Long Term Junior Development at Valencia Country Club

Generally speaking in the United States we are behind in developing athletes. Now don't go crazy, yeah i know we have the best athletes in the world but with the resources that we have access to we should dominate in every field not just the few that we see. We also are seeing the rest of the world surpass our athletes across the board. You ask why this is...Democracy! Other Countries' Governments have invested in LTAD(Long-Term Athlete Development). There is so much information out there and most of it has been compiled by countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden even the Eastern Block Countries were using this technology. Some countries were using this knowledge even before they knew it and thought it was just a hypothesis.

What we will be teaching your children at Valencia Country Club is "physical literacy." Sports are split into two developmental areas. There are early specialization and late specialization sports. Early specialization sports are artistic and aerobic. These sports are gymnastics, figure skating, diving and swimming. There are 4 stages:

1. Training to Train
2. Training to Compete
3. Training to Win
4. Retirement and retainment

In Late Specialization Sports (Track and Field, Team Sports, Golf, etc)there are 6 stages:

1. FUNdamental
2. Learning to Train
3. Training to Train
4. Training to Compete
5. Training to Win
6. Retirement and retainment

The two stages we will be spending the majority of our time working on at Valencia are FUNdamental and Learning to Train. The primary effort will be spent working on the FUNdamental stage. We will teach the children functional movement patterns that will make them better athletes for the rest of their lives. The way sports has been taught in America is like teaching Calculus without knowing how to count. The key points of FUNdamentals are:

• Participation in as many sports as possible
• Speed, power and endurance are developed using FUN games
• Appropriate and correct running, jumping and throwing techniques are taught using the ABC's of athletics
• Introduction to the simple rules and ethics of golf
• Strength training with exercises which use the child's own body weight; medicine ball and Swiss ball exercises
• Develop the child's:
• ABC's (Agility, Balance, Coordination, and Speed
• RJT (Running, Jumping, Throwing)
• CKs (Catching, Kicking, Striking with and implement)

Please trust me when i say that if i had children i and they weren't involved in an Early Specialization Sport, i would have them involved in this program. The long term benefits of physical literacy is amazing and this age window is necessary. People can learn this at a later age, but they will never be literate. We all have friends that we see do something athletic and it looks like they have been doing it forever. This program will help your child be that person!

The Weekend Release

Craig’s Weekend Release Program
For the week of March 8th thru March 13th



Winter Tee Time Policy;
I figured i should keep this up here for another week. We have gone back to our regular tee time policy. As most of you remember what this means is that starting Tuesday we can take tee times on Saturday and Sunday starting at 11:00. The course will open at 7:00 and from then until 11:00 it will be first come first serve based on getting your group together. This policy only affects the weekends. Please call the shop if you have any questions.

March Juniors;
Next week we will start the Junior Development Program at Valencia Country Club. I am very excited about rolling out this program. I think this program could revolutionize athletics in Santa Clarita and maybe elsewhere. Jill has compiled information and training from some of the great trainers and physicians in the world to implement this program. We will be starting it at a limited basis next week and i would imagine in 6 months we will have to expand the program. For those of you that have questions, please go to my blog as i will writing more about the program in detail. That seems to be a better venue to give you all of this information. My blog address is at the bottom of this page.

Matt Marsh;
As many of you have heard, our Superintendent is moving on. Matt Marsh has done a tremendous job here in the 18 months he was here. The projects that he has completed will set us up for a long time to come. About a month ago he was contacted about a position in Orange County at Santa Ana Country Club. The previous Super, retired after being at the Club for 30 years and this opportunity for Matt was just too good to pass up. We have been blessed by his expertise and hope him all the best in his future. As you have witnessed in the past transition the staff that we have out there is very well prepared and trained. First Wayne, then Robert, and now Matt have left us in very healthy condition to handle this change and the staff of Jesus and the boys are very capable of handling the turf conditions for the near future while we find the Future of Valencia Country Club. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

March Member Events;
The 16th of March marks the return of our at&t Member Guest. We started this event 4 years ago to put you out on the course the Wednesday before the event. You can bring 1 or 3 guests. We will put the at&t in positions out there, so you can play the course as Rich Contreras got to play it. On Saturday the 19th we have our next Men’s Member Tournament. It is an individual Gross Net format. Starting the 26th of March we will start our Saturday Swing Schools. Please look around the Club for signups.

