Category: Newsletter

Robby Keith joined our chapter in 2005, back when we were called The First Tee of San Jose. He excelled through our program and certified in our Ace level (highest level). Robby graduated from Notre Dame de Namur and majored in Kinesiology. He is currently studying at The Ohio State University and working on his Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Robby has been an instructor for us since 2016 and has coached over 800 students. He also assisted us with our DRIVE outreach program which includes visiting local schools and delivering our curriculum in their after-school classes. In addition to traveling to the schools, Robby helped deliver school field trips classes at Rancho Del Pueblo Golf Course. Robby’s contributions to the program extend past coaching. For example, he has delivered speeches and assisted us at our local fundraisers. We are grateful he could take time from his busy schedule to continue to give back to the program he started so long ago. Robby’s journey from student to instructor is an example we hope others follow. For those that choose the path of participant to coach, they have an outstanding role model to look up to in Robby. According to Coach Robby, “Having been a participant since I was 7, The First Tee of Silicon Valley has become a family to me, both accepting me as who I am and encouraging me to develop further. They made me the man I am today, and by coaching I hope I bring current and future participants into our family and give them the tools to succeed.” We are fortunate to have Robby involved in our team and appreciate his enthusiasm and drive to make our program a better place for everyone. Thank you, Robby, and keep up the great work! If you are interested in joining coaches like Robby, please visit https://www.thefirstteesiliconvalley.org/ways-to-give/volunteer/. The deadline to sign up for the Fall season is August 15^th.

Meet Jasmine Rumble, a freshman at Independence High School. She began our program in the Fall of 2013 and has been an active participant ever since, progressing to our Eagle level which is our second highest level. Jasmine is a natural leader, who in addition to her role as a Volunteer Coach, assists in our Girls Golf program, in our Golf Introduction classes, and at our Open Tournament fundraisers. Outside of The First Tee of Silicon Valley, she is part of her school’s leadership program where she works with a team to put together school events and is in charge of mentoring newcomers getting ready and adjusting to their new school. Jasmine always offers to help where needed, initiates conversations with her peers and coaches, and has a welcoming and positive approach to everyone she meets. According to Jasmine, “TFTSV made me much smarter in thinking about my decisions.  It reminds me how I want to treat people the way I want to be treated. That’s why I like courtesy because everybody needs that in life. You want the same energy that you would give to other people.” We are grateful to have her in our chapter as her presence makes our program a better place. Thank you, Jasmine, and keep up the great work! If you are interested in becoming a participant, please visit our Youth Classes Page, Registration for Fall opens August 12th at 10am for the Fall Season is 9/8 to 10/31.

All 20 of our 12th grade participants graduated High School with a 3.0 GPA or better. What is even more impressive is that ALL are college bound with 14 attending CA UC’s. We are proud of who they are, and what they have accomplished on and off the course. They have been involved with TFTSV between 4-11 years, excelling as participants with 6 progressing to the Eagle level and 14 achieving our top Ace level. TFTSV’s mentors have walked alongside our participants assisting in their character and life skills development which helped shape their journey and future aspirations. 100% of graduate survey respondents credited TFTSV for improving their character, inspiring them to be life-long golfers (1 playing Division I and 7 on Club teams) and developing their social strengths and respect for inclusion to be better citizens and build a better community.

Amanda Nguyen – Eagle – 5 years	Juan Pablo Roa – Ace – 9 years
Andres Herrera – Ace – 7 years	Justin Lam – Ace – 8 years
Archis Dhar – Ace Certified – 8 years	Krisha Sharma – Eagle – 8 years
Arthi Chandra – Ace – 11 years	Linette Jun – Ace – 6 years
Avery Chen – Eagle – 8 years	Mitchell Fong – Ace – 4 years
Calton Kong – Ace – 10 years	Pranav Vadali – Ace – 6 years
Darren Chan – Eagle – 9 years	Ralph Kho – Ace – 7 years
Erica Lam – Ace Certified – 9 years	Rishi Ajjarapu – Ace – 8 years
Francis Agcaoili – Eagle Certified – 4 years	Sara Finch – Ace Certified – 10 years
Gracie Lacy – Ace – 10 years	Twisha Sharma – Eagle – 9 years

