Welcome to the team, Andrew Good!

After a comprehensive search, First Tee – Virginia Blue Ridge is thrilled to announce that Andrew Good has been hired as our new Program Director and will begin February 1. Andrew brings a passion for the game of golf and experience mentoring junior players. We know he will be a wonderful addition to our team and we look forward to introducing him to our First Tee participants, parents, and supporters! An assistant golf professional at Farmington Country Club since 2018, Andrew has helped expand the club’s junior golf program. He is a graduate of Methodist University with a bachelors in accounting and a concentration in professional golf management. He’s familiar with our Nine Core Values and Healthy Habits because he volunteered with First Tee – Harrisonburg as a high school student!  

CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE WAS A BLAST!

On May 16, 125 youth who participate in The First Tee National School Program and our community partner programs took part in Champions Challenge at Meadowcreek Golf Course. The kids showed off their golf skills, demonstrated their understanding of the Core Values and had a ton of fun!

Albemarle School, First Tee Link Up for STEM Program

By Melissa Castro / Daily Progress

Albemarle school, first tee link up for stem program

 

At the Meadowcreek Golf Course on Friday, the air was clear, a mild breeze kept the humidity at bay and the view from the first tee was magnificent, as the fairway seemed to roll down to the base of Montalto, the mountain seen from Monticello.

For most casual golfers, that’s pretty much the extent of detail they would have noticed from a day on the links. They might have even kept score.

 

But a group of fifth-graders at Agnor-Hurt Elementary School were about to learn much, much more as part of the new STEMLinks program sponsored by The First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge.

Teaching the math, biology, engineering and physics behind golf and golf courses has become another way for the nonprofit First Tee to teach character education and practical life skills through golf, according to Jin Ellington, the organization’s executive director.

 

“Not all kids are going to care about playing the game of golf, but they may really like science, so they might enjoy the innovation behind it,” Ellington said. “We find ways to connect the STEM pieces with being on a golf course.”

After breaking into groups of three or four and piling into golf carts, the students set out to explore the front nine holes, with specific science-based activities assigned at each tee.

 

At the first tee box, lanky fifth-grader Jazmyne Tolliver peered through a rangefinder camera.

“Start on the left and tell me what you see,” asked Marc Boston, a parent volunteer who was working with Jazmyne’s group to measure the distance and topography of the hole. “Give me the numbers you see. She’s the one jumping and waving at you — how far away is she?”

 

“It’s 54 yards, 54 yards!” Jazmyne replied.

 

“Alright, 54 and 85 — let’s go,” Boston said.

 

The group then departed for the second hole, where another science-based activity awaited.

 

Even before First Tee offered a STEMLinks grant to pilot the program at Agnor-Hurt, Mia Shand for four years had been using golf concepts to teach the promising and talented students in the Gateway program.

Shand’s uncle, Michael Hebron, is a legendary golf instructor and author who was inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2013.

Shand doesn’t claim to be a golf expert herself, so she reached out to First Tee two years ago to request a guest speaker who could “come in and talk about what a golf course actually looks like, talk about the clubs and balls, talk about the purpose of the dimples in the balls, and the science and math involved in a deeper way,” she said.

 

When the STEMLinks grant came along this summer, Shand was able to buy nine graphic design tablets, as well as digital microscopes to examine the contents of divots.

 

The students will input data collected from the golf course measurements and then use the tablets to design and physically build their own plywood and Astroturf golf course by November.

They’ll also write and present a business plan for how to operate and manage their course for the benefit of the other 500-plus students at the Albemarle County school.

 

When it’s over, the Gateway class will leave the portable golf course behind to help teach future Agnor-Hurt students how to swing a club.

 

While building the course, they’ll have expert guidance from the community. So far, that includes a presentation by Chris Schooley, who is leading the redevelopment of the Birdwood Golf Course for the University of Virginia.

Schooley will discuss how the Birdwood course is being redesigned, how blueprints are used in the process and how design issues are identified and resolved, Ellington said.