Around the Club;
This coming Sunday we head back into Daylight Savings. Please prepare your clocks for this change. You might want to go to bed an hour earlier so that at 2:00 a.m. when the clock goes to 3:00 you are prepared. That being said 7:00 a.m. will actually be 6:00 a.m. I hope my staff shows up!!!


Schedule of events for the week of March 8th thru March 13th:

Tuesday: Ladies Day-Tee Closed from 8:45 to 10:00; Open Play Rest of the Day
Wednesday: Open Play
Thursday: Open Play
Friday: Open Play; Tee Times all day
Saturday: Member’s Open Play Before 11:00; Tee Times after 11:00
Sunday: Member’s Open Play Before 11:00; Tee Times after 11:00


Craig Cliver

Valencia Website Address
valenciagolfclub.com
Username (your VCC membership number)
Password (your last name)

valenciaccgolf.blogspot.com (Craig’s)

ccliver@kempersports.com

Craig’s Weekend Release Program
For the week of February 15th thru February 21st



The Weather;
I hope this makes you happy! I write this in beautiful weather, mid 60’s and mild wind. What i call a day like this and a weekend like this weekend is a Sucker Hole. A Sucker Hole is typically a time of day between storms. Well after having lived in the Santa Clarita Valley for the past 5 years i recognize that this is just another Sucker Hole. Thursday at Valencia i felt like i was Jim Carey on the Truman Show when they just kept turning up the wind on him as he drove towards the end of the set. Starting Tuesday and into the weekend we are in for some ridiculous storm systems. I have an app on my phone that gives me the weather channel and i don’t know the last time i opened it up without some Special Weather Statement Alert showing up. I’m about to write a letter to Washington and apply for some assistance claiming that this place is a Natural Disaster. I would like to talk to the city founders about what we deal with on a typical basis. Maybe this is just global warming as we had frost every day this weekend. I am starting to think that the movie 2012 was a documentary on the Santa Clarita Valley. Now come play golf!

Men’s Individual Stableford;
We have almost finished scoring the Stableford event. I tell you what, we need a super computer to calculate the results for this format. In the 1st flight Peter Cho and Dick Rai won the gross while in the Net, Harry Thomas won followed by Bob Berra and Miles Amarino. In the 2nd flight Greg Gayheart beat Randy Bragdon gross and the Net Division finished Al Gowing, James Song, then Phil Nordella. In the 3rd flight Will Whitehead beat Steve Whitmore in the Gross Division. In the Net Division Dr. Herring beat John Gedney and Dr. Kaushal. If calculating Stableford points when somebody takes a net 13 wasn’t hard enough, here are the final results for the Skins Game:
Hole 1 - Art Johnson (3)
Hole 2 - Bill Raven (2)
Hole 3 - Ron Oguss (1)
Hole 7 - Mike Keefe (2)
Hole 8 - Bob Herring (2)
Hole 10 - Miles Amarino (2)
Hole 15 - Mike Keefe (3)
Hole 17 - Russ Hoffman (2)

Men’s Team Play;
It was a valiant effort at home. I will spare you all the sloppy details, but we lost by a point. I have put plastic over my keyboard to write these updates as my tears have started shorting out my computer and i just got up off the floor after the last jolt from my computer left me prostrate on my back reciting Soren Kierkegaard. Great job by Dick Rai dominating the chipping contest after dinner and taking all of the Oakmont boys money!!

OPEN MONDAY;
We are open Monday for President’s Day. Please join us as we should find another Sucker Hole at the beginning of next week! You don’t need tee times and if you bring guests, we will be charging weekday guest rates of $72. Please come out and join us for a great day at the Club!


Schedule of events for the week of February 15th thru February 21st:

Tuesday: Ladies Day-Tee Closed from 8:45 to 10:00; Open Play Rest of the Day
Wednesday: Open Play
Thursday: Open Play
Friday: Open Play; Tee Times all day
Saturday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!
Sunday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!
Monday: Open Play all day, no Tee Time Required


Craig Cliver

Valencia Website Address
valenciagolfclub.com
Username (your VCC membership number)
Password (your last name)

valenciaccgolf.blogspot.com (Craig’s)

ccliver@kempersports.com

Craig’s Weekend Release Program
For the week of February 8th thru February 13th




Ladies Day;
Tomorrow is Ladies Day. We will be doing a shotgun at 9:00 for them. We will be using the first hole and working back so expect the tee to be blocked for the normal times. The only issue this could cause is if you try to tee off on the back between 7:00 and 7:30 we can’t accommodate that. We will need holes 17 and 18 at 9:00.

