Perseverance Creates Great Success

Life is not easy, especially when one fails, it seems obvious to put our heads down and quit. You feel defeated and it’s hard to generate self-belief. At The First Tee Silicon Valley we teach and practice perseverance because we know in order to succeed, you must learn from your past experiences. Whether that be little mistakes or big failures, you decide to be successful by living and learning and committing to your goals. Perseverance means to persist an idea, purpose or task despite any obstacles and what better way to show this than to tell the story of Ryan Rankin, a former The First Tee Silicon Valley participant. Rankins has such passion for golf and has since he began playing at age eleven. He played as a young boy and eventually competed on his varsity golf team all four years of high school. Recruited by UCSD for their men’s golf team, he was excited and thankful for the opportunity to play for the school’s strong golf program and elite education following his high school career. Although, unbeknownst to Rankin, when he arrived at the University in the fall, he was cut from the team. Unlike most people in this situation, Rankin decided to make a decision that would impact his life in so many ways. He set a goal that included doing whatever it took to prove the coach he was worthy of playing for the team. This included creating relationships with all coaches and players and showing up to the team’s driving range practices an hour before and not leaving until the last person had gone home. Rankin was not giving up on his dream of becoming an NCAA athlete. He worked too hard and enjoyed the game too much to fall down and quit. Fast forwarding through lots of hard work and dedication, it was his sophomore year and it was time to try out for the golf team once again. Rankin was confident that he put in enough time to finally make the team. However, he was denied a spot on the team. Despite the fact that Rankin was turned down for a second year in a row, he fought the urge to feel defeated and made another strong decision to persevere and commit to his goal of making the UCSD golf team! After another year of hard work and determination, he remained confident as he entered his junior year tryout. After two years, Rankin finally secured a spot on the UCSD golf team and was able to call himself an NCAA athlete. Rankin is one example of someone who shows great perseverance. You just have to lead confidently, think big and believe in yourself! Refusing to give up or let go is one huge accomplishment you can give yourself. Knowing you’ve overcome obstacles in your life can be very rewarding. The First Tee of Silicon Valley teaches our participants perseverance because it can help them to be successful in any aspect of their lives.