 

First Tee is still hoping to line up engineering and construction experts to help the students design and build the course, she said.

 

“It’s just been really great to be able to bring in all these partners and members of the community to help these kids get excited about this project, even though it’s really more about STEM than about golf,” Ellington said. “But maybe they will end up having an interest in golf as a sport.”

 

Just before she hopped in her golf cart, Shand was bubbling over with excitement.

 

“The class was always about math and science, but STEMLinks just deepened it and gives us a way to teach information that they’ll retain,” she said. “I’ve actually got goosebumps thinking about it.”

 
Source: https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/albemarle-school-first-tee-link-up-for-stem-program/article_7446afb4-b2fd-11e8-8efb-a734cd4cb77a.html

Golfers Play to Benefit Charlottesville Youth Organization

By Lowell Rose / NBC29

Golfers play to benefit charlottesville youth organization

Dozens of people went out for a round of golf on Monday, July 16 in Albemarle County to help benefit kids living in the greater Charlottesville Area as part of the 10th Annual First Tees Invitational Golf Tournament. The tournament benefits the First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge. The youth development organization provides programming and scholarships for kids in the community to learn golf and important life skills. The charity event is simultaneously held at Keswick Golf Club and Farmington Country Club. A total of 44 teams took part in the tournament, aiming to raise between $50,000 and $60,000. “This is an amazing opportunity for the community to give back to the kids who need it the most,” said board member of The First Tee Virginia Blue Ridge Jonathan Blank. “We serve thousands of kids during the year and with this tournament we can make all that possible.” According to the executive director of The First Tee Virginia Blue Ridge Jin Ellington most of the money raises goes directly to their programming and supports scholarships coming from the Charlottesville Police Department, Stars Organization, Boys and Girls Club of Southwood, and more. “We are here to teach youth development,” Ellington said. “We’re here to better help our students be prepared for academic success, for career and social success.” With the help of this tournament, The First Tee Virginia Blue Ridge is able to provide scholarships for kids to participate in programming on the golf course. “The impacts to the kids in the community are beyond golf,” Blank said. “This is about learning scholarship…integrity…core values that will serve the kids for the rest of their lives.” Golfers say this tournament is important to them for many reasons. “If we can come together and give that opportunity to these kids, then our whole community, our whole state, our whole county will be better for it,” Blank said. As of this summer, they have reached nearly 5,000 kids so far this year which already surpassed last year’s total. Source: http://www.nbc29.com/story/38657981/golfers-play-to-benefit-charlottesville-youth-organization

