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
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
A Like-Minded Meeting
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
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
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Continued Education
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
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
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Educator verses Instructor: How to Get Children Involved in Golf Early On
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/
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/
Friday, October 8, 2010
Of Surprises and Success
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
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
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
It's In The Process
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
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
Thursday, September 30, 2010
SNAG: Starting New At Golf
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
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
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