Mid-American Junior Golf Tour

As a child growing up my mom always believed that during the summer I needed to be doing something active at all times. Whether I was signed up at a month long girls camp (Camp Agawak) in northern WI, going to College for Kids and UW-Milwaukee or taking various sports camps, there was always some activity for me to participate in. Summer is about being outside and enjoying youth before it slips out from under our feet. I spent many summers playing various sports and going to various sports camps. Sports, among other activities, provide many kids stability in their lives and allow them to focus on something they enjoy. This summer was truly a new experience for me watching the juniors play on the Mid-American Junior Golf Tour (MAJGT).

Golf is a different sport, some people will often say it's not a sport at all, but rather a game. It may not be deemed as athletically challenging as football or wrestling or even baseball, but it indeed takes a lot of physical strength to play the game. To hit a ball 250+ yds (and in many cases further) it takes a lot of strength. It's true than anyone can hit the ball, maybe not as far, but they can hit it. What it comes down is the strength and accuracy that these kids can really hit the ball. They want it to go 300 yds from the tee to the middle of the fairway and when their swing goes right or they get the right bounce of a hill, the ball will land right where they want it. Depending on the hole they might have to try and hit it further or choke up on their club and hit it softer but then do it 18 times with hopes of either hitting the green (on the par 3's) or in the fairway everytime. It's challenging anyway you look at it. Not only does a player need the strength to swing the club, but hell walking 18 holes and carrying that ungodly awkward and heavy golf bag, you've gotta be at least somewhat athletic to do so. On average a golf course is between 6500-7000 yds which equates to approximately 3.75 miles. For anyone to walk that distance and then again the day after is impressive.

What is most impressive however is these kids' mental game. We see kids from the ages of 10-18 playing a sport that most people would say is better suited for an older generation. While like any other sport, the kids get frustrated and angry when they hit a bad shot or miss a 2 ft putt for birdie. We do on occasion have to give them warnings about their actions because like I said it's a respectful game. Our players need to keep in good form with the sport by respecting the rest of the field and not lashing out. However, it is good for them to grunt, slam a club or throw a towel to let out a little frustration. In watching the 20+ tournaments this summer I came to realize truly how awesome these kids are at what they do. At one tournament in Indiana, there was a 13 year old kid who was leading after the 1st round of the tournament. On the 2nd day he wasn't doing that well, mentally he was intimated by the other older players. He finished the 11th hole w/ an 11 (it was a par 4) and when we saw him on the 12th tee he had already re focused his mind and forgot about the 11th hole. He came out and birdied 12. I'll remind you, he's 13. A lot of kids his age aren't mentally able to keep that kind of focus in a sport. Not all of the players have that ability, we do see a lot of tears and lot of frustration. But still in the end, they come back for more because they love the game.

More kids in todays society are getting stuck in an environment where playing video games all day long is okay. That sitting around doing nothing but play on computers is what's best for them. It's not. Kids, at any age, need activity, they need to be out in the world creating experiences and memories. Socially it's better for our younger generations to be able to create social experiences and develop. The more they can experience the better they are able to figure out exactly who they are. For me, in swimming I found out that while I'm very determined and hard working to achieve my goals, I need to be able to have fun while doing it or else it's going to make it that much harder to achieve my goals. I goofed around a lot when at practice and at meets, but that's because it helped me to stay unfocused and loose rather than overthink what I was doing. Parents, grandparents, brothers/sisters, whoever you are, make sure we don't lose our younger generations to computers and video games. Get out in the world and give them the activities that you got when you were a child. Hell even throwing a football around can make all the difference.