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— 2010 IS THE CENTENARY YEAR OF THE CUMBRIA UNION OF GOLF CLUBS — |
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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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This is the official web site of Cumbria County Junior Golf which is part of the Cumbria Union of Golf Clubs |
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