the incredible privilege I have as an instructor and the enormous gift it is to teach lightness and joy in life. I want my children to know they’re the King. I want them to feel grand and big and totally empowered. I want them to know how bright they shine. And through teaching, I want to be taught. I want to reach higher and stretch farther and grow bigger. I want to be my absolute best so I can always be of the utmost service.
Teach, but never forget to learn--
Kate

Moving On

2010-09-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

I have some news to share with you all. It’s exciting and sad and liberating and scary and melancholy and joyful all at once, so here goes: I’m not coming back to school this year.
For those of you who don’t know I’ve been teaching creative movement at St. Thomas More Playgroup for the last ten years. I loved it there and my decision to leave was a tough one. I’ve made wonderful friends, seen classrooms of children through school, and genuinely enjoyed each and every day I spent there. We laughed, we played, we jumped for joy, and then, as with all things, it was time to move on.
The transition has allowed me to reflect on change and while there are many sorrowful things about saying goodbye, this is one of the true gifts. Many of us human beings don’t like change. We construct our lives against it, build walls to keep it out, even stay in circumstances and relationships that are no longer serving us all for the end goal of not rocking the boat. Keeping things par for the course. Not moving.
The irony of life is that it brings change. There is no steel strong enough change cannot cut through, no brick thick enough. It will come and when it does it is our choice whether we fight against it or whether we surrender and embrace it, knowing when the wind changes it blows us in a new direction…one that very well may bring about all kinds of wonderful things.
It was time to invest myself in KTUGA, to grow the business the way my dreams envision it and throw myself body and soul into the endeavor. It’s a risk, meeting change, but it’s also a great leap of faith and if nothing else I believe that when we leap, the net appears. It’s usually scary to step off that ledge and sometimes it seems impossible, but if and when we do it, we just might find that our wings work after all.
Here’s to change, moving on, leaping…and flying.
With love,
Kate

Right Where We Are

2010-07-29T08:28:00.001-04:00

Teaching in New York it’s no wonder that parents are concerned with their child’s “progress.” Mothers often question me as to whether their child is learning the proper technique in our classes and whether they are progressing at the right rate. My answer is always the same: your child is right where they need to be.

Let’s think about that. So rarely in life do we ever hear those words: right where we need to be. I talk a lot about how the children I teach help me to stay present, to live completely here and now, but as adults we often need to remind one another, as well. Children as amazing at this. They are not concerned with the proper way to hold a club but rather the joy they feel at doing it. They are present, alive, focused on the sheer magnitude of what it means to channel the energies of a moment and live completely in the present.

Don’t get me wrong, the children I teach learn real skills. I wouldn’t be a good instructor if I didn’t give them things to build on, and shape their future game, but I think the most important thing my students get from me is the space to be exactly where they are, to let the joy and complete presence of experience swell around them and allow that moment to carry them on to the next and the next and the next. Because the truth is we all are in process. Perhaps when we are learning a new skill or watching a child develop this process is more apparent but we are all, every single last one of us, works in progress.

Recently I had the supreme honor of being Golf Digests “top 20 under 40.” There were some amazing teaching professionals in the category and the entire experience was incredibly inspiring. During an interview to correspond with the article one of the questions they asked me was to talk a bit about a student of mine. Many people noted pro golfers, etc. My answer? My six year old student Katie. At practice we were working on Katie’s chip shot. The club was heavy for her and she was having a hard time just holding it. Katie wasn’t concerned, though. Katie was happy to be right where she was. She built up a little more as the week went on and by Friday she was holding the club like a pro. Was she doing a chip shot? No. But she was holding a club and she couldn’t have been happier with her progress. She couldn’t have been happier period. This is because children know something we don’t. They know something about being where they are when they’re there. They don’t think about the future because it doesn’t matter. Everything is irrelevant besides this moment. Where we’re going and where we’ve been have no significance if we don’t know and appreciate where we are.
Take some time this week to be where you are. I have a feeling if you stop and look around, you’ll be happy to find yourself there.

Breathe and be present,

Kate

Play Golf

2010-03-19T15:22:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I’ve been out of the “blogosphere” for too long and am jumping back in, full force! It’s been a busy and demanding winter with lots of exciting transitions and achievements. I look forward to growing The Urban Golf Academy this spring and expanding through my own work with children, and, of course, sharing what they teach ME here with all of you.

In the process of branding my name I came up with this tagline: Play Golf.
I wanted to kick off my spring blog by talking a little bit about what that means for me, and how important I think the term “play” is.

Children learn through play. What does that mean? It means that when we make something enjoyable, dynamic and interactive, the information in the lesson is retained. When children are having fun they are open and when they are open, they learn. People often say that what you love in school usually ends up becoming a part of the career you pursue and I’ve always lived by the motto: do what you love and success will follow. The reason I love the tagline “Play Golf” is not because I want my children to become professional golfers, but because I want them to have fun and through having fun, I want them to learn!

