Heather Drake Selected for Junior Female Development Team

Heather Drake, a 16 year old Grade 11 student at MCHS in Marystown has been selected to the provincial female development team which will form the nucleus of the players that will represent the province at the 2013 Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The team was selected at the end of a summer development camp held at Terra Nova Golf Resort recently.

The development team is the result of an evaluation process under taken by the NLGA to identify the players suited to participate in the Canada Summer Games. Drake joins 5 other young female golfers vying for one of 3 positions on the 2013 Canada Games team. Once selected the next step in the process is a comprehensive training and development program which will run over the course of the next 12 months including sessions on skill development, mental preparation, strength and conditioning , as well as nutrition and physical conditioning. In conjunction with that the program will also include several competitions during the 2012 season.

Drake has been playing golf for the past 12 years having been introduced to the game at a very young age by her father, Joe who is an avid golfer sporting a 10 handicap. Her mother Bride also golfs and has been instrumental in getting Heather to all her competitions throughout the summer. She has been a member of the Grande Meadows Junior program for the past 7 years and has competed at the Junior Ladies provincials for the past 4 years. The culmination of all her hard work was making the NL Provincial Junior Female team in 2010 and 2011 which gave her the right to compete in the Canadian Junior Female Championships in Sussex, NB and Richmond BC. Also Drake was the 2011 NL Juvenile Female Champions and after her return from Nationals Drake completed her Junior season by winning the 2011 Grande Meadows Junior Ladies Championship by one stroke over Deanna Moulton.

Drake says that she “Thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Nationals and was very impressed with the caliber of play from the girls competing there.” She especially liked the greens which were very slick and a little faster than what she had been used to. However, that being said her future goals in golf include making the Provincial Junior Ladies team for the 2 years she has left in the Junior program and making the 2013 NL Canadian Summer Games team. With her work ethic and her continued improvement those goals are well within her reach.

Heather who hopes to continue competing in golf after her junior days credits Provincial coach, Jim Stick with the improvements in her game over the past few years. He is very dedicated to the young girls and this year has made some minor changes to her swing to help her compete on the longer courses on the mainland. Drakes favourites golf courses on the island include Twin Rivers at Terra Nova and Gander Golf Club while her favourite course from off the island is the Sussex Golf and Curling Club in New Brunswick. As well with her hope to attend university after high school continued improvement in her golf game may lead to some scholarship offers there.

Heather Drake Photo Gallery