European Team Championships 2007 Enttäuschung?

Enttäuscht von den Resultaten der Schweizer Teams an den diesjährigen TeamEuropameisterschaften? Männer in Schottland 16. von 20, Boys in Dänemark 16. von 20, Ladies in Castelconturbia 15. von 16, und Girls in Norwegen 18. von 19 Teams (Details auf www.asg.ch). Zu den Leistungen der Männer, die vor zwei Jahren in diesem Event die Bronzemedaille gewonnen hatten, baten wir Nationalcoach Graham Kaye um eine Stellungnahme, die wir in ihrer englischen Originalversion publizieren. Zu den aktuellen Leistungen unserer besten Amateure wird in einer der nächsten Ausgaben ein ausführliches Interview mit Graham Kaye erscheinen. Siehe im übrigen auch «Editorial» dieser Ausgabe.

«Both the Mens and Boys championships were played out in the same manner – 2nd flight thanks to an improved performance on the second day, 0-3 in match play, and the same final result; 16th out of 20 teams. Neither result was what we had hoped for, but the Boys performance was a lot more positive than the Amateurs simply because five of the Boys team were debutants and went into the championship with very little experience. Five of these players will still be available for selection to next years team, and by then all will have learned and matured a lot. The Boys also showed plenty of team spirit. This is not the easiest dynamic to blend into a team of individuals playing essentially a very individual sport, but without question it has been present in all our most successful teams in the past, and if the team essentially stays together for a year or two future results should improve.

The Men, strangely, may have also suffered from a lack of playing international golf together leading up to their championship. Apart from Weiss being in the U.S and thus unavailable, Benz and D'Incau have been unable to get into tournaments due to their handicaps, and Piaget has basically played his own agenda separate from the National squad. Only Dobias and Rojas have traveled together – hardly the ideal conditions for players to bond and learn to be around each other. The result in Scotland though does not need excuses. The players under-performed and they would be the first to concede this. There are presently too many weaknesses in their short games, and mental strength is fallible. The two are linked of course, and the combination was painfully apparent during many of the matches. However, underpinning any successful team is an aura of confidence. The unfortunate circumstances on arrival at Glasgow airport, and the consequent problems with equipment and personal belongings leading up to the event may well have undermined some of the players confidence. Significantly, Tino Weiss, the oldest and most experienced member of the team, shot 144 in qualifying. Along with Marc Dobias 73 on the first day of qualifying these were the most positive things about the entire week. One point that concerns both teams should be made. Although a lot of work is being done to expand the base of the game and create more and better junior golfers, the benefits cannot be shown in results as quickly as some may expect. Only two players remain from the Men's team which finished third just two years ago, and the five debutants in the Boys team were in the Regional squads at the time of the spring training camps. In the past few years, more players have turned professional than the number with similar quality have come into the National squad. The dearth of talent does not necessarily mean a lack of structured development and efficient coaching practices. We are a small nation and cannot expect to produce successful teams every year, no matter what effort and money goes into the organization. From 1999 until this year, we have had some remarkable successes but it should not be a surprise when we have the inevitable «follow years». It does no harm to the development of the game to have these occasional reality checks – rather, they should inspire players to practice harder and motivate themselves to raise their standards, along with those of us involved in the process of helping them make the most of their abilities. Progress has not suddenly come to a stop; and young golfers still want to play for their country and take pride in their performances. It may be that our teams have fewer successes in the next few years, but there will always be individuals who rise above the rest and we must continue to give them the opportunity to go as far as they can in the game.

With this in mind, if there is one thing I would like to improve upon it would be the amount of time I can spend working with the players – on all aspects of the game. I am aware that the ratio between competitive play and efficient training and practice is unbalanced. There are things that show up in tournaments that need addressing on the practice range in a hands-on manner, not simply telling the player concerned – no matter how good the advice might be. Working with our best players in «mini camps» of one or two days is something that has been discussed at Junior Committee level, and ways to correct the imbalance will be introduced in the near future. Hopefully, with such initiatives, it is clear to all interested parties that the process of improvement is as much the coaches responsibility as it is the players.»

Email: glenmuir@glenmuir.ch www.glenmuir.ch