This applies to adults, too. At a certain point in our academic careers we begin to associate learning with a “have to.” We have to go to school, we have to sit in desks, we have to stay quiet, we have to listen to the teacher. It becomes constricting, limiting and above all else, our internal nature rebels against it. Now I’m not suggesting all of school be a free for all, far from it. I am constantly monitoring my students to see what they need and when. Is there energy that needs to be dispelled? Great, let’s do something super physical. Are they feeling quiet and contemplative? Great, time to talk through some of the nuts and bolts of our activities. What I AM saying is that learning is a dynamic, holistic process. Children are not simply input/output machines but human beings with complex needs, desires and learning styles. What play does is it allows us to get out of the “right” and “wrong” of things. It allows us, as adults, and children alike to have a bit more freedom and space in the learning process and feel our way, organically, to the end result of achievement.

The goal is not to slap some sticker on ourselves for a job well done but to actively enjoy our lives, to explore with purposeful understanding and limitless joy at the wide expanse of unknown. There is so much to discover for children. The world is so new and so wide open. But I think that if we, too, took a bit more time to play we’d see how much we have to discover. Life moves onward and we live each and everyday. Why not Play towards success? You have to get there somehow…might as well enjoy it.

PLAY golf,

Kate

Fidning Freedom

2010-02-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

I love to play guitar. I have always said that I would give up my talent for golf if I could learn how to play the guitar and speak Italian fluently. Va bene.

I recently bit the bullet and bought a guitar. Not anything phenomenal but something to mediate the fact that the Italian thing just doesn’t seem to be working out.
And oh, I love to play. I’ve been playing at home a lot, practicing and strumming, and this week I decided to bring the guitar in and play for the children. Sometimes between regular and extended day I will lie down with the children and play some music. Usually this involves the mellower side of my ipod shuffle but this week it was yours truly, on the guitar.

The children loved it. I strummed and they dozed and it was so peaceful and beautifully calm in that room I wanted to stay put forever. But something else was happening, too. Something that made me feel able to strum without fear: I felt free.
In front of adults I am hesitant about my guitar. I think that perhaps I don’t play well enough and they are going to judge me, critique me, or anything of the sort, but with the children I felt simply at peace. Remarkably so. I looked out into their resting bodies and droopy eyes and felt again a profound sense of freedom.

This is not something incredible new. I teach children because they make me feel free, because they allow me to be my goofy, silly, REAL self all the time. They don’t care if I get it “right” or if I’m “correct” they just care that I am there and that I am authentic and that I am present.

I speak all the time about how much children give me, how much I learn from them, but this is perhaps the most precious gift they offer: the gift of freedom.
They provide the space in which to feel, to fly to the highest reaches of myself and defy the odds of what I thought my limitations were. I love them because in that space of freedom, they challenge me. They challenge me to accept myself for who I am and to stay open and present to all that life has to offer. The gift of freedom…is there anything better?

Live in peace,

Kate

Toot Your Own Horn

2010-02-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

I know I blog a lot about intention and community and how we are all connected and all of that is TRUE, to be sure, but sometimes, on some days, you just gotta brag a little. Yes, toot your own horn.

I credit Dana Radar with first inspiring me to “toot my own horn.” Dana Radar started her own golf program and has been incredibly successful. She came into my first LPGA week-long seminar nearly three years ago to talk about the business side of golf and I remember her standing up there and saying “sometimes, you just HAVE to toot your own horn.” She was inspiring, eloquent and I have never forgotten her words.

During golf on Monday we were having a particularly silly time. One little girl, Catherine, said to me “this is crazy fun!” and then, a few minutes later, “this is WILD fun!”

Wild fun indeed. We were having a rollicking good time. SNAG obstacle courses, lots of laugher, and of course, some serious talent. I must admit, we were all in top form.

“I am the best golfer,” Catherine said, smiling.

“I am the best golfer, too!” Julianne said.

Don’t you love how it wasn’t a competition, simply a session of encouragement? Children are so good at that!

“Ok, I have an idea,” I told the girls, “let’s show off to the boys.”

We called them over, those boys. The girls rocked it. Absolutely nailed it. They were practicing their chip shots and swings and all kinds of moves. They were empowered by this show off thing. They were hot stuff!

Usually we are told to be modest and kind. We are taught to lift others up sometimes at the expense of pushing ourselves down. But, I must ask, what is the harm of being your own champion now and again? I’m not saying to feed our egos but hey, some self confidence never hurt anyone.

My teaching method has always been about empowerment. The power to see yourself as great and the power to envision greatness. What I saw in the children when they showed off was not ego maniacs but people who felt empowered, who KNEW the power of their own presence and who wanted to cultivate and maintain that.

What are you good at? Go on, toot your own horn. Let’s hear them sound!

-Kate

The Principle of Perfection

2010-01-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I had my four year olds do some problem-solving exercises. It’s a fun game wherein I give them a challenge (make a square with your bodies!) and close my eyes until they have completed the task. Most they can get on their own but a particular pattern became quite complicated. I asked them to make a pattern of boy boy boy girl and line up in that order. I must admit hearing them work it out amongst themselves (with my eyes closed!) was quite funny and I had to stifle more than a few giggles. It wasn’t working, though, and I had to open my eyes and help them out. Eventually we got it solved and moved on to a different problem: make a backwards circle.

The children told me to open my eyes relatively quickly and I saw that they had made a sort-of circle with some children sitting with their backs facing inwards and some children sitting sideways and others a bit outside. I congratulated them on their achievement but one boy seemed displeased.

