Type Archives - Page 48 of 50 - First Tee

Learn more about our 2017 Summer Program Assistants

Each Summer, we hire a Program Assistant to assist us with classes and administrative tasks. This Summer, we were lucky to have two alumni join our staff and hire one of our volunteers. Amogh P., Ryan R., and Alan S. have assisted us with weekday and Saturday classes at Rancho del Pueblo, 18-hole certification rounds at Los Lagos, and various events such as our 2017 Open at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. Learn more about their journey and goals as Program Assistants this Summer:

Amogh Pathi is currently a student at UC Berkeley and started as a participant of the program when he was 11 years old. He wanted to become a Program Assistant because in high school, he enjoyed volunteering “and thought it would be a great opportunity to work with kids”. As a PA, he hopes to “learn how to be an effective mentor and work well with children from diverse backgrounds”. He hopes to return as a Program Assistant or volunteer next summer as his goals include learning “how to work well with children”. His future goals is to become a doctor and knows “people (of all ages) skills are important”. In the end, Amogh states “I think the program is really important and helpful to young kids, as a participant myself I have learned many life skills which I still use everyday.”

Ryan Ramboyong is currently a student at UC Riverside. He was one of our original participants when we were “The First Tee of San Jose” and progressed through the program to become Ace Certified. “I want to give back to The First Tee of Silicon Valley for the life skills they taught me… and hope to gain more experience of working with kids and to learn how to efficiently assist a class.” The highlight of Ryan’s summer so far is “spending time with family and friends that he couldn’t see since I was in college”. He would like to “keep in contact with many staff and others in The First Tee while in college and possibly go to some events if in town.” “My goals as a Program Assistant are to keep the students safe, make new friends, create memories and have a great time golfing!I met a lot of great people in this program since I first joined in 2006 and was gifted many different opportunities through The First Tee.”

Alan J. Smith is an educator in San Jose. When starting his golf team at Downtown College Prep, he was encouraged by Chris McIntyre, DCP’s Athletic Director, to reach out to The First Tee and get their kids started with some lessons. When asked why did he get involved as a Program Assistant, Alan said “Coach Armando was awesome at guiding my high schoolers in discovering their golf games. In this process of working with him, I learned that I also had a talent of teaching/coaching newcomers to the game of golf.” Alan really hopes to learn more about the program curriculum and how it blends seamlessly into the different levels within The First Tee program. He is “also looking forward to working with different age groups of varying abilities. Whether they are touching a golf club for the first time at age 13 or they have 6 years of golfing experience at the age of 12. All ages and abilities present new and exciting learning opportunities for me as a coach and human being.” The highlight of his Summer so far? “… working with the participants on the importance of playing 18 holes with good pace while teaching them golf etiquette”. Alan will continue as an Instructor during the weekends and with his high school team. We hope they, too, will join us as volunteers then eventually Program Assistants and Instructors in the future. He hopes its “a way to build up their golf knowledge as well as teaching skills”. His goal as a Program Assistant it “to become a skilled golf coach and to help others have fun while learning…” and looking “forward to meeting all old and new faces.” If you see Coach Alan on the course or around, make sure to say hi, as he is a team player!

Read about the NorCal Leadership Academy

From June 18th to June 22nd six of The First Tee of Silicon Valley participants took part in the participant opportunity, NorCal Leadership Academy. Here they spent time at the Stevenson School with participants from other Northern California First Tee chapters. Coach Lionel H. has been part of the event for a few years as a color group leader. When asked what is NorCal about, his response was: It’s a week away from home and parents and all things normal. It’s a week of self discovery and of making new friends. It’s a week of pushing yourself further than you ever thought you could and still coming out on the other side with a huge smile. It’s about a nervous stressful round of golf and then a relaxing fun round of golf too. It’s about team spirit and about friends. It’s about not just speaking about the 9 core values but living them each day. Mostly though it’s about growing as an individual and learning that there is support all around you. Our participants were able to share more about their experience, which included:

Gabby R., incoming college freshman, Ace participant Which Core Value did you use most and why? I learned Respect the most because I was always meeting new people every day and I wanted to represent The First Tee of Silicon Valley well, so showing respect with anything that I did really showed them that I was having a great time and that I really wanted to be there.

