Do junior golfers need to be more athletic? Rene Cammarata, one of the premier coaches working with Junior golfers in Pennsylvania, believes they absolutely do. With more than twenty years of experience as a strength & conditioning coach, power coach, speed and agility coach, junior coach, golf biomechanics, and as a nutrition coach among others, Rene has noticed a concerning trend when it comes to a large number of junior golfers. They simply aren’t very athletic.
Rene joins us today to talk about some of the differences he sees in the junior golfer population vs some of the other junior athletes he has worked with. Is there a difference in strength, coordination, stature, and even psychological makeup between these demographics, and if so, what should we be doing to bring more athleticism into these players.
Whether you are a junior player, coach, or parent, we dissuss some ideas, concerns and solutions that might clear a few things up for you.
Rene Cammarata’s Background
- Graduated from Temple University, Rene is a Golf Fitness Professional (Level 3), Junior Coach (Level 2), and a Golf Professional (Level 2) by the Titleist Performance Institute
- He is a K-VEST Certified Professional, a community of accomplished professionals that utilize 3D and 6D motion capture technology to fully understand how the body moves to create a repeatable and efficient swing motion.
- Although he has a unique skill set as a golf performance coach he also works with athletes from many other disciplines including swimming, triathlon, rowing, figure skating, ice dance, speed skating, lacrosse, football, etc., all competing at the highest levels of their sport.
- His Approach: In any sport you can have great athletes who perform and play at a high level, but they can still have imbalances and weaknesses in their kinetic chain. I find those imbalances and get them to perform at a level they never dreamed.
Highlights from this Episode
- He kicks the episode off talking about the mindset of young golfers and the differences psychologically and physically between them and other team sport players
- We discuss how to approach shaping them into well-rounded athletes.
- Where he starts day one with his young athletes that exhibit some of these symptoms of trying to perfect their swing before mastering the basics following the PMRS Model (Position, Movement, Resistance, Speed,) and tapping into their energy systems.
- Why is athleticism important for golfers and how can we introduce it.
- The differences between sport-general training and sport-specific training
- A message to the parents about what is most important in the training.
- How confidence can make a world of difference in their performance. “Success breeds success”
Caddy Shack or Happy Gilmore?
Caddy Shack
What would be your “walk-up song?”
Problem Child by AC/DC
If you could play 18 holes with anyone, who would it be and where would you play?
Sammy Hagar at Kauai
Any parting advice for the 18 Strong Audience?
Think of developing the athlete first and becoming a golfer second.
Where to Find Rene Cammarata:
Instagram: @Training_INC
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