“This side isn’t right and this person should move in and this isn’t good,” he said. He was right, of course, but what he was suggesting and asking was beyond the skill level of the group. In other words, it was never going to happen.

“You know Jonathan,” I told him, “it’s just not going to be perfect and we’re going to have to accept that.” He looked at me, a little baffled, then looked around the circle and nodded. And then he did something very, very cool. He stood up and asked “what now?”

Imagine if we could let perfection go this easily, if we could be reminded, with one simple word, that everything does not have to exact to be meaningful and simply move forward. What could we do, how far could we reach, if we weren’t always so hung up on getting it right?

I find the biggest lessons and greatest achievements come not when I am working towards matching a specific goal but when I am open to the experience of the moment and all it has to offer. We may not create a perfect backwards circle but we will build something even more meaningful: a memorable afternoon and the confidence and openness to keep trying.

With love,

Kate

V Formation

2010-01-25T08:39:00.003-05:00

I have always loved birds. Maybe it has something to do with their ability to fly, to soar above the clouds and roam free in the skies. Birds seem so uninhibited, so unattached, so willing to take that leap of faith on a moment’s notice. Which is why when I learned about V formation many years ago I was surprised, and then delighted.
We all know what V formation is. It is the shape in which birds fly when they are headed somewhere distant. It is their mode of transport, so to speak, and they never deviate. They always fly together. Independent? I think not.

I looked into V formation a bit more and found out that there are certain wind channels that are created/ disturbed by this particular phenomenon which means that by flying next to each other birds actually help one another. They can fly much greater distances in V formation than all on their own. Another thing that is interesting about V formation is that the birds switch off on being the leader, so everyone pulls the weight of the group at some point. Furthermore, the V is arranged so that every bird can see every single friend that they are flying with. No one is out of sight…ever!

Do I even need to say it? I love this. I absolutely love this. I love how symbolic it is for life: we all have a chance to lead, all have a chance to follow, each one is equally important. How appropriate it is to this concept of community!

I wrote a little the other week about community and about how all of us are connected and the ways in which our words and actions tear others down or raise them up. I find my classroom is a great example of this. I am the instructor, yes, but we all play a part in making sure we fly forward. My children help support me in being the best leader I can be when it is my turn and when it is their turn they teach me about observation, about acceptance and letting go.

Sometimes, during a particularly good moment, I will say that I am in V formation. It means that I am flying forward, certainly, but flying united. Who are the members of your V formation and how do they support you in your flight?

With love,

Kate

The Energy of Existence

2010-01-15T10:32:00.001-05:00

One of my life mentors is a woman named Dr. Debbie Crews. Dr. Crews is a major sport psychologist who has done work all over but is based predominantly at ASU, the top women’s golf facility in the nation. She studies attention in sport, or, to continue my blog from earlier this week, energy…specifically what kind of energy is being transferred at any given moment during the game of golf. She has worked with golfers and studied their brain waves to reveal that a balanced brain and positive, disciplined thoughts can lead to drastic improvements in the sport world. She has put golfers on horses to help them better understand energy transfer and the way that an athlete must dialogue with the components of their game (be they horses or a golf club). Everything responds to energy, even inanimate objects.

I was at a seminar with Dr. Crews last year and she gave an example of a woman golfer who was struggling with putting. The woman could not seem to improve this specific skill and her spirits were down. Without complicated techniques or new equipment, Dr. Crews gave her an assignment: change one thought.

When this woman went to putt she was now instructed to say: I am a good putter. Every time we went to putt, same thing: I am a good putter.

Her skill improved drastically simply because she changed her thoughts. If there is one thing I have learned from working with children it’s this: if we change our thoughts we change our reality. Energy is everywhere and how you choose to exert it, interact with it, mold it and communicate with it means the difference between failure and success. How you handle yourself emotionally has a direct correlation to how your life physically unfolds.

I love my time with children, all of it, but perhaps my favorite moment of my day comes right at the end, before we say goodbye. We always end with these two words, repeated three times: I can, I can, I can. The children are left with this mantra, this thought of overcoming, of empowerment. I can. I am. I will.

This is the energy of life, of vibrancy, of dreams beyond our wildest wishes. Change your thoughts, your words, and you will change your reality. Anything you desire is within your reach, all you have to do is believe.

With love,

Kate

Avatar Adventures

2010-01-14T08:21:00.002-05:00

Last week I was sitting at home and I started ruminating about what I was going to do with the children in the coming months. It’s winter, it’s cold, and I needed a little invigorating. I started thinking about the winter games we could play…make igloos, go sledding and skiing, pretend we are snowflakes, warm ourselves in front of roaring fires, OK. I was excited about the new season; I had a game plan.

Then I saw Avatar. I am probably preaching to the choir by now because it truly does seem like the country has been overtaken by this movie (with good reason) but I loved it and when I came into my classroom Monday morning it became clear to me that we would not be building igloos, we would be playing Avatar.

I asked my children if they knew what an Avatar was. They are young so most of them had not seen the movie but they still knew what I was referring to…there are posters all over this city! I was met with excited chatter. OK. I told them that Avatars have tribes, just like the one here at St. Thomas More Playgroup, and that being a part of a tribe means we are all connected.

