Training Archives - First Tee

PCA FTSV Training

(PCA FTSV Training – Published 9/9/25) On September 6^th, First Tee — Silicon Valley hosted two coach trainings led by Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) trainer, Peter Wood. This was the 3^rd time that our two organizations came together to deliver a coach training. The first instance occurred in 2020 and was the pilot training/collaboration that led to a national partnership between First Tee and PCA.

PCA’s content, training, and resources are now shared nationwide, throughout First Tee ‘s network. Both First Tee – Silicon Valley and PCA share common coach philosophies centered around process-focused coaching, participant empowerment, and a positive and supportive team culture. The topic this time around was how to support positive athlete behavior through responsive coaching.

Successful coaching requires a balance between having high expectations for behavior and providing high support. When challenges present themselves in class it is imperative that a coach have empathy and understanding of where their athletes are coming from, while also having a clear behavioral prevention plan. Coaches should work WITH their athletes instead of being punitive, neglectful, or permissive when faced with behavioral challenges. To this point, we are grateful that PCA shared their resources and worked with our coaching team on behavioral prevention and intervention techniques. Additionally, they provided strategies for coaches to identify participant stressors and practice self-regulation. A great coach is a prepared coach who takes the time to understand their student. We are grateful PCA helped prepare our 19 paid instructors and over 50 returning volunteer coaches this past Saturday.

What PCA is saying about FTSV

Working with PCA has been a shining example of teamwork. “Chris and I work quite seamlessly together in putting together curriculum for FTSV coaches’ training,” says Senior PCA Trainer, Peter Wood. “That is a testament to the common visions and values that both PCA and FTSV share in our respective work. Much of that shared vision and set of values manifest itself in our focus on helping young kids develop into great older kids, and adults. We care a lot about the kids acquiring a good set of technical skills to be able to enjoy and play golf, but way more important than that is to help kids absorb invaluable life lessons in their athletic pursuit. This is the charge of youth serving organizations coaches around the country, and it’s a very cool thing when two large national organizations like PCA and First Tee join forces to try to make this all happen- a worthy pursuit if there ever was one.”

Click here for more information on joining FTSV as a volunteer coach.

First Tee Level I Coach Training Recap

(First Tee Level I Coach Training Recap) On March 8^th, First Tee – Silicon Valley had 12 coaches participate in a Level I coach training. The Level I training is one of four First Tee National trainings that make up the First Tee Coach Program. The Coach Program is an educational training program that prepares First Tee coaches from around the country to effectively deliver the First Tee’s Life and Golf Skill Curriculum.

Level I training is done locally, and Levels 2, 3, and 4 are held at different locations around the country. Coach Chris and Coach Manny are both trained to deliver the Level I training for First Tee – Silicon Valley as Level 4 certified coaches and as long-time program staff – over 25 years combined.

The Training Program is primarily focused on creating experiences for coaches to learn the application of the Coach Building Blocks – Activity-Based, Mastery Driven, Empowering Youth, and Continuous Learning. Coach Chris and Manny delivered the Coach Building Block theories and best practices to the attendees who then had the opportunity to apply what they learned by delivering the lessons to each other.

“In coaching, we never stop learning,” says FTSV Program Director, Chris Moreno-Hunt. “Every class and every participant are different. The more we can practice best coaching techniques, the better we are at adapting to each individual and each class situation. That is why we have more than four First Tee – Silicon Valley trainings each year in addition to the National Coach Program that is offered by First Tee Headquarters. The more prepared we are, the better the experience for the participants.”

To learn more about becoming a coach and building your coach skill set, please visit our volunteer page, or reach out to [email protected], 408-508-4884

Published: 04-03-2025

FSTV Trainings for Instructors and Volunteer Coaches

Each off-season, FTSV hosts a training for our Instructors and Volunteer Coaches. These trainings take place the weekend before each new season begins and offer both new and returning coaches and volunteers alike the opportunity to expand their coaching techniques and grow as leaders in our chapter. Thank you to the 24 paid instructors and 65 volunteer coaches who attended these trainings!

FTSV Coaching Philosophy

FTSV is about teaching life skills and positive character through golf, and we bring this same philosophy to our coaches and volunteers. While these trainings cover the four main building blocks of First Tee nationwide (Empowering Youth, Mastery Driven, Activity Based, and Continuous Learning), we dive deeper into those building blocks and give coaches practice with specific coaching techniques that we research, and that we learn from partner organizations like Positive Coaching Alliance and The Search Institute. The knowledge and skills taken from this training will help our coaches and volunteers make a greater impact on the community we serve.

Instructor Training

We started off the day with our Instructor training – most of these coaches have been involved in FTSV for many years and some even started off as participants! Instructors serve as class leaders and empower, offer direction, support and feedback to our volunteer coaches during class. Bringing all our instructors together is a great way to recap our coaching goals from the previous season, look at participant survey results, and turn our focus towards refining our skills for the next season.

Later that afternoon, 65 of our volunteers came out to learn more about our activity-based coaching strategy using the Try-Show-Try-Play technique, how to foster engagement with fun breaks during activities, and how to seamlessly deliver our life skill curriculum using our Focus-Ask-Reward system.

Coaching is an ongoing journey of self-exploration and personal development, which is why we ask our coaches to attend all 4 coach trainings each year. It is also why we consistently identify and incorporate fresh and proven coaching tips that reinforce our coach approach and curriculum into each training.

FTSV coaches are the backbone of our program. They are the mentors that guide our participants and help them feel welcomed. We want them to always be learning and feel empowered to help others. Hopefully our trainings are accomplishing that goal. From everyone in the FTSV office, thank you very much to all our amazing coaches!

To find out more about how to be a FTSV Coach, please click here.

Published: 03-26-25