Rishi A., rising 10th grader, Ace participant Overall, what did you like and dislike about the experience at NorCal? NorCal was a great experience, and it will remain as one of my unforgivable trips where I forget how I spend those 5 days. It was great that we got to play Peter Haye, Del Monte, and Poppy Hills golf courses in Pebble Beach. It was enlightening to talk to the people from the Pebble Beach Company and learn more about their jobs at a golf course and also what they are doing to prep for the 2019 US Open. The visit to the Taylormade fitting studio was another event that was memorable, as it helped me to learn about how they made clubs and were able to see how one of the tour trucks looked inside. During our visit to the studio, I was the only player who was able to putt the ball in to hole and it was sweet as this resulted in my winning a new Spider putter. I appreciate the time and effort the coaches and the staff, who were all very friendly and great spent with us, teaching us the core values, motivating us to do better and perform at a higher level every shot. The concert by Eddie Bush, dinner with Bobby Clampett at Poppy Hills restaurant were all events that will leave a lasting impression in my mind. I enjoyed my time at the academy, playing different courses, making new friends, building new relationships and best of all winning the Ken Morton Sr. “Core Values Award,” for my mastering and using the Nine core values. I would like to thank the coaches at The First Tee Silicon Valley in having faith and selecting me to represent my chapter in the academy. I would like to go back again and maybe someday be part of the academy as Coach helping mentor other kids.

Juan H., incoming college freshman at San Jose State University, Eagle participant What was it like being/staying at the Stevenson School? Staying at The Stevenson school was a great experience for me because I got to meet wonderful people during the days I had to stay there. Also, the school was awesome, the environment we were surrounded with was calm and the staff were very attentive. Out of the different courses you played, which was your favorite and why? I liked Poppy Hills a lot because I almost made a hole in one, the greens were beautiful, and the course overall was well taken care of.

Ralph K., rising 9th grader, Eagle participant What did you think about the college tour at CSU Monterey Bay? Would you consider going to school there? Although we were walking through strong winds and freezing cold air during the tour at CSU Monterey Bay, I am glad that I was able to see what the campus was like and to learn about the history of the school and what they have to offer. I would consider CSU Monterey Bay as one of my options to go to for college because of the small community, the class sizes are small, and it is close to my home. Overall, what did you like and dislike about the experience at NorCal? Furthermore, off the golf course at Stevenson School, CSU Monterey Bay, and Cannery Row with the coaches, chaperones, and other participants, I had to use good judgment because I am representing the Silicon Valley, so by making smart decisions I represented my chapter in a positive light. In addition, I really liked how everyone supported and cheered each other on during our endeavors, and the strong positive vibes every participant had. The coaches, chaperones, and participants that I was surrounded with truly made my experience at the NorCal Leadership Academy worthwhile and much thanks to the donors and sponsors for making it possible.

Read more about their adventures at the NorCal Leadership Academy through The First Tee of Contra Costa’s article.

