Jung And Manion Join British Columbia Golf’s Coaching And Sport Development Team
British Columbia Golf Is Pleased To Announce The Addition Of Brian Jung (L) & Lindsay Manion (R) To Their Staff Of Coaches
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
British Columbia has a rich history of producing terrific junior golf talent and Debbie Pyne wants to make sure that continues.
Pyne, managing director of player development with British Columbia Golf, has made two additions to the organization’s staff that she thinks will further aid in the development of the province’s elite junior players.
Brian Jung has been appointed a regional coach and Lindsay Manion has been brought on board as a strength and conditioning specialist. They will be working with head provincial coaches Jennifer Greggain and Colin Lavers. Both bring a wealth of experience to their new roles.
Manion played collegiate golf for the University of British Columbia while earning a degree in human kinetics. For the past six years she has been working as the lead trainer at the Tour Performance Lab at Northview Golf Club in Surrey. She will continue her work at Northview while joining British Columbia Golf in a part-time role.
“Debbie and I are still working out the details but more likely than not I will be assessing the individuals and providing them with programs that are easy to do even without a (personal) trainer,” said Manion, who also works with Simon Fraser University as a golf performance training consultant. “I will give them some take-home stuff they really need to master.”
Manion will work directly with coaches to prepare the junior girls and boys with the B.C. girls for the Canadian Junior Girls Championship this summer at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen. That work will include training sessions and a camp at Beach Grove with a squad of 10 of B.C.’s top junior girls players.
Manion said strength and conditioning is still under-appreciated by some junior players and their parents, although she thinks that is slowly starting to change.
“I think we are starting to change that culture a little bit,” she said. “But I do think it is something that is still very undervalued. If junior golfers look at their favourite professionals on tour, whether it be the LPGA or PGA Tour, they know full well that those players are training very consistently.”
Manion has developed golf-specific training programs that are much more than typical strength and conditioning programs that involve a lot of heavy lifting. She is very passionate about her work.
“I have always believed in it and I am trying to get all my juniors to love the process as much as I do because it goes so much further than just making your muscles bigger and stronger,” she said. “It makes you more mentally resilient. That’s the other part.”
Pyne thinks Manion’s passion and the fact she has played competitive golf makes her an excellent fit. “That is what we want,” Pyne said. “We want sports specialists that know our sport as a former athlete. They have a good understanding of what players are going through and they can relate their speciality to the sport. She is a great fit.”
Jung has a deep coaching resume. He has operated his own golf academy at Redwoods Golf Course in Langley for 10 years and has been a Canadian PGA member since 2003. Jung has had more than 110 students competing in major Canadian junior tournaments and some of his students have represented their countries in competition. His students have won more than 90 division titles. Jung is also an assistant swing coach for the Simon Fraser University golf team.
Pyne said Jung will work with Greggain at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship in Kimberley and will be assisting with coaching and training British Columbia’s 2018 Girls Performance Squad at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Beach Grove.
“We are thrilled to have Brian as part of our 2018 coaching team,” Pyne said. “He brings a wealth of coaching experience and strives to be well informed on the latest technical advances in golf.”
Some of Jung’s past clients include the likes of Soo-Bin Kim, Jennifer Yang, Jisoo Keel, Christine Wong and Darren and Jessica Wallace. Jung spent considerable time caddying for Kim when she played on the LPGA Tour.
“I think I can really help players with their course management,” Jung said. “That is the part I am really looking forward to, helping players think their way around the course.”