Young Golfers Getting Chance to Learn More Than Just a Game

By Pat Fitzgerald / Greene County Record

Young Golfers Getting Chance to Learn more Than Just a Game

Fifteen-year-old Michaela Dean is going from a golf spectator to getting the chance to immerse herself in the game for three straight days at the Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County. And it’s all because her parents signed her up for the First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge’s program at The Highlands Golf Park in Greene County. “My Dad took me to the driving range one day and I saw a board that said … ‘lessons’ and I thought I’d try it.” For eight weeks this spring, Dean and several other girls and boys from throughout the area learned not just golf skills — but life skills as well — from Gretchen Scheuermann, who runs The Highland Golf Park and Pirate Pete’s Mini Golf on U.S. 29 just north of Ruckersville. “It’s a great program for golf skills, but there’s a lot of focus on life skills and core values,” Scheuermann said. “There’s a lot more to the program.” “It’s a curriculum-based program that’s based on life skills, core values and healthy habits — and then the golf skills,” said Bruce Blair, program director for the First Tee of Virginia Blue Ridge. “It’s seamlessly delivered. …” Joining Dean at next month’s golf camp will be Kylie Shifflett, a 13-year-old rising eighth-grader at William Monroe Middle School, and Addie Stauter, another 13-year-old who is home-schooled. Recipients of the Virginia State Golfer Association’s Fleming Fund scholarship, the young golfers will learn “lessons for a lifetime” conducted by PGA professional staff of the Wintergreen Golf Academy. The camp is designed to give young golfers the tools to reach their goals and fulfill their potential through hands-on individualized instruction and supervised daily course play, all while having fun and making new friends. The camp, spanning four days and three nights, will include individual and group lessons and play on the Devil’s Knob and Stoney Creek golf courses at Wintergreen Resort. Students will learn and develop skill sets in core areas. This camp is exclusively for the 16 junior girls who have been nominated by First Tee chapters in Virginia and accepted for camp tuition payment by the VSGA Fleming Fund. Only girls already approved through the First Tee sponsorship process may register. Shifflett’s hoping to improve her putting game. “When I first started [First Tee], I was bad at putting but now I’m better at it,” she said. “They had a desire to learn and improve,” Scheuermann said. “It’s just really evident in the class we had. They were very respectful and had good sportsmanship and are building their confidence.” The First Tee program continues over the summer at The Highlands with eight-week 90-minute sessions on Thursdays from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for boys and girls ages 10-15. That program starts this week. Two separate summer camps for ages 5-9 will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Monday-Thursday July 9-12 and July 16-19 also will take place at The Highlands. The cost is $110 and equipment is provided. Scholarships are available. To register, call (434) 987-0165 or visit TheFirstTeeVirginiaBlueRidge.org. Source: http://www.dailyprogress.com/greenenews/news/young-golfers-getting-chance-to-learn-more-than-just-a/article_f04e0a74-6ffc-11e8-9514-374b9db9d407.html

Rotella Offering His Services for Good Cause

By Jerry Ratcliffe / The Daily Progress

GOLF NOTES: ROTELLA Offering his services for good cause

Have you ever wondered how cool it would be to sit down with one of the world’s top sports psychologists for a couple of hours and share thoughts on your golf game? Now’s your chance, but let me warn you, it ain’t cheap. For the second time in the past six months, Dr. Bob Rotella is offering his services to anyone who wins a bid that will help The First Tee of the Blue Ridge, the local chapter of the nationwide organization.
First Tee Blue Ridge is linking up with CharityBuzz, featuring a package with Rotella, which includes a two-hour consultation with “Doc,” along with a round of golf and a night’s stay at Farmington. There also is a package that includes golf and lunch for three at three local clubs, Farmington, Keswick and Glenmore. Bidding has already begun and will continue through May 24, with winning bids directly providing funding to First Tee Blue Ridge in support of programming for 5,000 local kids. What an opportunity for serious golfers to have their games analyzed by Rotella, who has worked with virtually every top professional golfer on the planet over the past two decades. If you’re getting out your checkbook, get ready to write a big number. In the previous auction for Rotella’s session, a golfer from Mexico won with a bid of $19,000.
 
For more information, go to CharityBuzz.com and search for golf auctions (there’s a lot of stuff available nationwide), or contact First Tee Blue Ridge executive director Jin Ellington at (434) 987-0133.
  Source: http://www.dailyprogress.com/cavalierinsider/golf-notes-rotella-offering-his-services-for-good-cause/article_c3b14ee4-75ee-53bb-a63b-7f80109208d9.html

