Nico Archives - First Tee - Silicon Valley

Change the Game for MORE Kids! Meet Nicolas Hernandez Lopez

(Change the Game for MORE Kids! Meet Nicolas Hernandez Lopez Published: 11/12/2025) Nicolas has been involved with FTSV for the past 10 years as a participant, a volunteer coach, and a Junior Council member. He is consistently pushing himself to become more involved and finding ways to give back. As a coach, Nico is patient and kind, making class fun, impactful, and exciting for the young participants. As a participant, Nico engages in and applies our life skill into the activities. He also goes out of his way to make sure other participants are included. Additionally, he has been part of a group that helped plan community events and games for our chapter.

Nico’s enthusiasm and dedication extends beyond the golf course. He excels in a variety of pursuits, putting to work the skills of setting and achieving goals that he’s learned from First Tee – Silicon Valley. Not only has he become the fastest swimmer on his swim team, Nico also turned a dream into reality by starring in his own weekly podcast at school.

He explains, “Setting goals is like laying out a path to improve and achieve anything you want. When I set a goal, I can easily visualize my progress. It boosts my mental well-being and helps me move forward. Through my time with First Tee – Silicon Valey, I feel like I’ve not only gotten better at golf but also grown as a person. I’ve learned how to set short-term and long-term goals as steps to achieve my final goal along with my coaches and friends.”

Nico Attending National Opportunities

This year Nico was selected by a national panel of judges to attend the First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. at the University of Minnesota. There he engaged in conversations and interactive workshops paired with introspective activities on self-awareness, inclusivity, and community building. Later in the year he was also selected to attend the Innovators Forum held in Florida. The Innovators Forum equips and empowers First Tee teens to develop a meaningful service project in their communities focused on education, human rights, or environmental sustainability.

Both events are part of the national opportunities provided by First Tee headquarters designed to inspire and encourage high school students on a deeper level as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities. Nico’s FTSV engagement and high character helped him be one of few from around the country to attend these opportunities. We are so proud of him.

Mentoring is Priceless.

Think about the mentor who made a difference in your life. That kind of guidance—listening, encouragement, and wisdom—shapes kids forever. Over the years, First Tee – Silicon Valley has provided this transformative mentorship to more than 100,000 young people. Your steady, monthly support ensures every child in our program has a mentor by their side.

Kids Need Us Now More Than Ever.

Social pressures, loneliness, mental health challenges, family struggles, and inequities across Silicon Valley weigh heavily on today’s youth. At FTSV, we provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive community where kids are free to be themselves and discover their inner strength.

Long-Term Impact That Lasts a Lifetime.

We’re proud of the results of our youth development program.

100% of our long-term participants graduate high school.
100% go on to college.
100% gain life skills that make them caring, responsible citizens.
75% of our high school participants give back as junior mentors.

This kind of consistency is possible only when our supporters are consistent too. That’s why monthly pledges are so vital!

Be Part of the Change and Change the Game for MORE Kids in 2026!

As we look to 2026, we need your help to build on this momentum. A monthly pledge is the most powerful way you can support our kids & teens. Your commitment provides the stability and resources necessary to help thousands of youth grow into resilient, confident, and compassionate leaders.

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FTSV’s Participants Selected for Game Changers Academy

(FTSV’s Participants Selected for Game Changers Academy) Li An Panfil and Nicolas Hernandez Lopez from First Tee — Silicon Valley have been selected to attend the First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. in Philadelphia, July 8-12, 2025. They are 2 of 72 teens from the First Tee network who have been selected for the five-day learning and empowerment academy and will participate in important conversations around issues of identity, racism, diversity, equity, empathy and inclusion. RISE, a national leader in the sports community championing social justice and working to improve race relations, will facilitate engaging and interactive workshops paired with introspective activities and reflections led by our nationally trained First Tee coaches. The experience is designed to enlighten, inspire, encourage, and position the teens to be advocates for justice and social change in their current and future communities.

Meet FTSV’s Participants for the Game Changers Academy

Meet Li An Panfil

Li An has been a highly engaged participant with First Tee – Silicon Valley since 2013. She has participated in every class offered at FTSV including our four ACE seminar classes (Career, Education, Give Back, and Golf). Li An also volunteers regularly, giving almost 300 hours of her time back to FTSV. Between coaching Girls Golf, coaching our Life Skill program, and leading a subcommittee in our FTSV Junior Council, Li An is constantly going above and beyond and distinguishing herself as a respected leader.