I then asked them to close their eyes. I described Pandora, a beautiful world full of incredible, bright colors. I had them imagine towering trees with leaves that were as green as the forest, bright, colorful birds and sweeping blue skies. Then I told them there was a boy in Pandora who sees an incredibly beautiful flower. The flower is the most beautiful thing the boy has even seen and he is curious about it. “Do you know what curious means?” I asked the children. They nodded and shouted out a few examples. “Good! Well, the boy is curious, so curious he wants to touch the flower but when he does it turns in on itself and falls to the ground.” The children’s eyes got big with wonder. “Let’s all be flowers and I am going to be the little boy and when the music stops I am going to come around and touch you. What will you do when I come around and touch you if I am the little boy and you are the flower?”

“Curl up and fall to the ground!”

The game was a success and lots of giggles ensued.

Next I explained to them that the Avatars let foreigners into their world but only if they could be trusted. I told them that there were glowing, jelly-like things that could tell if a person who entered Pandora was good or not. If the glowing jelly landed on you then all of the Avatars would know immediately that you were a good person. “I am going to be the glowing jelly,” I explained to them, “and when I land on you I want you to tell me why you are a good person, because I know each and every one of you is.”

I went around and landed atop each child’s head. Their answers varied from, “I am good because I help my mommy,” to, “I am good because I helped Julianne with her lunch,” but what I noticed is that most of what they said focused on community, on sharing. Yes! “That definitely makes you a wonderful person,” I told the children, encouraging their introspection.

I then told them that on Pandora things worked because of energy and the relationships of energy between the tribe. I asked them to think about how they feel when they get ready to come down here for a Kate Day. “Happy!” they said.
“You feel excited, right?” I asked them. “Well, what if when you came down here I was grumpy, what kind of energy would that be?”

“Sad energy,” one boy said.

“That’s right, that would not be good energy and you know what? It might make you feel bad, too. See we affect people with our energy and bad energy can make good energy feel not so good.” They nodded in agreement. “So when you come down to see me I am excited to see you and our good energy works off each other and we have a great time together.”

I then told them about the birds of Pandora and how they were very mean. But when they came towards the Avatars the Avatars stood strong. I told each child to make their brave stance. Because the Avatars stood strong, the bird’s negative energy could not affect the Avatar’s good energy and instead the Avatar’s good energy transformed the bird’s negative, and they became friends.

Because we are a tribe, we affect one another. We affect each other with the words we use and the actions we take. All of us. If we give nice words we will get nice words back and if we perform nice actions we will get nice actions back. Isn’t this a lesson we can all learn from?

If we are having a bad day it is not just us that is brought down by our negative energy, the people around us are, too. So if the mean birds of life come, stand strong, make your brave stance, and allow the good energy all around you to come in. And when it does, go out and share it. We can make the world a Pandora simply by being positive.

Smile and Be Strong,

Kate

Moving Forward

2010-01-07T10:17:00.002-05:00

As I look back on this year I see that it was an incredible one. So many things came to light in allowing me to further my teaching journey. The thing I take the most from last year and the thing I want to bring into this new one, though, is empowerment. That is my major theme. Empowerment of children, empowerment to overcome, to persevere and to let be. I am so excited to be beginning this New Year understanding that there is a time and place for action and that time is right now!

I have put together an incredible winter/spring schedule and I will be adding the Greenwich House to my teaching list… a fantastic downtown base. One of my main goals for this year is to bring my program to more children, to keep expanding, reaching far, and touching as many young minds and hearts as I can. I am thrilled that my new schedule will allow me to begin to do that!

I have also been reflecting a bit on golf and on how my program pushes the boundaries of the sport. I know that what the children and I experience together goes far beyond golf. Golf is what gets them in the door but it is their spark for learning and their willingness to grow and expand that keeps them there. As I do the “what if?” exercises with them and the “I can!” I empower them to think beyond the moment, beyond golf, and what ends up happening is that they become empowered in every aspect of their life. In fact, my children inspire me. Through empowering them they empower me. Their every success mirrors back to me that positivity and intention really are the golden tickets and that their belief in their ability, and my faith in that ability, allows them to do incredible things.

2010! How blessed we all are to be given a new year, a new leaf. I hope this one brings all of my students and readers many joys and blessings. And, of course, the ability to empower, to be empowered, and to serve.

Have a wonderful week!

-Kate

Ask a Child and You Shall Receive

2009-12-14T10:15:00.003-05:00

Have you ever asked a child for advice? I mean genuinely asked them? I was having a crummy day last week. I was stressed about some things, worried about some others and tired of a few more. Instead of taking my usual complaints to my usual friends I decided to go to a little girl in my classroom. Unorthodox, you bet, but I never said I was a traditionalist.

“Hey Maddie,” I said, “I’m having kind of a rough day today. Do you think it would help if I took a deep breathe and said, “I can?” She thought about it and shook her head. “Yes.” She even volunteered to do it with me. Turns out, she was having a bad day, too. We sat in a corner and took a deep breath. We said it out loud “I can.” I thought about all the things I can do. I can breathe, I can jump, I can walk, I can believe. Then I thought about all the things I could do. What if I could turn this day around? What if I believed in myself a little more? What if I was having a good day and not a bad one? I imagine she was doing something similar. Soon, we both started to smile. “It worked,” she said, and just like that, we were back.