  The following is a sampling of responses when we asked our graduating Seniors how TFTSV impacted them: TFTSV has shown me that golf is more than just a game and that we don’t have to be star players to make our mark on the world using the game of golf. – Rishi TFTSV taught me to be more of a leader, to take responsibility for my actions, and set and achieve my goals. – JP TFTSV has taught me how to set process and performance goals, both on and off the golf course, while challenging me to overcome adversity and develop resiliency. By learning self-confidence, positive leadership, and compassion for others, TFTSV has ultimately shaped me into the person that I am today. – Mitchell TFTSV has helped me become a leader and step out of my comfort zone. Especially when I was asked to speak in front of a big crowd at the Open Golf Tournament as a TFTSV college scholarship recipient. Talking in front of people has always been nerve wracking for me so it was the best feeling in the world when I accomplished it. – Andres As both a participant as well as a volunteer coach I grew from a very shy and quiet kid to someone who loves meeting and interacting with people. TFTSV has also allowed me to practice building upon my social skills, especially as a volunteer coach where I got to interact with both participants and fellow coaches. – Darren If I hadn’t decided to go to my first class when I was 8, I would not be playing college golf in the fall! Secondly, I’ve honestly learned a lot of life lessons from TFT. Whether I’m playing golf, or just going about my everyday life, the core values that were taught have been deeply imprinted in me. Whenever I hear or think about the word perseverance, I think The First Tee. – Avery Our High School Seniors also shared how they have incorporated the First Tee Nine Core Values in their lives: I incorporated meeting and greeting skills along with having a group of people I can go to for support, also known as my go-to team. – Francis I integrate confidence, perseverance, responsibility, and most importantly respect regularly in my daily life. Learning to deal with life’s challenges requires me to keep myself grounded in the core values that I hold near to me in order to face struggles. – Hewitt Courtesy has been an important one. I’ve truly learned how impactful treating other people kindly is. Whether it’s a friend, a stranger, or even someone you might butt heads with, kindness truly goes a long way. Treating people the way you want to be treated becomes extremely important. – Avery Definitely confidence because since breaking out of my shell, I have found it a lot easier to talk to people as well as meeting new people. It has also gotten to the point where I enjoy meeting new people. – Darren Goal ladders have been one of the primary lessons that I’ve incorporated into my life, and STAR is a close 2nd. STAR has helped me after hard tests or projects which I didn’t perform how I would have liked too and has helped me move forward to ensure I succeed. – Rishi Patience (from The Three Tips for Having Fun lesson) played a really big role in my senior year. I had a lot of tough decisions to make like where to go to school. And even though everyone goes to a 4-year college, I knew it was not the plan for me. I had to have patience with the people around me who didn’t really understand why I was talking the road I was taking and it was a very tricky time in my life. – Gracie We look forward to our participants taking what they learned and using the core life lessons to make the world a better place. For more information on our mission, curriculum, coaching, and how to get started please visit https://www.firstteesiliconvalley.org/.  

TFTSV began our first of five weeks of in-person classes on July 7th at Rancho Del Pueblo Golf Course and on July 11^th at Gavilan Golf Course. Our summer in-person classes were reduced to comply with the local safety guidelines allowing us to provide 11 smaller classes while serving over 110 participants. Although we would have liked to have our full schedule of potentially 500 participants, we are excited classes have resumed and look forward to providing an engaging set of golf and life skills lessons. Our team is committed to following county, city, and golf course safety guidelines and keeping our participants and coaches safe this season. Part of the preparation for the summer in-person classes included bringing our team of volunteers and instructors up to speed on the new safety policies. On July 1^st we held our first ever volunteer and instructor Zoom training covering safety practices and developing our coaching tools. We have a great team of coaches ready to create a safe, fun, and supportive environment for all. To join our team and get involved as a volunteer coach, please visit our Volunteer page. To learn more about our programs and future seasons please visit our Youth Classes page.

What’s become a challenge and creating lots of uneasiness during this social isolation and social distancing is the imbalance between spending time inside and outside our homes. Having schools switch to online classes, and programs being shut down has shifted daily routines causing anxiety among youth and families trying to fill the void of exercise and community. TFTSV’s classes offer a solution for youth to be in small groups learning life and golf skills through fun and engaging golf games and physical activities. Making new friends and being around positive and supportive coaches is one of the top reasons our participants love our program. Golf has seen a huge resurgence as the ultimate outdoor social distancing, safe activity making our program a great space to be active while building community.   Our next season begins September 7^th and ends October 31st.  Mark your calendar now for registration which opens August 12^th and closes September 1^st. TFTSV will schedule classes in compliance with local safety guidelines. Please stay tuned for future announcements regarding the Fall Season. We look forwarded to serving new and returning participants and families. All youth 2^nd grade and above are welcome and invited! Tell a friend, and learn more about our programs and future seasons by visiting our Youth Classes page.