After the event, Li An had this to say:

“During the week, we attended different leadership workshops and learned a lot about leadership and teamwork. On the final day, John Randle from the Vikings spoke with us about his own experiences in the NFL. He said that even if you’re not in a specific leadership position, you still have the responsibility to do what you can, and that you don’t need a designated title to be a good leader. This really resonated with me.”

Meet Nicolas Hernandez Lopez

Nicolas has been involved with FTSV for the past 10 years as a participant, a volunteer coach, and a Junior Council member. He is consistently pushing himself to become more involved and find ways to continue to give back. As a coach, Nico is patient and kind, making class fun and exciting for the young participants. As a participant, Nico engages deeply with the life skill discussions/activities and goes out of his way to make sure other participants are included. Additionally, he has been part of a group that helped plan community events for our chapter. He is going to be a wonderful representative of our chapter at the Game Changers Academy!

Nicolas ended up having a great time at the event...

“It was so much fun meeting new people and experiencing different perspectives. I was able to talk and collaborate with other kids about what they do in their chapters, and to hear about different ways to persevere through challenges.”

“The biggest takeaway for me were the experiences, the moments with my new friends and the conversations I had with mentors and speakers. It opened my eyes to different possibilities and taught me how to overcome different challenges. We really came together as a unit. For example, one kid forgot his golf clubs, so we lent him some. Another kid was homesick, and we comforted him. We built a lot of comradery and togetherness in a very short amount of time. It was really something special.”

The event was held at the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee headquarters designed to inspire and encourage high school students on a deeper level as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities. The Academy honors First Tee’s former CEO, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., who led the organization from 2000 until his retirement in 2017.

Congratulations Li An and Nicolas!

Published: 06-18-2025 Updated: 08-08-2025

Changing the Game for MORE Kids: Meet Nico Hernandez

FTSV is Changing the Game for MORE Kids: Meet Nico Hernandez, a long-time participant and volunteer Junior Coach (at Baylands Golf Links), Nico is now inspiring a whole new generation of young golfers.

Grateful for all that FTSV has done for him, Nico takes pleasure in giving back to the First Tee community, arriving early to help set up for the day’s activities, and staying late for tear down. Nico says, “I’m super passionate about doing whatever I can for our participants because I’ve been there myself. My goal is to become a future generation leader and understand anything they’re going through because I’ve experienced the same thing from my own time as a participant.”

Changing the Game outside the Golf Course

Nico’s enthusiasm and dedication extends beyond the golf course. He excels in a variety of pursuits, putting the skills of setting and achieving goals that he’s learned from First Tee to work. Not only has he become the fastest swimmer on his swim team, Nico also turned a dream into reality by starring in his own weekly podcast at school. He explains, “Setting goals is like laying out a path to improve and achieve anything you want. When I set a goal, I can easily visualize my progress. It boosts my mental well-being and helps me move forward. Through my time with First Tee, I feel like I’ve not only gotten better at golf but also grown as a person. I’ve learned how to set short-term and long-term goals as steps to achieve my final goal along with my coaches and friends.”

No matter if it’s academics, social interactions, or golf, Nico feels confident in tackling any challenge. His positive attitude and mindful approach to his activities has helped him and the people he’s around to flourish.

Mentoring is Priceless. If you had a mentor growing up, you know that having someone to listen and give guidance to overcome life’s challenges can be transforming. When we look back on the over 100,000 kids First Tee – Silicon Valley has worked with, we are filled with pride and joy knowing that our mentors and our youth development program was there for the kids of our community.

Our Kids Face Heavy Stuff. The pressures of social media, loneliness, mental health struggles, family dynamics, peer and family judgment, inequities of living in Silicon Valley and devastating world events are all adversely affecting youth. FTSV creates a supportive, safe, and positive environment where kids are empowered to be themselves, and feel included!

There are many Ways to Give to First Tee – Silicon Valley and help us Change the Game for MORE Kids… like Nico. $40 a month for high-quality mentorship teaching our character-building life lessons that have proven to make a difference.

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