Type Archives - Page 39 of 46 - First Tee

Let’s Create Healthy and Safe Communities

When we think of health, usually we relate the word to the strength of our mind or body, but no one usually considers the community they live in and how it effects their well-being. Without a healthy and well taken care of community, how would our golf courses stay green, our parks kept clean and our family and friends kept safe? Just like you take care of your health by eating well, drinking plenty of water, exercising, getting enough hours of sleep, and more, it’s important to take a step back and ask how you can help your community stay safe and clean. Little actions can go a long way if you start to create healthy habits. One way you can start helping your community is by reducing neighborhood waste. Litter is dangerous for kids, wildlife and everyone else in the environment. By picking up trash you see left on the ground and throwing it away can be an easy and helpful step in creating a healthier community. Another step to make your neighborhood healthy and safe is by ditching your car for a trip and riding your bike or walking to your destination. Not only does that help your health by giving you more exercise but it also limits the amount of air pollution and greenhouse gases that cars emit. Another idea is to volunteer! You can join a group that’s working to make your community healthier just like you. Whether it’s as small as writing letters to community leaders or gathering your friends and family to clean up your local park, these sorts of actions can motivate others to do just the same. Before you know it you’re one step closer to making your community healthier and safer! As one of The First Tee Nine Healthy Habits, community is exploring the health of one’s community and discovering how one can give back and care for its environment and safety. Not only do we want our participants to have the respect for their community like they do the golf course, but we want to teach them to have the knowledge of what a healthy community can do for them and their future.

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.

“I know in my heart, that if it weren’t for the lessons I had learned through The First Tee, I would have never had the fortitude to continue to pursue my goals, and my college experience would have been changed for the worst. This unwavering belief in myself, paired with an increasing confidence in my game. and encouragement from my mentors at The First Tee, prompted me to take a shot at pursuing golf professionally after graduating in 2014.” – Ryan Rankin

Rankin with fellow alumnus Keith and board members Moreno and Heben

Baylands Golf Links – Grand Opening

The grand opening for Bayland Golf Links was officially on Saturday, May 26th, capping off a week of festivities. Baylands is the newly renovated Palo Alto Muni, which went under reconstruction in 2016. The First Tee of Silicon Valley’s President & CEO, George Maxe, was on hand for the ribbon cutting by City of Palo Alto Mayor Kniss, who was joined by Council Members, Deputy City Manager, Rob de Geus, and architect, Forest Richardson.

The First Tee of Silicon Valley began holding its life skills classes at Palo Alto Muni in 2010. When construction began in 2016, classes moved to The Golf Club at Moffett Field, which had recently been leased by Google and operated by OB Sports. Now OB Sports is also the operator at Baylands, which will be especially good for The First Tee of Silicon Valley as we return with classes there this summer. On Friday, May 25th, The First Tee of Silicon Valley’s Program Manager, Matt Sheppard, and George Maxe played Baylands for the first time as part of a special outing. There is a dramatic and positive difference between the playing experience of Baylands now versus Palo Alto Muni in the past. Matt Sheppard said, “The course has a whole new, fresh look with a few holes that are kindly reminiscent of the old Palo Alto Muni. The Pure Select bentgrass and Platinum TE Paspalum presented great lies and fun challenges throughout the undulating greens. I appreciate Forest Richardson’s attention to detail throughout the course. Well done, Forest!” A very special guest, good friend, and former Board Member of The First Tee of Silicon Valley, Grant Spaeth, showed up for Baylands’ grand opening. Grant is a former USGA President, player on the Stanford Men’s Golf Team, and Attorney for Cooley-Goddard. He has been a huge fan of Palo Alto Muni, not to mention advocate for all public golf, for decades. He played and practiced at Palo Alto Muni regularly throughout his career. George Maxe said, “It was terrific to see Grant at Baylands’ grand opening. I admire him enormously for what he has done for public golf, but more importantly, for his exemplary character. What a wonderful man he is!”

Matt Sheppard, Grant Spaeth, George Maxe, Ralph Kho