TFTSV is looking for additional coaches to join our team for the Fall Season (9/8 to 10/31) and beyond. If you are interested in giving back to your community, instilling life-enhancing values, and mentoring youth through golf, this is the position for you. We offer golf and life skill training so you do not need to be an expert golfer. TFTSV’s goal is to ensure a fun, safe and engaging learning environment with caring coaches – both employee and volunteer mentors – who are trained on our coaching strategies – activity-based, mastery-driven, empower youth, and continuous learning. We coach all youth 2nd – 12th grade regardless of background or experience.   Per our county’s current safety guidelines, our coaches are allowed to coach only one class in order to avoid not mixing with multiple cohorts or groups. This new safety rule limits our ability to deliver our normal number of classes for up to 500 participants. We believe in the lasting impact of our program and want to make our program available to as many families as possible, but to do so, we need additional caring and committed coaches. Consider joining our team as a volunteer coach, please click here to get started or contact our Program Director, Chris Moreno-Hunt.

During the County shelter-in-place order our staff created short core lesson videos for participants and families and instructional training videos for our coaches. The core lesson videos are intended to be a guide for families to reinforce our core life lessons in your everyday lives.

Last month we highlighted a Par and PLAYer video and this month we are featuring a Birdie video. Coach Chris shares the importance of building and using a Goal Ladders to achieve large goals in everyday life and in the game of golf. Our goal is to teach without lecturing, and help students learn by doing and reflecting.

Please watch the videos below for a sample of the many curriculum videos available to participants and their families that are active in our program. Learn more about our Youth Classes and exposing your family to our positive youth development curriculum.

 

https://vimeo.com/647481858

TFTSV is excited to deliver our Summer program and are thankful for the support and commitment of our participants, parents/guardians, and donors. Thanks to them, we have 375 participants registered for the Summer, and are able to deliver classes. The first 3 weeks in June will be optional, online Zoom classes and the final 5 weeks from July 7th to August 8^th will be regular, in-person Golf Course classes. All 8 weeks of content will be delivered in the 5-week in-person classes. Maintaining safety is of upmost importance as we navigate uncertain times. We are following the safety guidelines put forth by the County, Parks and Recreation, and affiliate golf courses. Our final policies will be posted as we get closer to July 7^th. To learn more about our programs and future seasons please visit our Youth Classes page. On Saturday June 6^th, we held our first ever parent orientation on Zoom. We had a great turnout and discussed safety procedures, updated class policies, local and national opportunities, and provided details on our class structure and purpose. Parent/guardian involvement is a key component of our program. Parents/guardians are encouraged to get involved, volunteer, and help participants absorb the life lessons. To get involved as a volunteer coach, help at our upcoming fundraisers, or help with our check-in table please click here.

This summer we are fortunate to have 5 TFTSV alumni returning as coaches – Sapna Desai, Gracie Lacy, Andres Herrera, Noah Covarrubias, and Erica Lam. All alumni progressed to our top Ace level and have 7 or more years associated with our chapter. They are in a unique position to lead by example. Having the experience as a participant, and volunteer coach provides them with tools to connect with their students. They are carrying on a tradition of alumni returning to our chapter to give back and make a positive difference. TFTSV believes positive youth development happens through a meaningful, quality relationship between the coach and participant. Mentor coaches are critical to ensuring our participants have an optimum and enjoyable learning environment. Therefore, we are always looking for high quality volunteers to serve as mentor coaches.  

During the County SIP order our staff created short core lesson videos for participants and families and instructional training videos for our coaches. The core lesson videos are intended to be a guide for families to reinforce the core life lessons in your everyday lives. Two of our video stars are alumni of The First Tee of Silicon Valley who now work for our chapter – Gabby and Joe. Gabby Ruiz began our program in 2010, started coaching in 2017, and now works as a Program Coordinator. She helps with marketing in the office part time, coaches at Baylands and Rancho Del Pueblo, and studied Graphic Design at Mission College. In the Fall she is going to San Jose State University to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree. Joe Stuban began our program in 2004 as participant. He returned as a Program Instructor in 2019 and, like Gabby, quickly advanced to Program Coordinator. He works part time in our office on program administration and outreach in addition to coaching classes at Rancho Del Pueblo and Gavilan Golf Course. Joe is currently finishing up his Bachelor’s Degree at San Jose State University majoring in Economics. Both Joe and Gabby are hardworking, smart, compassionate TFTSV alumni leaders. We are lucky to have them on our team. Please watch the videos below for a sample of the many curriculum videos available to participants and their families that are active in our program. Learn more about our Youth Classes and exposing your family to our positive youth development curriculum. Gabby on Meeting & Greeting (A.L.R) Video Joe on COURTESY Video