JUNIOR GOLF PERFORMANCE

JUNIOR GOLF PERFORMANCE

At first glance, you would think our standard adult screen would be a great overall screening for all ages. It should highlight any functional movement deficiencies they are lacking and help track their progress. Unfortunately, it does not assess the child’s developmental age, fundamental movement skills or sport-specific skills.

There is a big difference between Functional movements and Fundamental movements. Fundamental movements involve locomotion (running, skipping, crawling, sliding, hopping, etc.), object control (throwing, catching, striking, kicking, bowling, etc.), stability (agility, balance, coordination and speed) and awareness (kinesthetic awareness, spatial awareness and body control). Functional movements involve patterns of motion that require a fluid balance of mobility and stability such as flexion, extension, rotation, squatting and single-leg stance.   

We recommend that young juniors be evaluated on both functional and fundamental movements and then add sport-specific screens as well in later years. Growth velocity should also be measured by coaches or the parents and then calculated and monitored every two months for developmental changes.