Our Impact – Thank You, Coach Liam

Join us in thanking Liam for his time and dedication to our organization as a participant and junior coach as he heads off to college. Liam set two records with us since 2013 — first, he completed our entire life skills certification program in just three years, and second, he logged more hours as a volunteer than anyone else — over 2,000! In just a few weeks, Liam will take off to the University of Nevada Las Vegas to begin his journey to complete the PGA Management and Hospitality program. He has been a great asset to our program and volunteer team. Thanks to our Club Partner, San Jose Country Club, and the Big D Tournament held in memory of Dennis Kettmann, we are pleased to honor Liam with a $3,000 college scholarship. Thanks, Liam! Coach Armando, Coach Matt, and Coach Khristine reflect on their time spent with Liam:
The man, the myth, the legend who is Liam Hunt… I first met this awkward individual about four years ago and quickly realized that we are kindred spirits that needed to prepare for many fun times together. I have seen Liam grow as a leader and become an amazing mentor to our participants. He has been a shining example of the type of dedication we would like our junior volunteers to achieve. We are so lucky to have someone devote over 2,000 hours of his time to this organization in such a short amount of time. I have leaned on Coach Liam to help run portions of my classes because I know I can rely on him to deliver The First Tee Life Skills curriculum effectively. I am so happy to know he will be striving for a career in golf, an area he has a great passion for. It is exciting to see someone I mentored become a wonderful young man chasing his dreams. The First Tee of Silicon Valley will not be the same without Liam. So, watch out UNLV. Here comes the man, the myth, the legend.. Here comes Liam Hunt. – Coach Armando
The Eagle Part 1 putting assessment is the first memory I have of Liam using his core values on a deeper level. His demonstration of perseverance was remarkable for a young person. He completely devoted himself to passing the putting assessment and despite a few setbacks, he successfully completed the assessment. You could visibly see the sense of accomplishment on his face as he let out a big sigh of relief and exclaimed, “Finally!”. It was a truly memorable and inspirational moment to witness. Liam has been an inspiration to us all. Not only as a participant but as a committed volunteer and coach. He volunteers for virtually every opportunity possible. He has proven himself as a person we can trust to put 100% of his effort into helping the staff and participants succeed. I believe Liam gives his all because he philosophically gets the importance of the Life Skills. If you’ve interacted with Liam, you can clearly see that he is a shining example of a respectful young man who uses The First Tee Nine Core Values daily. His Nine Core Values have been exhibited for many seasons during our tradition of playing golf with Lionel, his father and my good friend, after coaching classes and then going out to dinner to one of our favorite spots. We’ve had many conversations about life/golf and consequently formed a strong bond. He has become like a little brother to me. I’m very proud of the direction he is heading at UNLV. I will miss him a lot at The First Tee of Silicon Valley. – Coach Matt
I doubt that I will ever experience having a junior volunteer dedicate so much time and passion into a program as much as Liam has. He and I started our journey with The First Tee of Silicon Valley relatively the same time (2013) and have grown together through our time here. He is not one to be shy or bashful about something he cares so deeply about. In my interactions with participants and families and what they have shared about Liam, it has reinforced my opinion that he has become a young man who is dependable and can provide mentorship to those who do not have an older male figure in their lives. Liam’s dedication to our program goes beyond words. Each season, he allows me to schedule him to be part of every aspect of our program. From our regularly scheduled classes to fundraising, community, program, and even girls golf events, he is someone I can count on to be there not only to assist as a volunteer but represent our chapter well. I hope other junior coaches and our participants have observed how Coach Liam has been a great asset to our program so that they too will become an A+ volunteer. He has become a wonderful young man to work with and be around. Surely I will miss working with Liam but know he’s onto the next journey of practicing and perfecting his love of the game of golf through the PGA Management and Hospitality Program at UNLV. Thank you for your services, Liam. – Coach Khristine