We spend so much time trying to teach children. We teach them how to read and write, how to be afraid, how to eat properly, bathe properly, sleep properly. How to say please and thank you. How to grow up. Do we ever stop, though, and think about all the ways they teach us?

They teach us patience, kindness. They teach us respect and integrity. They teach us openness, devotion and, yes, unconditional love. They teach us how to let things go. But perhaps the biggest thing they teach us is how to teach them. People often ask me how I got to be so “good” with children, what my tricks are for teaching. I always answer the same way: they teach me.

Having a bad day? Ask your child for some advice. They may just have the answer you are looking for.

With love,

Kate

What if?

2009-12-02T12:51:00.001-05:00

There is a game I have started with my children called “What if?” My dear friend and willPower and Grace instructor, Christine D’Ercole, uses it in her class and I had the good fortune of talking with the amazing people at thinkso (a marketing and design agency) about it as well. It’s a game that gets us up and moving around the room, engages our imaginations and helps us, well, think BIG. It goes like this…

What if… this room was a swimming pool?
What if… we had wheels on our feet?
What if… we were fearless and jumped?
What if… we were in a forest?
What if… my hands were made of propellers?
What if… I can?

Children are used to hearing no. We don’t say it to shut them down or stunt their creative development. We love them, we care about them, we don’t want to see them get hurt. When they ask to go outside and it’s too cold we say no, but maybe tomorrow. When they ask for a cookie after bed we say no, no sugar at night. When they run across the street we yell it, “no!”

It is our job to protect them but it is also our job to help them expand and grow. It is our job to foster and nurture the little beliefs inside of them that they are lions or princesses or crabs at the bottom of the ocean. I spoke a few weeks ago about the importance of “I can” in my classroom and how much it has changed these children. The simple words, the mantra, has made all of the difference. I can. I can tie my shoe. I can speak kindly. I can make a difference. And that isn’t even touching on the way it has changed me.

If this belief helps our children, if using these words can transform them the way I’ve seen, then don’t we owe ourselves the same mantra? Say it with me…I can. I can face today with an open heart. I can choose kindness and not annoyance. I can lend a helping hand. I can make a difference. Even if you don’t believe it ask yourself this question: what if I can? Soon, like my children, you will begin to believe it.

Much love,

Kate

Letting Go

2009-11-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of going trapezing in Williamsburg. I am the kind of person who loves to leap, who leads with my heart and lets my head follow, but I admit to being more than a little terrified when I got up there and suddenly it was my turn to swing. What I noticed was that the more concerned I got, the more my body tensed up. There was no way I was going to be able to reach for the bar, let alone grab it. I could barely move my arms from where they were stuck by my sides. It became very clear, very quickly, that I needed another strategy.

Thank god for my years with children who have taught me how to think on my feet! What I decided to do was to trust the man holding me. To breathe. To relax. To let go. My body slacked, loosened. My head cleared and all at once I was ready to leap, ready to fly. Are you getting the metaphor here?

I remember at the beginning of my career being so concerned about getting things right. Would the children be learning? Would I follow my lesson plan? Would I be able to be of service in some way? I remember fearing that the students in my care wouldn’t learn unless I did it the exact “correct” way. It took me perhaps a decade to learn what I want to share with you here…there is no correct way.

The years have allowed me a multitude of lessons, surely, but none as powerful as the ability to trust my own process, to let go and let be. Allow things to happen. You cannot steer your own game. When you try to force something it just doesn’t work. We are all, as human beings, in a constant dialogue with the world around us. It is our job to stay open and alert and communicate with what we are being given at every moment. If you are on the right path you will know because doors will open and hands will come out, ready to lift you higher. If you let go and trust the world, it just might let you fly.

Have a wonderful week!

-Kate

Getting on their Level

2009-11-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

I have often spoken about the importance of play and being silly and on a similar note I wanted to write a bit today about how we, as adults, can contribute to that. Children model what we do, not what we say. It’s an old adage, but a good one. Which means if we tell them, “yes, go play” yet we are hunched over a computer, frowning miserably, odds are they aren’t going to be their happiest, either. Which is why “getting on their level” is so important with children. You must speak their language. One of my favorite things about my golf program is how accessible all the materials are for children. The snagazoo, now that’s a word they understand! We play a little game to work on foot rotation called, “squish the bug,” because the motion reminds them of squishing a bug on the sidewalk. We pretend we are giraffes who can’t bend their knees to work on posture. We draw targets and silly faces on the cement and we do it all together.
The children see me pretend I am a monkey or an elephant or the color blue right alongside them. They can relax because they are in their own company and when they learn, it is on their own terms. Learning becomes organic, a natural extension of the world they inhabit, and play in. It is not something impressed upon them but something they feel through and towards. When they do finally understand a concept they understand it completely…they have internalized it and it is now a part of their universe.
The thing I don’t have to pretend? That I am this joyful. Being in their company, hearing their squeals of delight and, yes, frustration, is the most rewarding thing on the planet. My kind friends and fellow professionals are often telling me how much their children get out of my program. My response? I get two-fold. The children teach me. If I just get on their level they show we a whole new world.

Have a wonderful week!

