UXBRIDGE — The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) is very pleased to name the 2015-16 rosters for the Under-17 High Performance Regional Team Program.
The program, which debuted in 2013-14, was well received in its initial season and expanded in 2014-15 from three to five teams. Once again in 2015-16, the program will sport five squads from across the province. The team members were selected based on their 2015 tournament scores, 2015 GAO Order of Merit standing, as well as testing results from GAO Skills Combines held earlier this fall.
The five teams in 2015-16 will be Ottawa, York, Waterloo, Essex-Kent and Niagara. The program will see 54 promising young athletes on the various teams, which will include monthly technical and physical training at a regional centre and a five-day camp during March Break in South Carolina. The teams will also compete in the Team Ontario Cup, with members of the GAO’s provincial team, to be played at Grand Niagara Golf Course in Thorold, April 22-24.
“We are extremely excited about the upcoming season for our five regional teams,” said Mary Ann Hayward, GAO Manager of Sport Performance. “The regional teams continue to be a great feeder system for Team Ontario and the Team Ontario Cup is a great culminating event for our high performance athletes.”
Team Ottawa
Team Ottawa is made up of athletes from Ottawa and surrounding areas in Eastern Ontario. Adam Holden coaches the team and Allen Hicks is the team’s strength and conditioning coach. They will train out of the Kevin Haime Golf Centre in Kanata and the Ottawa Athletic Club.
Team York covers Toronto and the GTA. Jeff Overholt coaches the team and the strength and conditioning coach is Nick Martichenko. Team York will train out of Peak Performance Golf in Vaughan.
Team York Athletes:
Eric Byun (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Kevin Doran (Sharon, Ont.)
Brendan Dunphy (Whitby, Ont.)
Daniel George (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Zack Mason (Toronto, Ont.)
Nicklaus Naumovski (Halton Hills, Ont.)
Tristan Renaud (Sudbury, Ont.)
Vaijayanti Bharkhada (Brampton, Ont.)
Madelin Boyd (Oshawa, Ont.)
Logan Hackett (Oakville, Ont.)
For more information on the team and it’s athletes visit the Team York page at: https://gao.ca/team-york/
Team Waterloo
Team Waterloo is made up of players from the Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding area. Mike Martz coaches the team and their strength and conditioning coach is Angella Lee. They will train out of the Golf Performance Centre at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge.
Team Waterloo Athletes:
Luca Carestia (Ancaster, Ont.)
Dylan Henderson (Waterloo, Ont.)
Eli Mathew (Waterloo, Ont.)
Noah Romeo (Puslinch, Ont.)
Bennett Ruby (Waterloo, Ont.)
Carter Snowden (Kitchener, Ont.)
Matt Sommerville (Baden Ont.)
Cole Tondeur (London, Ont.)
Jillian Friyia (London, Ont.)
Joy Liu (Kitchener, Ont.)
Kyra Vandervoort (Kitchener, Ont.)
Abby White (Simcoe, Ont.)
For more information on the team and it’s players visit the Team Waterloo page at:
Team Niagara is comprised of golfers in the Niagara region, which includes Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and surrounding area. John White coaches the team and the strength and conditioning coach is Wayne Oliver. They will train out of Beechwood Golf & Country Club, in Niagara Falls and the Niagara Falls Sportsplex.
Team Essex-Kent is made up of golfers from the Windsor and South-Western Ontario area. Randy McQueen coaches the team and the strength and conditioning coach is Ryan Carlone. They will train out of Roseland Golf & Curling Club, On The Green Indoor Golf (OTG), Dominion Dome, Silver Tee, and Tecumseh Golf.
The Regional Team Program is designed for golfers under the age of 17. A combination of skills combines results, tournament results and current Order of Merit standings, determine the players that are selected for each team. Team members take part in an eight-month training program with a PGA of Canada certified head coach and strength and conditioning consultant. They participate in multiple local winter indoor training sessions before a March break training camp in Myrtle Beach and the Team Ontario Cup competition to be held in Niagara at the end of April.
James Parsons caps off week with 2015 Ontario Juvenile Boys’ Championship
Peter MacKellar
HUNTSVILLE— It was a long day for the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Juvenile Boys’ Championship when it wrapped up on Aug. 20 from Deerhurst Resort Highlands Course in Huntsville. The event saw another suspension in play during the final round, but by the end of the day all players were able to finish the round.
The day belonged to Almonte’s James Parsons. Parsons, from the Mississippi Golf Club, began the day with a one-shot lead. The 16-year-old, Team Ottawa member would see that lead through, finishing the day at even par (72). That brought his three-day total to one-under (71-72-72-215) and earned him the gold medal and juvenile boys’ trophy.