Check Out Ishaan’s Experience at Perfect Sense

I had the unique opportunity to attend the Perfect Sense Unified Challenge in Washington D.C. from June 25-29. During the event, the 18 participants selected from The First Tee chapters nationwide stayed in hotel rooms at the Hilton on Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia. We played two rounds of golf in which we were paired up with a wounded U.S. Veteran from Feherty’s First Troop Foundation, a USA Special Olympics Golfer, another junior golfer from The First Tee, and a professional golfer on the PGA Tour! On our very first day, all of the golfers arrived at the Country Club of Fairfax where we enjoyed an opening banquet, were acquainted with our playing partners for the rest of the week, and got to meet the other The First Tee participants from across the country! It was an excellent opening evening, and I had a wonderful time meeting all of the people who made this event possible! On Monday we played TPC Potomac, the same course where the Quicken Loans National Tournament took place that week! I was paired up with D.A. Points as my professional golfer, and he was able to give me tips about my short game and my putting, which I thought was super neat. After playing a fantastic round of golf in Potomac, we had a nice lunch in the clubhouse where awards for the afternoon were announced, and then retreated to Tyson’s Corner where all of us participants watched a movie to end the night. The following day, we attended a career exploration day at the Perfect Sense Digital headquarters and took a tour of Washington D.C.’s monuments in the evening. Career day was a great experience of exposure for me because all of us were able to test Brightspot, a software that Perfect Sense Digital developed when publishing articles. We also got to have individual meetings with company representatives who explained their backgrounds in the field, similar to the SAP Career trip we do here in Silicon Valley! The D.C. Tour was such a fun evening, and having the opportunity to explore the heart of our nation with some newfound golf friends felt like a dream, and we all celebrated when we went back to the hotel that night. Wednesday was the penultimate day of the event, and it was another round of golf, this time at the Country Club of Fairfax (where the opening banquet was held). We were split up into teams in a Ryder Cup Format and had individual matches to determine who the winner was (my team ended up winning!). Anyways, after the final round of golf we had a great time at TopGolf, which was one of the most memorable parts of the week for me. I had never been before, and it is such a cool place to have fun playing golf and I highly recommend it! Everyone was there, including some of the Veterans and Special Olympic golfers and I had a great time playing and interacting with everyone! On Thursday, we said our goodbyes to what was one unforgettable week in D.C. We watched a little bit of the first round of the Quicken Loans National before our final departure. As a whole, I learned so much about The First Tee network and building connections in general. I loved interacting with the Veterans and the Special Olympic golfers, because they were so inspiring and never failed to brighten up my day! I hope to apply everything I learned from this experience to my own chapter and beyond, and am so thankful to The First Tee for this amazing opportunity. – Ishaan N., Ace Certified

Thank You, Coach Molly!

It’s truly the end of an era as we say goodbye to Molly Springmann after 10 years as our Program Manager. She has worked tirelessly to build our outstanding, high quality programs to benefit the community and literally thousands of Silicon Valley youth. Molly has been an terrific partner and friend as we’ve expanded and strengthened The First Tee of Silicon Valley together during her tenure. We’ll be celebrating Molly and her many contributions at our annual Fiesta on Saturday, November 18th. Thank you, Molly! We’ll miss you! — George Maxe, Executive Director

Dear The First Tee of Silicon Valley Participants & Families,

It is with mixed emotions that I share with you all that in the coming weeks, I will be leaving my position as Program Manager to pursue my passion for private golf instruction. It is a fitting time for me and the organization, this being my tenth year with the company and The First Tee of Silicon Valley at a point where it is thriving. Teaching private lessons is something that has been on my goal ladder for some time and it is a great fit for me and my family. I want to thank each of you for making The First Tee a wonderful place to work and for all of the delightful memories and relationships that we’ve created together over the years.

I am very proud of all that our organization has accomplished. Thinking back to 2007 when I joined the then The First Tee of San Jose staff, we set some pretty loft goals. Through perseverance, team work and heart, we’ve done more than I could have imagined.I would especially like to thank Victor Arrañaga, Shelly Wolfe and the Board for hiring me. Not to mention, George Maxe, who I can’t thank enough for giving me initial direction and continued support. I am grateful to all of our full time and part time staff, as well as our volunteers for all that you have done for me and for our youth. I am also so very proud of all of our current participants and alumni for all of their accomplishments on and off of the golf course.

I am happy to say that the organization is in great hands with Khristine Madayag taking on most of my responsibilities along with the assistance of our hard working Coordinators, Armando, Ashley, Julie, Matt, and Manny.

In the future you may see me out coaching a couple of classes or doing some behind the scenes work for The First Tee, but my last day as Program Manager will be on Friday, June 2nd. I hope to continue to see many of you periodically, even if I am wearing a different hat!

Thank you,

Molly