Over the weekend of June 19th, First Tee – Silicon Valley’s Camille Thai took first place at the 2023 California Junior Girls’ State Championship. By setting specific process goals throughout the weekend, Camille was able to focus herself only on the current shot, and play to the best of her ability.
Setting and Pursuing Goals
First Tee – Silicon Valley is an organization that teaches kids how to set and structure their goals in an effective way so that they can accomplish big things. By outlining their Process, Performance and Outcome Goals, our participants are able to stay motivated, stay confident, and, most importantly, actualize some of their biggest dreams. One of our teens, Camille Thai, was able to accomplish something really special, in part, due to her strong goal setting skills as well as her incredibly hard work.
The 2023 California Juniors Girls State Championship
Held at Quail Lodge Golf Club in Carmel. The week previous, Camille had participated in a different golf tournament where she was disappointed in her performance. Coming into the State Championship, she was determined and motivated to better play to her skill level. After playing her practice round, Camille didn’t have very high expectations for the weekend because the course was long and especially difficult.
After her first round, Camille finished stroke play at +2, not the result she was hoping for but still in contention. She decided then that her new outcome goal was to just make the cut, meaning she had to be within the top 16 players after two days. With this new goal set, Camille was able to focus and perform, finishing the second day of stroke play -1, putting her in first place. At this point, she was just really happy to have secured the medalist position.
The final two days of the tournament are a match play format. With the heat, and having to play potentially 36 holes in a day, two days in a row, the tournament became more of an endurance test. Camille made sure that her focus and goal was not on winning, but on just hitting good shots, and to always be thinking about the next one. When asked about what she was thinking, Camille said “I viewed it as two separate tournaments. Match play is really anyone’s game, so you need to focus on what you can control.”
As she played her matches and secured a solid lead, Camille never felt fully secure that she would achieve the ultimate victory. She continued to always be focused on the next shot, and after going bogey free, she was able to tie the final hole necessary to secure the win. The result served as a good reminder of just how much work she has put into her game, and it was quite the confidence booster.
Congratulations on the big win Camille!
Setting and using goals effectively play a large part in Camille’s ability to continue to improve and achieve what she wants. According to her, “It’s kind of ironic. Golf is result oriented, but to get the results you want, you need to focus on the process and short-term goals.” Camille says that when she plays good golf, she isn’t worried about where she will end up; she’s focused on the process, trying to shoot the best shot she can and then immediately moving on to the next shot. Taking this mentality into her everyday life helps her to break down stress and challenges, and approach goals step by step so that she can be her most productive.
Looking forward, Camille’s current goals are to get situated into her junior year as school starts up again, and figure out the new adventure of college applications and recruitment. In regards to golf, Camille’s goals are not score focused, instead they are more about how she feels on the course. She wants to continue to work on her mental game so that she can feel confident and secure over every shot, regardless of standing or situation.
First Tee – Silicon Valley is proud of Camille Thai for her accomplishments, but even more proud of how she has been able set and achieve her goals on and off the golf course.
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