A message from Dan Park - 2010 County Junior Captain As a member of Cumbria Under 18’s for 3 years now, I am very privileged and honoured to be selected as captain for the 2010 season. Looking back over those three years, there are many things that stand out as defining features of Cumbria junior golf. The first I realised in my very first game. When you play in county matches , anyone can beat anyone. The standard of golf in the two teams is very evenly matched to a fantastic standard. After beating a 0 handicapper with my then handicap of 5 this became apparent - and it hasn’t stopped; even now games that look one way on paper are the complete opposite due to either a good putting day, or just a lucky day on occasions! The one that springs to mind is the ’09 match against Northumberland at Tynedale Golf Club. Captained by Brad Hannah, the team showed tremendous team spirit and determination after not having a good foursomes start to win the singles 5-1. This is a key factor for all the players selected this year to play under my captaincy, and for younger golfers it is vital to keep fighting no matter what. Again a memory for me was being 5 down after 10 at Brighouse bay. 4 straight birdies and a par later I was level. In the end I lost 1 down, but I certainly put the Scotland player on the rocks! In games so close, any point counts, so you must never quit.
The final part of Cumbria Golf for me is the atmosphere within the team. Off the course the 8 of us are like a big family, jokes fly around in the practice rounds and hotel, and the occasional bird noise from Jamie McDonald and myself, but once the lads reach the first tee, they are there for one reason, to win. This year I expect it will be no different. I have set both myself and the team a very high level of achievement. I aim to reach a plus handicap this year, in preparation for my USA scholarship in 2011. I also aim to become club champion at Kirkby Lonsdale and to give it my all in the knockout at Kendal. After having two club champions in the team this year, Oli Carr and Chris Thursby and a finalist in Kieran Waters, it’s only right the captain follows it up! For the team, I aim for us to win the E.G.U Northern Counties Championship (the Little 6) for the very first time and go down in history for completing the triple; the league, Northern Federation Championship and. of course. the E.G.U Little 6 at Furness Golf Club. I believe the team that John Smith and I have selected for this year can achieve this if we continue the motto set by John - ‘we're in it to win it’. Any younger golfers aiming to step into the team in 2010 or later, the main thing is attitude and results. It’s not always about how low the handicap is or how old you are, I certainly know I’m not looking for the youngest, lowest handicap. The people who play for my team are doing so for a reason, they have the desire to win, and have won in vital moments. With a strong management behind us in John Smith and Henry Thompson Cumbria Under 18’s 2010 are the strongest side I have seen in my 3 years and I’m sure my Vice Captain Oli Carr for the year will offer much support to me in my year of captaincy, and also to the other team members involved. Good luck to everyone this season and for the lads in the team, we’re gonna do it! |
ENSURING THE FUTURE OF CUMBRIA JUNIOR GOLF
By John Smith - County Junior Team manager
I have been very fortunate to be the team manager of the Cumbria Junior Golf Squad for the past four years and it has truly been a rewarding experience. I have managed many junior and adult teams in different sports in my lifetime but none has given me as much pleasure and satisfaction as that which I have enjoyed with this talented and dedicated group of young golfers.
After the fantastic achievements of the Cumbria men in 2009 and the successes of the ever-improving and developing U18 and Colts squads I believe that Cumbria is at last beginning to be regarded as a tour-de-force in English county golf. We are no longer the whipping boys or the also-rans and the secret I believe is dedication and teamwork. In the last three years County Captain, Cliff Heath, and Vice-Captain, Martin Hand, have somehow turned a group of individuals into a formidable team which has won the Northern Counties League and the Northern Counties Strokeplay Championships in 2009 in style - no fluke there! Teamwork, combined with talent and dedication, is a winning formula and that is also the strength of the Cumbria County Juniors as emphasised by their 2010 captain, Dan Park, in his message on the left.
The aim for 2010 is to build on our considerable strengths and prepare fully for each event with the intention of winning everything. I recall a quote which sums this up very nicely - " Winning isn't everything but the desire to win is"- and the 2010 squad certainly has the desire. Each and every one of the boys has the talent, the skill and the determination but more importantly they have bonded superbly and it will take exceptionally good opponents to stand a chance of beating them.
The U16/U15/U14 squad, the Colts, now mentored by Andrw Kendall, are an important part of Cumbria's development plan. In 2007 I realised that we needed to do something to ensure that there was a 'conveyor belt' of young golfers who would one day be challenging for places in the U18 team. Our four regional organisers David Barker (South West), Nick Bone (South East), Kate Stout (North West) and Brian Tibbetts (North East) started trials and assessment sessions, funded by a grant from the EGU, and from these trials a number of boys were identified by the region's PGA professionals as having potential and invited for group and individual coaching sessions at Barrow, Kendal, Whitehaven and Carlisle. Since then other boys have emerged after successes in various Junior Opens in the county and now we have assembled a group of around 18 boys, the Cumbria Colts, who will be playing regular competitive matches against other counties. In 2010 they already have fixtures against Durham, Northumberland and Lancashire. In addition we are working closely with the newly formed Cumbria Golf Partnership to ensure that new talent is nurtured from grass roots level to county standard for the forseeable future.
Finally I must pay tribute to the incredible backing that the team and management have had, particularly this year. We have the best group of parents ever who not only support their own boy but the whole team and we could not manage without their help amd encouragement. They have become part of Team Cumbria! Sincere thanks and appreciation also to the members of the county executive who have turned out to support the team, home and away, and imparted words of wisdom and encouragement to the boys. In particular I would like to thank County President, Tom Stout, and his wife, Kate, Past President, John Sheffield, and County Captain, Cliff Heath, for their enthusiastic support of Cumbria County Junior Golf in 2009 - and, hopefully, 2010 and beyond!
I echo Dan Park and wish everyone connected with Cumbria Junior Golf a happy and successful 2010. Good luck to the team and remember ' we are in it to win it!'
John Smith - Team Manager
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