-Kate

The Importance of Play

2009-11-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

I was thinking the other day about beginnings and where my own journey with children originated. There are many things in life that cannot be pinpointed but if you’re very lucky you can recognize the start of something. Joan Didion speaks about this in her piece, “Goodbye to all That.” She says: “It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends. I can remember now, with a clarity that makes the nerves in the back of my neck constrict, when New York began for me.”
Like Didion’s, my own journey has a recognizable start point that I wanted to share with you all here today.
It was about fourteen years ago. I remember walking by the Hudson Street playground. It was a chilly afternoon and I’m sure my mind was preoccupied with getting home, amongst other things. I didn’t notice him at first but as I got closer I saw there was a little boy there playing with a stick. It was just him and this wooden walking stick yet he was coming up with all sorts of games. He’d toss it up in the air, put it down on the ground. Hop over it, spin it around. He was having a blast. Pure joy. And all he had was this one little stick. I stopped dead in my tracks and realized something incredibly important: I had forgotten how to play.
Of course I had forgotten how to play. I was a grown-up. I had responsibilities and priorities. I had bills and an apartment. I had a life. But when I saw this child, I knew. I felt it down into my bones: play is an incredibly important aspect of life and you are forgetting it. When is it that a stick becomes just a stick and not a portal into a world of adventure? When is it that we stop seeing a jeweled sword and start seeing just a discarded branch?
What I am about to suggest may seem impossible and ridiculous, but bear with me: the state of imagination and play never has to end.
The only reason we stop seeing the sword is because we allow ourselves to. What if we saw play for what it really is? A vitally important aspect of life. The thing that fuels and fills us. Joy.
Play is creative. It is fun and it is improvisational. One of my favorite things about my job is how dynamic it is. Sure I have lesson plans and there are some things I want to get done but being with children never goes according to the rules. I am constantly on my toes, seeing what the children really need from me in any given moment. I am using my creativity and to me, that’s play.
Being silly, breaking the rules, telling stories, laughing, skipping, listening to music, MOVING. Have you played today?
Have a wonderful week!

-Kate

Life Doesn't Frighten Me

2009-11-03T14:44:00.000-05:00

Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don’t frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn’t frighten me at all.

I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won’t cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild

Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don’t frighten me at all.

That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don’t frighten me at all.

Don’t show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I’m afraid at all
It’s only in my dreams.

I’ve got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

- Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou’s words are so simple and profound. I love this poem and I use it with my children in creative movement class. It is a wonderful compliment to the willPower and Grace practice we have adopted. I especially love to use it around Halloween when I ask the children to make their “brave stance.” I beat the drum and say the words and they pose like warriors, ready to do battle with whatever daemons come their way. “If you ran into a ghost, what would you do?” I ask them, and they make their brave stance. It is a way for them to feel centered, stable and to know that they can take on life’s challenges. It’s not about tackling things that frighten us but about remaining strong in who we are, feeling rooted to the ground and knowing that we can weather any storm.
Just yesterday in fact one of my five year olds came up to me at the end of class. She told me she was scared when she went to bed the night before but she remembered to say to herself “life doesn’t frighten me at all” and it made her feel better. Poetry to my ears.
So much of life has to do with fear. Learning to work with it, through it and let it go. I know that children experience fear. They are sometimes frightened of the unknown, of all the things they still have yet to explore, of the ways the world will and will not be kind to them. I consider myself so lucky to be with them during this formative time and to give them some tools to deal with the emotions that arise. Having a “brave stance” is amazing for any stage of life. I hope my children carry their brave stance well into their adult lives. To be honest, I still use mine from time to time.

Have a wonderful week,

-Kate

The Great Blueness

2009-10-30T14:47:00.001-04:00

The other day it was too rainy outside to play our usual golf so we decided to do indoor creative movement instead. One of the keys to what I do is flexibility, in basically every sense of the word. Physical, mental and emotional. No possibility for golf? Doesn’t mean we should miss an afternoon together. During my time with children over the years one thing has become increasingly clear to me: it is less about what we do and more about the attitude with which we do it. Of course there are certain golf swings I want them to practice and techniques that are important but if they aren’t focused and having a good time, it really doesn’t matter what gets done.

Cut to last week. I decided to do a few stories with the children. The one I started with is called The Great Blueness and it’s currently out of print. My copy is old, worn and pretty much falling apart at the seams but it’s a favorite and I treasure it. To summarize, The Great Blueness is about a town with no color. The book opens with a wizard waking up in the time of “the great greyness.” He decides to make a magic potion and at the bottom of the pot appears the color blue. Everyone is thrilled and they paint the whole town blue. After awhile, though, the town begins to feel sad. There is simply too much blue. The wizard goes back down into his basement and creates the color yellow. Everything is wonderful! The town is happy and thriving until everything becomes too bright and people can’t see. On it goes. Red makes people angry, etc. The wizard is busy at work and the pot begins to overflow as all the colors come tumbling out. The world is beautiful and bright in a variety of different shades! The end.
I love this book and so do the children. We always have a lot of fun with it and last week was no exception. What I realized in doing it, though, is how symbolic it is for the way I see life and education: no one color works, we need them all. Holistic. I come back to this word over and over again. It is what I strive for in my classroom always. A holistic experience. I want these children to work their bodies, minds and hearts because I know that they are all important components of education. When children are taught in a holistic environment and all their faculties are strengthened they feel stable, centered and, yes, more able and willing to take on the daily challenges that throw all of us, regardless of age, off balance.
Flexibility. If the red is broken, so what? Grab a yellow. If the green doesn’t work? Create a blue. If it’s raining outside? Stay indoors. You might just get to paint the world a million shades of color.

