Tim Sheredy, the 2016 and 2017 PGA North Florida Section Southwestern Chapter Teacher of the Year, is the PGA Director of Golf Instruction at the Tim Sheredy Golf Institute, located at River Club Golf Course, in Bradenton, Florida.
Tim Sheredy on the importance of working with students to help coach themselves:
In any field of study, taking control of one’s own education and progress is an empowering and motivational step in self-improvement and achieving one’s goals. In mentoring my students, my “Be Your Own Coach” training philosophy empowers them to learn how to maximize their own individual golfing potential and be less dependent upon coaches and instructors. Many youth golfers depend too much on their coaches to solve everything and this can be detrimental to their development and independence. I teach my students tools and information that will bring them individual success on and off the golf course. Students at my golf institute are given their own individualized game plan or blueprint that is prepared especially for them. They are taught the “cause and effect” of their own tendencies so they can self-diagnose and ideally, fix what’s ailing their game. Students at my golf institute are also taught ball flight laws, distance control, how to shape shots and control trajectories, how to spin a golf ball, how to read divots, how to prepare for shots, how to develop a game plan, prepare for tournaments, practice properly, keep and analyze statistics, how to eat, sleep, and get their body ready for practice and/or play, how to set attainable and measurable goals, and then how to evaluate those goals. These are examples of the tools that we teach to enable them to become their own coach.
Tim Sheredy on the business impact of working with students to help coach themselves:
Providing your students with the knowledge and confidence to analyze their own performance can go a long way in their efforts to reach the next level. As instructors, we are not always available, especially if a student is in the middle of a tournament round and he or she is seeing their golf shots fly off target in certain patterns. Our efforts to teach them what that ball flight means allows them to make the necessary adjustments on the spot to potentially salvage a round that could have gotten away from them. This high-level instruction can benefit students of any ability, but is particularly valuable to your low-handicap and tournament players. We all know that student success is the best marketing and promotion for our business. With such skilled students as professional tour players and U.S Amateur champions, I have been able to grow my golf institute over the years to the successful business it is today. Their success has enabled me to attain various teaching accolades, which without patting oneself on the back, also aids in promoting your business. When we strive to make our students better players, we make ourselves better coaches. Teaching students to coach themselves at times sets them up for even greater success than anticipated.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email tsgi2010@yahoo.com
