|
|
|
|
Friday, September 12, 2008
Driving Home Values
Greater Louisville, KY
|
|
|
By: M. M. McCabe
|
Photo(s) By: Mike DeZarn
|
The First Tee teaches kids skills in golf as well as life.
|
Honesty. Integrity. Respect. Sportsmanship. Confidence. Responsibility. Perseverance. Courtesy. Judgment.
|
|
|
Honesty. Integrity. Respect. Sportsmanship. These are only four of the Nine Core Values The First Tee program instills in young golfers along with the skills of the game. Shawnee Golf Course serves as home for this program under the guidance of golf professional Craig Heibert.
The First Tee evolved from three previous programs: The Urban Youth Golf Program, the Tee Swingers, and the Shawnee Youth Group. Kevin Greenwell, a former golf professional at Shawnee, and Marty Storch, the former director of golf for the Metro Parks, helped develop these programs.
Jennifer McCallister, a sophomore on the golf team at Providence High School, has been with The First Tee program for three years. “My grandmother, Jennie McCallister, lives on 37th street and got me involved in the Urban Youth Golf Program. I took lessons from Kevin [Greenwell].” Jennifer plays mainly at Shawnee where her favorite hole is number seventeen. “My driver cooperates with me on that hole. The fairway slopes to the right and I usually drive to the left.”
Jennifer knows all the Core Values, which also include Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgment. “It’s about more than just golf. The classes and qualities we learn about will help us throughout life.”
Jalyn Shontee has been with the program since it was the Tee Swingers. “If you need help, they [the golf professionals] help you and you get to meet a lot of people.” says Jalyn. “We learn life skills such as responsibility and honesty. Golf is an individual sport and if you swing at the ball and miss, you have to tell and count it as a stroke. You have to be honest about it.”
The golf part of the program includes numerous activities to help the golfers improve their skills. “I like the putting drills. They’re like games to help you get your distance right and the control of your club,” says Jalyn. “My little sister La’Ree has been in the program about four years. She’s nine, and she got started early.” Jalyn, a freshman at duPont Manual High School, hopes the skills and qualities she’s learned through The First Tee will help her be successful there.
Matt Pardue, a sophomore at Manual, has been with The First Tee since it started. “For me, golf has always been part of my life, but this gives kids something to do besides sit in the house,” he says.
Matt appreciates the life lessons of The First Tee program. “The Life Skills part of the program teaches you to be a better person–integrity, sportsmanship–to be more respectful. There’s so much more to the program than just how to hit the ball.” Matt’s favorite hole at Shawnee is number one. “It doglegs to the right, and I usually hit over the trees to par it.”
The First Tee meets Monday through Thursday during March through December and offers other programs throughout the winter. They also offer a class for home-schooled students. “The kids who are being home schooled can use this as their physical education class,” says Heibert.
Through its national organization, The First Tee has introduced golf and its values to over 2.2 million participants around the country.
|
|
| No comments added! Click [ add a comment ] to be the first! |
|
|
|
™
®