Have a great week!

Kate

The Unknown Impact of Community

2009-10-27T14:54:00.001-04:00

The meditation on community began for me last weekend when I took Christine D'Ercole’s willPower and Grace class at Equinox. As most of you know fitness is a big part of my life and I absolutely love my time in Christine’s class. Her methodology is amazing and I always leave feeling empowered and centered. She goes through mantras throughout her class (re: yes I can!) and the entire experience is incredible…one I thought my students should have, as well.

Enter the classroom. I was working on tree pose with my five year olds and some of them were having trouble getting up. I decided to bring willPower and Grace in right then and there. It started like this: I told them about my own experience in the class and how it had helped me with some challenging things in my life and then I said, “sometimes I hear some of you say, ‘I can’t,” and you know what? We are going to change our words. Let’s say to ourselves, out loud, ‘I can, I can, I can.’” Within moments most of the students were up in tree pose. Sure they were still wobbly but they got the message loud and clear: my words affect my actions.

What I kept thinking was: other people’s words affect my actions, too. So much of what we say and do goes unnoticed, or so we think. Does everyone tell their spin instructor that she really got you through a tough day with her encouragement or the man who serves you your local Starbucks that his smile was just what you needed this morning?

As I was leaving class the other day a little boy was putting his sock on and he was having some trouble. Practically in tears, he looked up at me and asked, very politely, if he might have some help. Normally I would have dropped to my knees and yanked that sock right on, but I recognized this moment. In school we call these moments, “teaching moments,” moments that go beyond the instance themselves; moments that have the possibility to impart some wisdom. I crouched down on his level and said, “Do you remember what we were talking about in class? How our words affect the things we do? Let’s say it together now, ‘I can, I can, I can.’” We said it together over and over but he continued to struggle. What I noticed was, despite not getting the sock on, he was calm about it. It was as if he knew the sock would eventually get on. He wasn’t upset anymore. A few more minutes went by and I busied myself with shuffling papers, watching him out of the corner of my eye. Finally, after what must have been a good five minutes, he leapt up from the floor and bellowed, “I did it!” Pure, absolute joy. A moment, I hope, that will stick with him when other challenges arise, as well.
willPower and Grace has proved to be an amazing thing in my classroom. The other day one of my students exclaimed, “let’s have an ‘I can’ parade!” and we marched around the room chanting, “I can.” They love it. Like me in Christine’s class they feel empowered and centered. Her gift has spread.

Does she know? Well she does because I made a point of telling her and we are working on some exciting things together, actually, but how many other people in my life slip through the cracks without being acknowledged? I have been trying to make it a point to say, “thank you,” whenever I can, to acknowledge the people who make my world what it is on every single level.

The other day I was talking to my friend Rebecca who runs a children’s program called Nurturing Narratives. We were talking about partnering our respective programs and the topic of service got brought up. I have always considered myself to be incredibly lucky that my job is something that brings me so much joy but what I realized last week is that my job brings me joy because I have the ability to serve others, to bring fun and creativity to children’s lives. As Rebecca and I said, “is there anything better?”
A mother came up to me after a golf session a few days ago and said, “what you do is about so much more than golf. You bring these children you.” It was an extraordinary compliment and one I have been thinking a lot about. That is the service we can provide: simply bringing the world us. Whoever you are and whatever you do is enough because by being authentic, you touch people. Thank those in your life that bring you them. Say it out loud. I think it’s time we started recognizing the amazing community around us and how vital a role each of us plays in making it all work.

Have a wonderful week!

Kate

SNAG

2009-10-06T08:56:00.002-04:00

SNAG (Starting New at Golf) is a unique program designed by experts in the field of golf. By using a variety of training tools people can learn and develop in the sport off the golf course. SNAG is a perfect compliment to the game as well as a valuable program for those without a readily available golf course (such as people in urban areas). I first fell in love with SNAG’s methods years ago and I have employed them in my program ever since. SNAG is perfect for children. It can look, just sitting on the sidelines, like these children are simply snapping ribbons around and rolling balls but they are really learning valuable tools to help them in the game of golf such as a variety of swing techniques, patience, concentration, wrist control and determination. I often say golf is the absolute mind-body sport and the SNAG tools reflect that philosophy perfectly. From their specially designed balls to their specific bulls-eye clubs they not only make golf fun for the children but also absolutely accessible.

SNAG is fun! The SNAG tools are all brightly colored and colorfully named and the children love playing with the Snagazoo (a device used to work on a chip shot), the Snapper (a long ribbon used to work on wrist control) and the Rollers and Launchers (both modified clubs). For a complete list of training tools and to learn a bit more about the program, please visit: http://www.snaggolf.com/

See you all outside!

-Kate

An Afternoon in the Park

2009-10-06T08:53:00.004-04:00

Last week we had our second outdoor Urban Golf Academy session at 97th and 5th. There is a beautiful bend in the park filled with lots of open, green grass…the perfect place to practice our favorite game.
I arrive about thirty minutes before the children and start setting up. We have lots of different tools we use to work on every aspect of the sport. I set up four different stations. There are four shots in golf: the putt, chip, pitch and full swing shot. We worked on the putt, chip and full swing at these stations.