Men’s Individual Stableford;
This Saturday the 12th we have our Men’s Individual Stableford. This format is where you are given points determined by the score you make on each hole. The higher the score the better. Please sign up or call the shop and we will make sure that you get on the list. We will also add an additional Skins Game. Normally Steve Whitmore has been organizing this, but since it is an individual format we will collect the additional optional $10 in the shop. Please call the shop or sign up before Wednesday so our new Chef Brian can be prepared to provide food for all. The weather should be perfect for the afternoon BBQ on the patio!


Men’s Team Play;
Well, it’s been a disappointing season for the boys from Valencia. When life gives you lemons we haven’t figured out to make lemonade. We took a team on the road to Brentwood and i thought we could win this match on the road. We didn’t and not only did we lose, we lost more than we won by last week and are now firmly in last place in our division. I am typing this through tears! This week we play division leader Oakmont at Valencia. Oakmont has won all of their matches so far. Us going up against Oakmont is like expecting a Snowflake to be able to survive in Hell. It is like an American made vehicle being able to outperform a foreign car(i drive a chevy). Now for my Knute Rockne moment. This is why they play the game...was it over when the German’s bombed Pearl Harbor??? Thats why the Miracle on Ice wasn’t over until the 4th quarter! I’ve got a good feeling about this week! I can’t wait to see what Chef Brian serves for dinner! Now go get em boys!! By the way the tee will be blocked from 9:30 to 11:15!

Course Conditions;
I will say that this time of the year is fun for me to be able to travel with the Team even if we are the whipping boys of our division. I love getting to play the other courses in the area. It confirms to me every year that our course is consistently in the best condition of the bunch. Please help us keep it that way. Repair you ball mark and one other and please fill your divots on the course. Thanks for the help and i will see you around the Club!


Schedule of events for the week of February 8th thru February 13th:

Tuesday: Ladies Day-Tee Closed from 8:45 to 10:00; Open Play Rest of the Day
Wednesday: Open Play
Thursday: Team play vs. Oakmont; Tee blocked from 9:30 to 11:15-Open Play Rest of the Day
Friday: Open Play; Tee Times all day
Saturday: Men’s Individual Stableford at 10:00; Tee will open after!
Sunday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!



Craig Cliver

Valencia Website Address
valenciagolfclub.com
Username (your VCC membership number)
Password (your last name)

valenciaccgolf.blogspot.com (Craig’s)

ccliver@kempersports.com

The Weekend Release

Craig’s Weekend Release Program
For the week of January 25th thru January 31st



Men’s Team Play;
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the boys. We barely lost to LACC at home a couple of weeks ago then we took our show on the road and got throttled at LACC. This week we host Brentwood Country Club who is also 0-2 on their season. Thursday we will tee the boys off at 11:00. There are 8 groups plus alternates and we will tee them off on the front nine. We will need most of the entire front nine to get these groups off at 11:00. What that means is that if we have frost we won’t have much time to get you on the course before the tee time. If you are planning on playing in the morning pray there is no frost. We will also be closing the tee in the afternoon about 1:30 for the groups to make the turn back on to the front. I know that is a lot of information. Please call the shop if you have questions and are planning on playing Thursday to keep from being inconvenienced.

Cart Path Policy;
This week we are looking at having spectacular weather so come out and play. We have opened up the course to carts on both 9’s. Come on out this week and enjoy the opportunity to drive on the course. Farmer’s Almanac and Leonardo DiCaprio both claim that due to weather trends we will be dealing with freezing rain, tornado and an iceberg in the pond on 16. This is the final week before all the weather predictions come true and we are living a scene from Mad Max. I look forward to seeing you all around the Club this week!



Schedule of events for the week of January 25th thru January 31st:

Tuesday: Ladies Day-Tee Closed from 8:45 to 10:00; Open Play Rest of the Day
Wednesday: Open Play
Thursday: Men’s Team Play-Tee closed from 9:30 to 11:15; Open Play rest of the Day!
Friday: Open Play; Tee Times all day
Saturday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!
Sunday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!



