Description of the Internship
The role of volunteer assistant coach for the Texas A&M Women's golf program was an excellent opportunity for me to use my understanding of the game of golf to help support and further the dreams of college players on the Aggie Women's Golf team. With the 2018-19 season beginning under the new leadership of Head Coach Andrea Gaston and Assistant Coach Katerina Bruner, my responsibilities consisted of 1) Providing consistency for the players as they came to terms with the many new expectations, 2) Participate in all team workouts and practices as motivation for others (due to previous tournament success). 3) Be an extra set of eyes at practice to help set up drills, spot areas of development for individual players and answer questions. 4) Assist with reviewing and developing individual practice plans as well as helping players use data collected from drills and tournaments to guide future practice drills. 5) Provide assistance to current players while hosting recruits.
Requirements for the Internship
The successful completion of this internship requires an extensive understanding and experience of Division 1 college golf, golf stats, practice plans and golf fitness. Competing in major amateur events is required as well as extensive knowledge of the various golf courses around the country.
Benefits and Opportunities
This internship provided me with some incredible learning opportunities. Coach Gaston is a legend in the college golf world and I was extremely lucky to be able to assist her as she revamped the golf program. I have now trained and worked under two college coaches (Coach McCombs and Coach Gaston) so I have a more well rounded background to pull from depending on the situation and player. One major benefit of this internship was the opportunity to continue using the practice facility and working out with the team. While my focus was on the team, I was able to continue working on my game as I prepared to turn pro. Another benefit was being able to chat with Coach Gaston and Coach Kat during the various stages of Q School so that I could better prepare myself for turning pro.