A little more than a year ago, I ran into a long-lost childhood friend at a golf event. This chance meeting in itself was wonderful. Though we didn’t play in the same foursome, the memories of our childhood poured out over a beer after the round. However, it was a short portion of our encounter that would give new meaning to my life and affect me in ways I never could have imagined as I teed it up that morning.

My friend, Debbie, is coach and member of the board for The First Tee of San Joaquin. I had always been interested in this organization as it teaches 9 core values through the game of golf to kids from the ages of 7 to 17. It also tries to bring golf to youth that might not normally be exposed to the game. The core values of courtesy, confidence, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, honesty, integrity, perseverance, and judgment are seamlessly integrated into activities and games. At the end of 9 week-sessions, the young golfers pass certification through tests and observations to show they actually exhibit the values on the course. The studies show the participants also apply these values at home and in school. One child at a time, changes within communities can be made.

Prior to reuniting with Debbie, I had been interested in volunteering for The First Tee. However, I thought I needed to wait until my golf skills were a bit more polished. Debbie informed me that wasn’t the case and before I knew it, I had agreed to come to the following Saturday’s session. Within minutes that Saturday morning, I was in love. The coaches, the kids, the activities, the values, and the golf activities all mixed into a perfect, mesmerizing alchemy. I was sold.

As addicted as I am to golf, I never imagined I wouldn’t mind giving up my Saturday morning round in order to coach, but standing on the putting green with young golfers talking about golf, and more importantly, life brought me so much joy that I could hardly believe it. There is no place I would rather be each Saturday. In fact, I try to go to weekday sessions when my work schedule permits.

Recently, four other local coaches and I were fortunate enough to be sent to a 3-day intensive training program for The First Tee. There were forty participants and 4 trainers. I loved this organization prior to the training, but now I am completely crazy for it. In the 3 rather long days not a single minute was wasted. When the trainers demonstrated a lesson with actual kids, it looked like a staged production because the lesson went so smoothly, and the kids were having a blast. They had no idea how much they were learning because the trainers were so good at integrating the core values into the golf-related games.

To complete our training, we had to run a session using the formal lesson plan we had written based on what we had learned. My fellow coaches had boundless energy, and our lessons were great. The kids really loved what we did, and they shook our hands and thanked us at the end of the session. When is the last time a 10-year old walked up to you hand extended, cap off to say thank you? How could I not love being in the middle of all this?

I came to a couple realizations during the three days. The first is that I am overwhelmed by the passion and energy the directors and my fellow coaches have for this organization. It seems that once you become involved in The First Tee, it enters in your bloodstream and pumps energy into your veins. The second is that I want to do more. I hope to continue my training in the fall. I catch myself daydreaming about being out there with the kids when we are on break. If finances allowed, I would do nothing else. Our community needs this program. It needs to grow. More kids’ lives can be touched. I am committed to do more. There are many of us involved with The First Tee who feel this way. I hope to convince even more to make the commitment to our community. All I had to do was show up one Saturday morning and the good I saw being done compelled me to become a coach. Inside of me, there was a shift. I have been given far more than I ever thought was possible. New priorities. New energy. New opportunities.

For more information:
National site: www.thefirsttee.org
San Joaquin Chapter: www.thefirstteesanjoaquin.org