Craig Cliver

Valencia Website Address
valenciagolfclub.com
Username (your VCC membership number)
Password (your last name)

valenciaccgolf.blogspot.com (Craig’s)

ccliver@kempersports.com

January 4th thru January 9th

Craig’s Weekend Release Program
For the week of January 4th thru January 9th


Around The Club;
Once again i get to discuss my favorite theme in the Santa Clarita Valley. This weather is awesome. So much for global warming. If it wasn’t enough that we were trying to make up for low water levels across the state in one month, we are now having snow days at Valencia Country Club. The new high speed quad chairlift will be completed by the end of the week. It should be tons of fun carving in fresh pow pow down 1, 10 and 18. We are setting up a free style park on the driving range. There will be tables, rails, and many other obstacles for your free style bliss. All of this is sponsored by your local Jeep dealers. Richie is now offering waxing services for your skis and boards in addition to the occasional broken shaft. Please ski and board under control at all times. You can buy the season pass here or just the daily pass. Ski schools start this weekend for the juniors. We did get about 2 inches last night and it is melting off as i write this. We will be open for play for the rest of the week.

Saticoy Home and Home;
Thursday we will have a warm up for the Men’s Team Play season which starts here on the 13th against Los Angeles Country Club. This week we will be sending 4 matches to Saticoy and having 4 matches here. There will be a total of 4 groups playing teeing off at 10:00 in a Shotgun. We will have to close the course for a bit so we can get these groups on the course. Please understand this inconvenience and if you are planning on joining us that day with guests or a game of your own, try to schedule it around the match.

This Week;
There is nothing else going on around the Club this week. I do expect a swarm of locust or some other natural occurrence. Please be prepared for anything! I look forward to seeing your around the Club! I will be posting this on my blog in addition to other pictures and events that go on weekly around the Club. Please check it for updates. I do love the feedback, so please don’t hesitate to tell me what you think...it doesn’t even have to be constructive!



Schedule of events for the week of January 4th thru January 9th:

Tuesday: Ladies Day-Tee Closed from 8:45 to 10:00; Open Play Rest of the Day
Wednesday: Open Play
Thursday: Open Play; Saticoy CC Home and Home Tee Closed from 9:30 to 10:15ish
Friday: Open Play; Tee Times all day
Saturday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!
Sunday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!



Craig Cliver

Valencia Website Address
valenciagolfclub.com
Username (your VCC membership number)
Password (your last name)

valenciaccgolf.blogspot.com (Craig’s)

Craig's Weekend Release

For the week of December 28th thru January 2nd


Around the Club:
We are into our final week of the year. This past week with the rain we haven’t been able to open the range. Our goal will be to open it tomorrow and pray it doesn’t rain too much on Wednesday or we might have to close it again. Be grateful, we haven’t had any mudslides. This week we have nothing scheduled that should knock you off balance with your golf plans.

Upcoming Events:
New Years Party-We will be having our second annual East Coast version of New Years. The ball will drop at Valencia Country Club at 9:00. This will allow you to come to VCC and go home and shut it down by 10:00 if you are like me. It also allows you double your pleasure if you are a professional and go ring in the New Year West Coast style. Please call if you are interested in joining us. Emails have been going out all week.
Men’s Team Play-Starting in January the Men’s Team play will be playing on Thursdays. If you are interested in participating please send me an email with your shirt size. If you plan on bringing guests out during the week please check our schedule as we alternate home and home with other clubs through the middle of February. I will continue to send emails out, i just don’t want any of you caught off guard.
Titleist Pro V Sale-This is the last week you can get the Pro V for under $40. Starting in the new year the price will go up. If you need to stock up, now is the time!

I hope this email finds all of you well. Please be safe this week if you do decide to participate in the festivities of the year. It is a pleasure to work for you all and i hope all of you are healthy and safe. Thank you for making it such a great year for all of us at Valencia Country Club.


Schedule of events for the week of December 28th thru January 2nd:

Tuesday: Ladies Day-Tee Closed from 8:45 to 10:00; Open Play Rest of the Day
Wednesday: Open Play
Thursday: Open Play
Friday: Open Play; Tee Times all day
Saturday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!
Sunday: No Tee Times; Winter Tee Time Policy!