Playing golf and learning life skills both require a proper pace This winter I’ve enjoyed the good fortune of getting out and playing 18 holes at Los Lagos Golf Course with several of The First Tee of San Jose’s “Ace” participants — 12 of them, in total, who’ve progressed through our five-level life skills program over several years. They’re an elite group in that they’re the first young people to have been able to reach this point in our organization’s program since its inception in 2005. I’m proud to have them as our ambassadors as they play, and even more proud to have them as playing partners. “Pacing our play” is a priority in The First Tee of San Jose’s program. Ideally, we pace our participants as they move from second to 12th grade so that they’re learning life lessons that are appropriate for their stage of development. For example, younger participants learn more about interpersonal skills such as how to “meet and greet,” while older participants learn more about goal-setting such as how to take smaller steps toward attending their college of choice. We’re pacing them for the entire round of our life skills program because we believe that’s the best way to build their character
Getting elected thanks to the First tee
Get involved! Visit your local chapter of The First Tee to become a participant, volunteer or supporter. the FIrst tee OF san JOse the FIrst tee OF trI-VaLLey www.thefirstteesanjose.org www.thefirstteetrivalley.org 408-288-2937 925-462-7201
First tee Files George Maxe
the FIrst tee OF COntra COsta www.thefirstteecontracosta.org 925-686-6262
— with consistent, sustained mentoring from caring volunteers. The good character of our twelve Ace participants is very apparent, especially after 18 holes. Playing at the proper pace of play is important for everyone’s enjoyment of the game. That’s why we teach it to our participants, especially as it relates to showing respect for other golfers. This spring, The First Tee of San Jose is beginning a new “oncourse” class which will reinforce etiquette and rules. Each foursome will be guided by a volunteer mentor, who will help them learn the importance of playing at a proper pace among other things. Our goal is for our over 500 currentlyactive participants to develop the same good
first tee, firsthand
the FIrst tee OF OaKLand www.thefirstteeoakland.org 510-352-2002
character and enjoyment of the game that our first twelve Ace participants have. What’s more, we want golfers outside of The First Tee of San Jose to be proud to have our young people as playing partners. Be sure to look for The First Tee at the Bay Area Golf Show in Santa Clara! First Tee Files is a rotating column featuring administrators of four Bay Area chapters of The First Tee — Contra Costa, Oakland, San Jose and Tri-Valley. George Maxe is the Executive Director of the First Tee of San Jose. Find out more at the following websites: www.TheFirstTeeContraCosta. org, www.TheFirstTeeOakland.org, www. TheFirstTeeSanJose.org and www.TheFirstTeeTriValley.org.
One of the nine core values preached in the First Tee Program is perseverance. As golfers know, not every shot will be your best, and not every game will be star quality. But pushing through will not only make you a better golfer, but a better person. With tools learned before, like STAR and The 4 R’s, we can make sure we stay relaxed and confident in every path of perseverance we take. When I started high school, I had the dream to become class president. I worked hard and gave the best campaign for freshman class president I could. I did not win but I just kept in my mind that next year was a new election. So my sophomore year I ran again, and lost again, but I did not let it get me down. Because the First Tee had taught me perseverance, I knew that I shouldn’t give up, so for the third year in a row I ran for class president — and won. Through the First Tee’s lesson of perseverance, I achieved success.
eddie estrada
Eddie Estrada is a senior at De La Salle High. He has been a member of The First Tee Contra Costa for six years. Contact him at eddieestrad@gmail.com.
notes from the pros
save strokes by learning how to track & analyze your stats I am surprised to learn that the high school team I coach has had very little experience using statistics to track information regarding on-course performance. It’s simple, accurate and takes very little time. When I polled the team, I was shocked to learn that most players had little to no idea how to use stats to figure how to shave four to five strokes off their scores. Simply by tracking the following categories — fairways-hit, greens-in-regulation, number of up-anddowns, and total number of putts — it becomes very obvious to me where the problems lie with a golfer’s game. Teaching players how to track this information, analyze it, and apply it to their
game, helps each golfer to take responsibility. Simply remembering what happened on the course, and taking a few minutes to review it, can organize the golfer and guide his or her next practice session. Often times the total number of putts determines whether the golfer played well or not. The course the round was played on, and the conditions, should also be considered. Keep better track of your statistics and you too are likely to see positive results in a shorter period of time.
Dave De long
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SportStars™
March 10, 2011
Dave DeLong is the PGA professional and director of instruction at Boundary Oak GC. Contact him at ddelongolf@aol.com.
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