LORETTO GOLF ACADEMY

[Pages:12]LORETTO GOLF ACADEMY

EUROPE'S LEADING GOLF ACADEMY

Developing golfing excellence with a first-class Loretto education

A small School, big on heart, big on ambition. A SMALL SCHOOL, BIG ON HEART, BIG ON AMBITION

LORETTO SCHOOL AND THE GOLF ACADEMY

Loretto School Loretto School has a long and distinguished history in education. Founded in 1827, Loretto is Scotland's oldest boarding school. This coeducational boarding and day school occupies 85 acres of leafy campus to the east of Edinburgh and is a gateway to some of the world's finest links courses. Loretto School is an independent school to just over 600 boarding and day pupils aged 0?18 and home to Europe's leading Golf Academy. It is a small school, big on heart and big on ambition, renowned for its emphasis on the development of the whole person in mind, body and spirit.

What Is the Loretto Golf Academy? The Loretto Golf Academy, established in 2002 on our campus in East Lothian, is at the forefront of schools' golf, offering pupils an exceptional opportunity to develop their sporting talent in tandem with a first-class, all-round education.

It is widely recognised as the top independent boarding and day golf school in Europe, attracting young golfers from around the world.

The Loretto Golf Academy boasts innovative practice programmes for both beginners and advanced golfers. Working closely with the performance management and coaching staff within Scottish Golf and in partnership with Championship courses at Craigielaw and Archerfield, the Loretto Golf Academy ensures that it remains at the cutting edge of schools' golf. It continues to develop an unrivalled programme for aspiring golfers including oneto-one coaching, squad training to include short game, long game and on course sessions. In addition to the golf sessions we include strength and conditioning, nutrition, sport psychology and performance lifestyle often supported by the Scottish Golf Team. The Academy has been developed by Director of Golf, Rick Valentine. Rick is a PGA Fellow Professional and

UKCC Level 4 coach also leading the Scottish Ladies in his role of National Tournament Coach. Rick is supported by a team of three full-time PGA professionals.

The Academy also supports the game at the grass roots level and in 2016, we celebrated 12 years of sponsorship of the Scottish Boys and Girls Under-14s Championship. We also organise the Loretto Golf Academy Junior Championship and Simmers Cup which is the largest schools' golf event in the United Kingdom.

Nurturing Excellence Loretto's historic links with golf are unparalleled. Over the years, former pupils of Loretto have captained many of the best known clubs throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom. No fewer than seven former pupils have captained The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, St Andrews, whilst eleven have been captain of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, the world's oldest golf club and at least ten have been Captains at Prestwick.

The Loretto Golf Academy in unsurpassed on the circuit and has won eight National Titles with six of these coming in the last four years, including:

? HMC Foursomes ? Independent Schools' Golf Association

National Finals and Home Internationals

Recent individual players who have performed on the national and international stage include:

? Lesley Atkins ? Captain of Golf, represented Scotland in Girls' Home Internationals, European Girls' Championship 2013

? Michael Hirmer ? Represented Germany in European Boys' Championships, runner-up in British Boys 2013 and German Youth Champion 2014

? Yasemin Sari ? Represented Turkey in Queen Sirikit Cup (World Amateur Team Championships) in 2012

? Lou Tan ? Represented Hong Kong in the Junior Open 2016

? Maximilian Walz ? Captain of Golf 2010/11, represented Louisville and qualified for the Omega European Masters in 2012. Turned professional in 2016 and won his first professional title in only his third event

? Julie Yang ? Qualified for the LPGA Tour during the 2015?2016 season

We now deliver golf to 260 pupils a week, between the ages of 5 to 18. Pupils compete in competitions both in the United Kingdom and overseas, with opportunities to take part in championships and exchanges to Spain, the USA and China.

"The Loretto Golf Academy has enabled me to work on every aspect of my game and allowed me to improve in all areas. The facilities and coaching are first-rate."

Loretto pupil

"The Loretto Golf Academy is the perfect place for a motivated, aspiring golfer to play in regular competitive golf tournaments and receive high quality coaching."

Loretto pupil

THE PATHWAY PROGRAMME

Loretto Junior School: From Year 1 (5 years) The Loretto Golf Academy Pathway Programme starts in Year 1 at Loretto Junior School where pupils are able to sign up for golf coaching through the activities programme. These golf coaching sessions are conducted by our PGA professionals and take place in the Loretto Golf Academy Indoor Centre.

When pupils move into Year 4, they start to use local driving ranges to support the programme. Pupils are introduced to the golf course through Junior Medals and as they move up to the top of Loretto Junior School, they are able to compete in National Junior Schools' Championships.

Loretto Senior School: Golf for all and one-to-one coaching sessions Golf is available to all pupils at Loretto Senior School. There is access to group coaching through our activities programme run by our PGA professionals using the Loretto Golf Academy Indoor Centre as well as our outdoor practice area. Pupils are able to use the Musselburgh Old Links golf course which is walking distance from Loretto.

We are able to offer one-to-one coaching to any of our pupils.

