Fanie Roos, a lecturer in sport management, recently became the first North-West University (NWU) representative to address the prestigious Professional Golfers Association of South Africa (PGA-SA).
And come January 2019, he will be jetting off to Orlando, Florida, to attend the international PGA Coaching and Teaching Summit.
During the South African association’s annual Coaching Conference, Fanie presented two research papers on the role of parents of talented players. His first paper was titled, “From junior to tour player: a growth mind-set for parents”, and his second “From junior to tour player: dear PGA coach, my child is four years old and wants to be a pro”.
The conference took place from 5 to 7 August 2018, and saw the cream of South Africa’s golfing fraternity in attendance. PGA-SA represents 750 men and women who have a passion for the game, values and business of golf.
Standing on the PGA stage was a lifelong dream come true for Fanie, who has been playing golf since the tender age of six. He remembers how his father, Flip Roos, used to shorten his clubs so that they would be small enough for Fanie and his brother, Christo.
His father’s dedication and training paid dividends as today Fanie manages his very own golfing academy while Christo is a national PGA professional player.
The invitation to be a speaker at the PGA-SA’s national conference came just at the right time, says Fanie, who is conducting research for his master’s thesis in golf. His area of focus is the development and support of young players.
Asked about his views on parents who push their children to pursue only one sport in the hope of raising a professional sportsman or woman, Fanie says his belief is that children should take part in as many sporting activities as possible when growing up.
“As children take part as individuals or team players they acquire important skills that will contribute towards their future sporting success. I would advise parents and young athletes to only start specialising at the age of 15 or 16 years,” says Fanie.
Fanie completed his BA degree in human movement science and psychology in 2003 at the NWU, followed by a Postgraduate Teaching Diploma in 2004. He completed his honours degree in sport science at the University of Pretoria.
He started his coaching career 13 years ago, and is a class AAA PGA professional. After a stint as a teacher at Emfuleni Park Primary, he kicked off his academic career as a junior lecturer at the NWU in 2014.
And yes, the next generation of Roos golfers are already in training. Fanie’s wife, Hanri, has already bought their 16 month old son his first golf kit!