Student 鈥榩utts鈥 skills to the test at Rio Olympics
Tue 16 August, 2016
天美传媒 student James Tobia is on the road to Rio by caddying for Russia鈥檚 only female golfer, Maria Verchenova.
Since starting as Maria鈥檚 Coach & Performance Development Specialist, the duo have have earned themselves a few top finishes and a win at the Evian Qualifier in Geneva.
They are now decked out in the Russian kit and are on the road to the Rio Olympic Games on the hunt for a gold medal. The ladies golf runs from 17-20 August.
Talking about their tactics
at the Olympics, James, a Sport
Science and Coaching student, said: 鈥淎t Rio, we have a number of days on
arrival to work out our course attack plan and to refine and tweak Maria鈥檚 game
so it adjusts to the course and weather conditions.鈥
However, there are some challenges that he expects to face: 鈥淚njury prevention is always a big one as Maria has a huge work ethic and we can hit a fair amount of balls a day and the training days are intense!鈥 he commented.
鈥淭here are always equipment, psychological, technical and other types of problems that tend to jump out at us! The trick is to be ready and prepared just in case.
鈥淲e will need to micro manage the excitement, responsibility and the pressure of performing for the country.鈥 He continued. 鈥淢other Russia have placed extreme pressure on us to perform and they live for the Olympics so the challenge ahead is very real!鈥
James is quick to point out
the misconception that a caddy just carries the bags. He explained: 鈥淎 caddy
analyses statistics, ensures that the tee to green measurements are precise,
takes into consideration the weather, the cut of the grass, ensures that the
pro is fully supported, is a psychological prop and a truly professional
colleague who communicates accurately at the appropriate time ensuring that
scoring occurs and there is damage limitation when player concentration slips.鈥
Though there are a lot of positive things to look forward to at his first Olympic Games: 鈥淧ersonally I鈥檓 really looking forward to the atmosphere of the Olympics. I鈥檓 really looking forward to experiencing the closing ceremony walking out with the rest of the Russian team. And seeing Bolt of course!
鈥淲e are aiming for gold and have been training for this for the past few months. We won鈥檛 hold back and will treat it like our other win this year and ride off the back of that confidence.鈥
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