Sooner or later your junior golfer will succomb to the pressure of the moment in a tourney and... dare we utter the word... choke. It may come early, it may come after a few years of play, it may not happen until they compete at a higher level, but sooner or later it will happen. It might not even be a choke, but in the course of events, he or she will define it as a choke. And then it may take on a life of its own. All signs will point to the next choke. It will be anticipated and worried about. Course management, even mechanics, may be adjusted to deal with it's inevitable reappearance. As in life, so in golf, there are pressures that are too much to allow us to perform at the highest level. So what to do?
Many parents don't dare utter the word "choke", or whisper it as if it's some embarrassing family secret. They may change the subject when it's brought up, call it something else, essentially go into full blown denial. I know other parents that go the other route. Their kid is choking, they laugh. Hard. At first I thought it was a bit cruel, but ultimately I've seen it helps their kid get over the self-importance of it all. After all, it's just a game. It's a small slice of life. Get over it. No big deal. The sooner they get that the better. The better for all of us.
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