Parsons spoke afterwards about the win. “It feels pretty great! I was confident coming into the tournament that I could be a contender and to be in the final group was a great feeling. At the start of the day I was a little shaky, but heading into the last few holes I had a good lead, which calmed me down.”
The field and Parson battled tough conditions all week, but he said they didn’t really affect his game. “The weather wasn’t actually too bad, it just affected the first two holes that we played today. Both times that we came in, I knew I was playing well and even with the break, I could go out and perform the same way.”
Earning the silver medal was Thornhill’s Jason Chung. Chung, from the Diamondback Golf Club and a member of Team Ontario, rallied during the final round and was the only player to finish the round under par at two-under (70) for the day. That brought his tournament total to two-over (76-72-70-218).
Taking the bronze medal was another Team Ontario member, Vaughan’s Kelvin Lim. Lim, from Station Creek Golf Club, entered the day one shot off the pace at even for the tournament. However, he would finish the day three-over (75), dropping him to three-over for the tournament (72-72-75-219).
The GAO would like to thank Deerhurst Resort Highlands Course along with their staff and volunteers for helping to run the event. Thanks also to the GAO volunteers for their continued support of golf in the province.
The Ontario Juvenile Boys’ Championship is a 54-hole competition that features the province’s best junior golfers under the age of 17 competing for the Mike Weir Trophy. Notable past champions include: Josh Whalen, Brandon Ng, Tim McCutcheon, Peter R. Knechtel, Bob Panasiuk and Gary Cowan.
UXBRIDGE – The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) U19 Team Ontario and five U17 Regional Teams (Ottawa, York, Waterloo, Essex-Kent and Niagara) are gearing up for the inaugural Team Ontario Cup this weekend, which will see all of the teams compete against one another. The event will take place April 24-26 at the Grand Niagara Golf Club in Thorold.
The athletes will compete in a two-day, 36-hole team-format competition with main emphasis being on team results. Results will be determined by taking the three lowest of four team member scores each day for a team gross total. Low gross individuals will be also be recognized, over the 36 holes, in Juvenile and Bantam age categories for both boys and girls, along with an overall boys and girls champion.
Each regional team will enter two teams of four boys and one team of four girls. Team Ontario will enter one team of three boys (all scores to count each day) and a second team of four boys. For the girls’ team competition, Team Ontario will enter two teams of three girls, each with all three scores counting each day. The regional teams will enter a team of four girls each. At the end of the competition, one boys team and one girls team will be crowned champion.
“This is the first event of it’s kind and we are extremely excited to see all the Team Ontario and Regional team athletes competing in the same event,” said Mary Ann Hayward, GAO Manager of Sport Performance. “They have been training as teams for the past seven months and this is their opportunity to go head-to-head. It is a great kick-off to their competitive season here in Ontario and the preparation they have done leading up to the Team Ontario Cup should help them to be much better prepared for the important event qualifiers that begin in early May.”
The event will also be used to select the team for the Ontario–Quebec Matches that will be held July 27-29 at Smugglers Glen Golf Club in Gananoque. The top two juvenile boys and girls and the top four bantam boys and girls from the regional teams will be selected to the Ontario team that will compete in the matches.
In addition, the GAO will take the opportunity to conduct testing of all Team Ontario and Regional players. Players will go through a trackman analysis, physical combine testing and a putting test. The purpose of this testing is to gage how the athletes have improved over the winter training months.
The highlight of the Team Ontario Cup will be the banquet held on April 25 at Legends on the Niagara Golf Club. All teams will be in attendance and many family members will also attend. Each team has selected their own award winner for Most Valuable Contributor (MVC) and these MVC winners will be recognized at the banquet. The MVC award goes to the person on the team that best exemplifies: leadership, integrity, sportsmanship, team spirit and work ethic.
The Team Ontario Cup will be a great event to kickoff the tournament season in Ontario and will showcase the finest junior golfers in the province. Tee times for the competition will be from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. each day, April 25-26, with play starting on both the first and 10th tees. Trophy presentations are scheduled immediately following the completion of play on Sunday, which will be approximately 3 p.m.
UXBRIDGE— After a successful run as a pilot project in 2014, the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) is pleased to announce that the Regional Team Program will return in 2015. The second installment of the program will be even bigger this coming year with the addition of teams in Essex-Kent and Niagara to the current stable of Ottawa, York and Waterloo.
“The GAO is thrilled to continue this important and exciting program as we strengthen our commitment to developmental high performance in Ontario,” said Mike Kelly, Managing Director of Sport.
The Regional Team Program, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, is designed for golfers under the age of 17. Players participate in regional fall combines and 12 players are selected to fill each of the teams. Team members then take part in an eight-month winter training program with a PGA of Canada registered head coach and strength and conditioning consultant. They participate in 11 three-hour sessions before a spring training camp and Regional Team Competition with Team Ontario in April 2015.