Junior and Development Squads Loretto Senior School pupils are able to opt for golf as their major sport. For the youngest pupils, our Junior Squad covers 2nd Form (Year 8) and our Development Squad caters for our 3rd and 4th Forms (Years 9 and 10).

The Golf Programme takes place during games and activity time as pupils are also competing in the major sport of the term. Pupils receive one-to-one coaching as well as the opportunity to compete in our Junior Order of Merit and to represent Loretto in tournaments and matches against other schools.

Senior Squad Once pupils reach 5th Form (Year 11), they are able to join our Senior Squad and choose golf as their only sport if they wish. There are four main training sessions a week using Loretto's facilities and our partner golf clubs. Pupils compete in the Senior Order of Merit and they are then eligible to represent Loretto in matches and tournaments.

The Performance Squad The Performance Squad is an extension of our Senior Programme and is for our top golfers. Pupils follow an intensive programme of one-to-one coaching, practice, tournament play and they are looking to represent Loretto in National Finals. Often these golfers have aspirations to go on to play international golf as well as College Golf in the USA.

"Loretto's Golf Academy is stellar."

Tatler's Schools Guide

LORETTO GOLF ACADEMY INDOOR CENTRE

2016 heralded the opening of Loretto Golf Academy's state-ofthe-art Indoor Centre. The facility is an indoor golfing paradise and comprises of a main practice area with chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting, as well as two designated teaching studios ? putting with SAM PuttLab and video analysis and a Full Swing Studio with Trackman and video analysis.

The centre reinforces Loretto's status as one of the top golf facilities of its kind in Europe, whilst also providing an invaluable practice resource for our pupils.

The new Indoor Centre enables golf practice throughout the year and has quickly become the very best indoor golf facility in Scotland.

The Indoor Centre offers golf to all 600 pupils at Loretto through PE, games and activities. The Golf Academy's development pathways start at 5 years old and allow pupils to develop their game as they progress through Loretto School. The centre also improves the coaching and practice facilities for the 60 strong Development and Senior Squad players, offering them the best possible support to take their game to the next level.

"The Loretto Golf Academy Indoor Centre is a unique facility. This is the type of place the next champions will come from."

Sam Torrance OBE

STAFF PROFILES

Director of Golf ? Rick Valentine Rick Valentine was born in Dubai and raised in England where he pursued many sports before completing a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science and Business Studies at Brunel University. After completing University he moved to the USA to attend the San Diego Golf Academy to work on his own game, as well as achieving an Associate degree in Golf Complex Management and Golf Professional.

Rick moved to Hong Kong and pursued his amateur career for three years. He represented Hong Kong in the Eisenhower Trophy (World Amateur Team Championships), Namura Cup (Asia Pacific Team Championships) and Putra Cup (South East Asia Team Championships), as well as many other international events; he won the China Amateur in 2000 as well as being the leading amateur in the Hong Kong Open in 2001 and 2002. On returning to the UK in 2003, Rick competed in the Qualifying School for the Euro Pro Tour; he won a card and turned professional.

Since joining Loretto, Rick has become a member of the Professional Golfers' Association, completing the Foundation degree through the University of Birmingham. In 2016, he was made a PGA Fellow Professional. In September 2015, Rick was one of the first PGA professionals to be awarded the highly coveted

UKCC Level 4 coaching award. He has now started his MSc in Sports Coaching through the University of Birmingham.

In October 2014, Rick was appointed as National Competition Coach to the Scottish Women's team. Within this role he works closely with the national players, preparing them for National and International Tournaments to include the Home Internationals, European and World Championships.

Rick shares the same passion and love for the game as his Grandmother, Jessie Valentine, who notched up a staggering three British Ladies' Championships between 1937 and 1958 in addition to six Scottish Ladies' Championship titles.

Head of Golf Coaching ? Ryan Scott Having played at an elite amateur level, Ryan joined the Professional Golfers' Association in 2004 as an Assistant Professional and successfully achieved his degree in Professional Golf in July 2007. Since this time, he has coached at several venues across Scotland, and accumulated thousands of hours coaching golfers of many varying abilities, including professional golfers competing on the Euro Pro and Challenge Tours. He was successfully awarded `PGA Advanced Professional' status in July 2014 by the British Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) due primarily to his achievements and experiences in golf coaching and his commitment to continual professional learning.

As part of his coaching qualifications and professional development, Ryan completed the Golfing Machines Golf Stroke Engineering Masters (GSEB) qualification becoming one of only a handful of coaches in Scotland to have achieved this status. In addition, in September 2014, he completed a postgraduate diploma (PGDip) in sports coaching at the University of Birmingham, as well as completing the new UKCC Level 3 qualification with the Professional Golfers' Association. Ryan is undertaking an MSc in sports coaching and as of February 2015, he started coach education work for the PGA in Scotland as a Tutor and Assessor, helping induct new coaches through the PGA Level 1 qualifications. Ryan is on track to become one of the first Level 4 UKCC golf coaches in the United Kingdom.

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