-The first I call the “little points” game where children work on lining the ball up and rolling it towards a "Rollerama" (makeshift Velco bench) with different numbers on it. The goal is to have the ball line up with the number 1 which is in the center of the Rollerama (the balls adhere to the Velcro). The children put or "roll" (in SNAG terms) the ball towards the target.

-The second station I set up is to work on full swing. The children use modified golf clubs to work on their swing. They stand in color-organized hula-hoops that tell them where their arms should be for their swing. For instance, if they want to work on a regular shot, they are meant to stay within the blue area of the hoop.

-The third station I set up is where we practice “chipping.” Chipping is a skill used to get the ball up and into the air when it doesn’t have a great distance to travel but the grass is tall and the ball needs height. In this station we work with a tool called a snagazoo that makes a funny sound when the children bend their wrist. For chipping shots the swing is very small and the goal is to keep the snagazoo perfectly silent (quite a feat amongst the youngsters).

-The forth area I set up is with the snapper. The snapper is a stick with a long, red ribbon attached to the end. If anyone has ever seen rhythmic gymnastics it is basically the same tool they use. The snapper is meant to help children with wrist control. When they are working their wrists in the ideal way the ribbon will “snap,” hence its name.

The children start to arrive around 3:10 but one boy comes around 3:00. “Does this mean we can start earlier?” he asks eagerly. Definitely a sign of a good afternoon ahead.

Once all the children arrive and get settled (we have about 10 today, aged 4-8), I call everyone over to a rock a few paces away for a “quick meeting” before we begin. I go over a bit of what we are going to do today, who is going to start where, and we’re off.

The girls head on over to the snapper while the older boys start working on their swing and the younger boys work on the snagazoo and the “little points” game. I am careful to keep an eye on the overall dynamics of the group and split my attention equally. Luckily my amazing co-teacher, Monica, and a trusty assistant are there to help. I walk around to the different stations and engage with each of the children to get a feel for how they are doing and what level they are at today. One of the girls get’s a “bulls-eye” on the little-points game and three of her friends cheer. High five’s all around.

After about ten or fifteen minutes I call the children in for another “quick meeting.” I tell them what I saw. I always start with positive reinforcement and go over (quite pointedly) what worked. I use different children as examples and we have a brief question-answer. Then we split up again and rotate stations. After each switch we have a quick meeting. It is a great way to pull the energy of the group together and make sure things don’t get too fractured or splintered as well as give the children the opportunity to get fast feedback and responses from me.

We always pick up all the balls together as I want the children to be engaged and active in every aspect of the sport. We switch three times, enough for every child to get to practice at every station. Once we have finished we all gather for a final meeting, under a tree by the sidewalk. As we sit in the shade we talk about how each of us has a different recipe for our golf swing with very special ingredients all our own. I ask each child what they think their key ingredient is and help them to understand that the things they need to work on are not problems, but unique skills. There is always some chatter and a lot of noise coming from the snagazoos, but the children often seem calmer after their golf practice then before. Despite the heat and the activity they have come together to focus, improve and most importantly, have fun. High five’s all around, indeed.

The Urban Golf Academy is now back from Montauk Downs Golf Course and we're holding sessions in a number of locations throughout the city. If you’d like to find out where and when our sessions are please refer to our schedule on the sidebar of the blog or feel free to email me.

See you all outside!

-Kate

2009-08-25T12:15:00.001-04:00

2009-07-10T07:43:00.000-04:00

KT Urban Golf Academy is in Montauk

2009-04-30T14:17:00.002-04:00

Snagazoo

2009-04-30T13:53:00.002-04:00

Snapper training tool

2009-04-30T13:40:00.004-04:00

2009-04-30T13:35:00.002-04:00

SNAG at St. Thomas More Play Group

2009-04-30T10:24:00.003-04:00

2009-04-07T21:11:00.003-04:00

“This program is extremely unique in our business and brings a lot of things to the table beyond your average golf instruction. Kate is bringing people to golf that wouldn’t normally have that opportunity. Golf is the game of a lifetime, and Kate’s fun and exciting approach will encourage kids to be involved with it for their lifetime.” – Kevin Smith, Head Golf Professional, Montauk Downs State Park

2009-04-07T21:11:00.001-04:00

“Kate is totally engaged and student centered and stands out as an instructor who is looking for the uniqueness in people as students. She has a heart full of compassion and caring for others and always strives for excellence. She wants to be an excellent golf player, but more importantly, she wants to be an excellent teacher of the game, and goes the extra mile to do so.” – Kathy Murphy, Lead Instructor for the LPGA National Education Program Series

2009-04-07T21:10:00.000-04:00

“Kate’s method of teaching kinesthetically sinks in in a way that doesn’t when material is presented on a chalkboard. The kids don’t even realize they’re learning, and they’re completely relaxed around her. She really brought Jack out of his shell.” – Meaghan, mother of Jack, who was in Kate’s creative movement class for three years at St. Thomas More Play Group, and took golf lessons with Kate.

2009-04-04T09:33:00.000-04:00

2009-04-04T09:32:00.000-04:00