Hertfordshire’s Mark Day has been appointed as the national coach for the England Golf girls’ squad and will take up his position immediately.
He will develop and manage the national girls’ coaching programme and support England girls’ teams at specific events throughout the year.
Day, the head professional at Whipsnade Park Golf Club, describes the post as his dream job. “This role will challenge all my coaching skills and push me to be better tomorrow than I am today, which is the mind-set I want to instil in all my players,” he said.
“I can’t wait to meet the team so that we can start planning and preparing for next season and agree goals for 2016 worthy of the talents of the girls in the squad.
“Personally, I’m an ambitious person and have always aspired to perform at the highest level and will relish this opportunity to support England Golf in producing national and international amateur champions and team winners.”
Day, a PGA Fellow Professional, was one of five coaches who were recognised by England Golf last year and who received new awards to mark their outstanding contribution.
For the past two years he has been coach to the England Golf Thames Valley U16 girls’ squad, which includes Hertfordshire’s Becca Earl who has just won twice on the WPGA’s One Day Series.
He has been the Hertfordshire county coaching co-ordinator since 2010, helping to create a junior talent pathway for girls and boys. The county academy programme hosts 35 coaching days with 16 coaches for over 160 students.
Day has also been lead coach to the Hertfordshire boys for the past two years and his individual pupils include Harry Bigham, who won the 2014 English U14 boys’ championship for the Reid Trophy.
Day has worked specifically to encourage more girls to take up golf, writing a development plan and, over a three-year period, introducing more than 400 girls to the game. This led to a county-wide programme in Hertfordshire.
Nigel Edwards, England Golf’s Performance Director, said: “England Golf is committed to providing excellent coaching to help our players develop the skills they need to perform at the highest level. We are delighted to welcome Mark to the national team and look forward to working with him to achieve even greater successes for our players.”
England Golf www.englandgolf.org
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