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Wales Golf has appointed four new coaches to develop talented young players around Wales and widen the base of the elite squads pyramid.
The four regional coaches at Boys and Girls level will focus especially on players under the age of 14 before they feed into the national age group squads as they get older.
Wrexham Head Professional Sam Griffiths will lead a Mixed Squad in North Wales, while Radyr Professional Georgia Williams will head up the Girls Squad in South Wales.
Richard James, Head Teaching Professional at Penrhos Park, will lead the South West Boys, while George Burnett of Chepstow Golf Centre’s Elite Golf Academy will look after the South East Boys.
Both James and Williams have plenty of experience of the task in hand having come through the Wales Golf system to represent Wales at the highest levels of amateur golf, while Griffiths has been involved in the national system as a nursery coach and Burnett is part of Hugh Marr’s Coaching Mastery Programme.
“The current squad system includes a high performance squad, Under 21’s, Under 18’s and an Aspire Squad below that. A couple of years ago the numbers in the Aspire Squad were very low,” explained Natalie Powell, Pathway and High Performance Officer at Wales Golf.
“We are trying to increase the opportunities for golfers at the younger age groups. By introducing four new squads of seven to eight players, we’re creating more opportunities for young golfers to develop and progress within the pathway. We hope this leads to more golfers reaching the peak of the amateur game.
“Providing more golfers with access to performance environments, quality coaching, and competitive opportunities at the earlier stages of the pathway will help strengthen the overall system and support long-term success. We hope we can instil performance behaviours in those players so they understand what it takes to get to the next level.”
The Mixed Squad in the North will be based at Wrexham with Griffiths, the South Girls at Radyr and Pyle and Kenfig, The South West Boys at Machynys and the South East Boys at Parc.
“It is part of a new regional programme, having been through a selection process to come up with the four coaches from 20 applicants,” added Powell. “The appointments also reflect the numbers of players at that level, which is why there is a Mixed Squad in the North, a Girls Squad in the South and Boys Squads in the South West and South East.
“They will be focussed around the Under 14 age category, but it is more about the level of the player than their age. The amount of coaching history they have had may be more relevant. All four coaches are part of the Golf Coach Cymru programme for shared learning, which is another bonus.”
Griffiths is keen to start work in North Wales to develop the next Ian Woosnam, Amy Boulden or Becky Brewerton. “If we can help expose these young players to a high performance environment then it can only be good for them and for Wales squads down the line.”
Former Wales international Lewis, aged 28, added, “It is an exciting opportunity. There has not been any regional system in place for quite some time. I was initially involved in the system 17 years ago when I first got into a regional set up back then, so for me it is an exciting opportunity to give back.”
Burnett, aged 27, is equally excited about his new role. “I’m really looking forward to it, especially after the trial day where there was lots of talent, lots of lads who have not been playing for a long time so they have loads of potential.”
James, aged 33 and the head professional at Penrhos Park near Aberystwyth, is equally pleased. “I’m looking forward to it, the trial went well so we cannot wait to get started with the group now. I am fortunate to have a good group of players in my squad, lots of talent, so it is really exciting to see where they go over the next few years.”
The new squads will start work in the middle of November.
Regional North Mixed: Ifan Owens, Austin Collis, George Smith, Spencer Rolfe, Arthur Gibson, Amy Brown, Fflur Awel Cullen, Lily Morgan.
Regional South East Boys: Flynn Lambly, Max Baines, Oscar Mordey, Henry Evans, Archie Hayward, Seb Pinkerton, Alfie Skinner, Taio-Blake Burkitt.
Regional South West Boys: Tommy Evans, Finlay Grey, Dylan Williams, Sam Matthews, Oliver Jones, Myles Jones, Harrison Jones, Efan Rees, Macsen Dyer.
Regional South Girls: Esme Matthews, Charlotte Huntley, Lacey Mai Rees, Phoebe Gorvett, Nevaeh Clarke, Molly Maclean, Lily Fitzpatrick.
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