Coaching the teams in 2015 will be Adam Holden (Ottawa), Jeff Overholt (York), Mike Martz (Waterloo) and newcomers John White (Niagara) and Randy McQueen (Essex-Kent).
Selection for the teams are based on the skills combines, 2014 GAO tournament performance and GAO and other junior Order of Merit Standings. To be eligible, golfers must be in good standing with the GAO, have unquestioned amateur status and be a resident of Ontario.
The Regional Skills Combines are made up of a series of assessments in full swing, short game and physical fitness screening and will be conducted by PGA of Canada regional and provincial coaches.
The combines for the 2015 teams begin in early September, starting with Ottawa’s Sept. 6-7 at the Kevin Haime Golf Centre in Kanata; Waterloo’s are Sept. 6 and 20 at the Golf Performance Centre in Cambridge; Niagara’s take place on Sept. 14 and 20 at The Legends on the Niagara in Niagara Falls; York’s are Sept. 20-21 at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham; and Essex-Kent are yet to be determined.
MYRTLE BEACH, SC— The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) three regional development teams (Ottawa, York and Waterloo) were in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week (March 9-14) for the first regional team competition. The teams completed testing while competing against one another. In the end, it was the squad from York who came away as the victors accumulating 23.5 points, just one more than runners-up Ottawa who finished with 22.5, Waterloo finished in a close third with 20.
The teams were at the Barefoot Golf Resort, a facility that features four courses designed by well-known industry professionals: Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Tom Fazio and Pete Dye. The teams took part in range, putting and short game training, at the facility, each day before daily competitions, where they worked in a round on each of the courses.
“The four courses at Barefoot Resort each offered unique challenges to the golfers looking to test all facets of their game,” said Team Ottawa coach Adam Holden. “Barefoot’s practice facility is first class with a huge manicured grass tee, short-game area and most importantly high-quality range balls.”
Each coach in attendance had an area pro with him to assist in training. Team York’s Jeff Overholt had Westmount Golf Club’s Tara Savoie, Team Waterloo’s Mike Martz was assisted by Rob Hannah, from The Rebel Creek Academy and Holden of Team Ottawa was joined by John Haime from New Edge Performance.
Managing Director of the GAO’s Sport Development Mike Kelly and Manager of Sport Performance Mary Ann Hayward, were both with the team early in the week to collect Trackman data on all of the athletes.
Members of Regional Team York train in Myrtle Beach.
In addition, Team Ontario strength and conditioning coach and physiotherapist Andrew Hoermann was on hand to conduct physical testing of the athletes. The teams also got the chance to train with the Team Ontario mental coach Judy Goss.
Competition
The competition potion of the week was a combination of round-robin match play (March 11-13) and stroke play (March 14). Points were awarded at the end of each day and the team that accumulated the most points would be crowned the Regional Team Champions.
The match play portion saw two of the regional teams face off each day with the third having a training round. They were played as a two-person scramble on the front nine and two-person best ball on the back, with one point being awarded for the team that won the most holes on the nine.
The stroke play scores were determined after each player played 18 holes. Then, the top five scores for the boys and top three for the girls were counted towards the team score.
In the team matches, it was Waterloo earning the victory on day one with a 9.5-8.5 win over Ottawa. Sparky MacLean hit a 40-foot putt on the 18th to grab the deciding point in the match for Waterloo. Waterloo was back at it on day two, but took a 12.5-5.5 loss to York. The final day of team competitions saw Ottawa even things out with a 12-6 win over York to set up an exciting stroke-play round.
“The regional team competition was a great way to prepare players for the upcoming competitive season,” said Overholt. “All of the teams were fairly evenly matched which lead to a dramatic finally on the last day of competition. Players really enjoyed the match play portion of the event, which help to develop a tighter bond with their teammates. Many of the younger players had never played in a match play format, so the competition was a great learning opportunity.”
Team York’s boys dominated the stroke play event with the top four scores, helping the team capture the overall championship. David Yoon led the way with a round of 75. On the girls’ side, it was Waterloo’s Madeline March-Sherk who posted the best score of the day with 75.
“I was very happy with the way our team performed in the competition throughout the week,” said Overholt. “We spent much of our time working with the players on managing their performance state and they all did a great job of applying the skills learned in practice on the course. Coming out on top was a great way to end the week and a great reward for all the players effort and hard work.”
Overall, the camp was a huge hit with the players and coaches who all saw it as a great development tool. “I think the camp provided the opportunity for the athletes to gauge their skill level and direct a plan to move forward with their games,” added Waterloo’s Martz. “It was an invaluable experience allowing the players to witness first hand how much time and effort is required to play at the highest levels. They were then given the opportunity to play in the afternoon and note differences throughout the week in their games. They were also given the tools to practice more effectively and the results showed by week’s end.”
