Hard to believe that I am entering my 21st year as a PGA professional. My journey as a golf professional has taken me across the country and back again. From Rochester, NY to Big Rapids, Michigan, to Huntsville, Alabama, to Orlando, Florida to Scottsdale, Arizona to San Diego, California to Boston, Massachusetts and finally back home to Rochester! I have been fortunate to have worked at so many wonderful golf facilities on that road but the best part of the golf business is the people you meet along the way. So many of those people have been such a positive influence on who I am both as a coach and as a person. My coaching career started at Bristol Harbour where I began as the head golf professional. I met three brothers between the ages of 8 and 14 who happened to be members of the club. They were “part of the woodwork” and we spent so much time together on the golf course that I became part of the family. One went on to play golf at Notre Dame as a 4 year number 1 player and all are still wonderful lifelong friends. It remains one of the best coaching experiences of my life.
Our number one goal at The Elite Junior Academy is to help others achieve their goals! While writing this I went back and researched some of my notes from great coaches and found this:
“We will do more for others than for ourselves and in doing something for others we find our reason for courage and our cause for excellence”!
The number one job of any coach is to inspire young people to believe in themselves maybe even more than they thought possible. To chase their dreams and their goals with all their might - to be relentless in their pursuit - no matter the result! Being the best version of one’s own self is a process. A process with no shortcuts that is filled with ups and downs. I started the Elite Junior Academy with the hopes of inspiring young people to work hard every day, to practice the behaviors that will make them proud of who they are and who they want be as they grow! It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of a team that helps young people achieve their goals...because that’s what it takes ..a team!
You are in control of two things always…your attitude and your effort! Give 100% to both each and every day and I promise you will have no regrets as you will have achieved something extraordinary! While the journey will challenge you I hope that as you look back you will be able to say that you never gave up and you achieved more than you ever thought possible!
