Why Golf? How it all began for the Birdiesisters.
Eric Jackson, the father of the Birdiesisters, always knew that if he were to have children they would become great athletes. After he found out that his wife was pregnant with a girl, he started thinking about sports opportunities that would not require certain physical attributes to be successful, and that had the potential to be both financially and socially rewarding. He also wanted to ensure that his little girl would not be perceived as a “tom boy” while displaying their athleticism. Nonetheless, his ultimate goal was for little Erica to make her way into the history books. Therefore, Eric decided that Erica would play golf. When Myah was born in 2000, Eric’s dream broadened. He began to envision the Jackson girls making golf history.
Eric began to instill in Erica that she was destined to be a golfer. For example, he began to call her Erica ”the golfer” Jackson. Eric started looking for a golf coach to make his dream a reality. One Sunday during the summer of 2002, Marsha Jackson, the Birdiesisters’ mom, was talking to her pastor after church. Her pastor mentioned that he was considering enrolling his daugher in a “Hook a Kid On Golf” program in the south suburbs of Chicago. Marsha told him that Eric was looking for a golf coach for Erica. She took down the information, gave it to Eric, and Erica’s golf journey began. Although the program didn’t turn out to be a viable option for Erica, it resulted in her first golf lessons. She started out taking lessons once a week for 30 minutes. During Erica’s lessons, little Myah, who was only 2 years-old, began watching, learning and repeating the coach’s consistent words — “keep your head down.” Therefore, Myah’s golf journey was also beginning, even without a golf club in hand.
In the summer of 2004, Eric moved both girls to a closer golf course on the southside of Chicago to increase the frequency of their lessons. They began taking lessons 3 days a week for one hour. That same summer, Erica participated in her first golf competition, Drive, Chip and Putt. In 2006, both girls participated in their first golf tournament in Southern Illinois, which attracted junior golfers from around the world. Thereafter, the girls joined several local golf tours and programs. This year, for the first time, the Birdiesisters participated in four international junior golf tournaments, along with several local tours and programs.
Today, the Birdiesisters are looking to expand their golf training and tournament participation in order to become more competitive on both national and international levels.
Tags: BirdieSisters, Eric Jackson, Erica Jackson, Golf, Myah Jackson