First Tee Links Up with Albemarle Alternative Learning Program

By Josh Mandell / Charlottesville Tomorrow

First Tee Links up with Albemarle alternative learning program

Angelina Hillier said she used to think of golf as an “old-man sport,” and had little desire to try it for herself. But this spring, the Western Albemarle High School junior has enjoyed her weekly visits to the Birdwood Golf Course with the First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge. “[First Tee] turns golf into something that teens can enjoy,” Hillier said.
Enterprise Center @ First Tee (1), April 30 2018
Credit: Josh Mandell, Charlottesville Tomorrow
Oveyon Ford, a student at the Enterprise Center for Learning and Growth, lines up a putt at a First Tee golf clinic at the Birdwood Golf Course. Also pictured, from left: Renee Willis, Jin Ellington, Angelina Hillier.
  Hillier is participating in the golf clinics with her classmates at the Enterprise Center for Learning and Growth, an alternative learning program for Albemarle County middle and high school students who have struggled in traditional school settings. The Enterprise Center typically serves fewer than 20 students at a time in the Ivy Creek School building on Lambs Lane. Renee Willis, a teacher at the Enterprise Center, said it gives students the opportunity to continue their education in an intimate learning environment, and then return to their base schools when they are back on track. “Many of these students were good at flying under the radar,” Willis said. “Here, you can’t help but to be noticed.” “The Enterprise Center is smaller than a normal school, so there is no drama,” Hillier said. “Everyone is really close, and teachers are very focused on students’ mental health.” The center previously partnered with the First Tee of Charlottesville, a chapter of First Tee that was discontinued after the closure of the McIntire Park golf course in 2015. Jin Ellington, Executive Director of the First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge, said she was excited to revive the partnership this year. “Our mission is to serve all kids, and to increase the impact we can make on kids who might not have access to our resources,” Ellington said. “These are the kids we really have a heart for serving.”
Enterprise Center @ First Tee (2), April 30 2018
Credit: Josh Mandell, Charlottesville Tomorrow
Javonyai Burns prepares to chip at the Birdwood Golf Course.
  First Tee-VBR offers after-school golf lessons and summer camps that are open to all children. However, Ellington said the enrollment of these programs often does not reflect the diversity of Charlottesville’s population. To broaden its reach, First Tee-VBR works with physical education classes at local schools and hosts youth-serving organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia. “We are working with groups that don’t normally have transportation and access to a golf course on a regular basis,” Ellington said. “It’s good to be part of a network of partnerships like this in Charlottesville.” Willis said the Enterprise Center’s First Tee participants have taken a “healthy risk” by coming to the Birdwood Golf Course — a very unfamiliar environment for some of the students. “It is healthy to put yourself in environments you have not been to before and learn how to remain poised and engaged; to be uncomfortable and work through that,” Willis said. Willis said the Enterprise Center often brings students on field trips to introduce them to unfamiliar places in the community and to expose them to different career fields.“When you’re not successful, you often don’t look beyond the little world where you are struggling,” Willis said. “You don’t realize that there is something else out there for you to strive for.” First Tee is a national organization that uses golf to teach core values for life, including honesty, confidence and respect. It also teaches healthy habits to promote physical, emotional and social wellbeing. Bruce Blair, First Tee-VBR’s program director, recently led a team-building game for the Enterprise Center students designed to teach the core value of integrity. Boys and girls separated into teams and passed a suitcase from one person to the next while standing on small rubber mats spaced farther than an arm’s length apart. If someone lost their balance and stepped off their mat, the team had to return the suitcase to the beginning of the line. Students were asked to self-enforce this rule, just as golfers are typically responsible for calling penalties on themselves.“No one is going to call you out,” Blair said. “You only have to worry about yourselves. … Integrity is about doing what is right, even when no one is watching.” Blair said he tries to take a subtle approach to character lessons for teens, and gives them freedom to make their own choices. “These kids don’t like to be preached to,” Blair said. “They already are preached to a lot.” Ellington, who recently completed her first year as executive director, said her vision for First Tee-VBR is to provide academic support and mentorship that will help young people prepare for college and their careers. First Tee-VBR plans to offer a financial literacy lesson from a BB&T employee after the Enterprise Center students finish their golf activities Monday.  “It’s great to teach these core values, but what really matters is the impact we are having on kids’ lives,” Ellington said. “I want a high school student to be able to put First Tee on their résumé as something that transformed and changed their life.” Source: http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/30620-first-tee-links-up-with-albemarle-alternative/?utm_source=Charlottesville+Tomorrow&utm_campaign=13615aef8f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f16601be84-13615aef8f-32060765&mc_cid=13615aef8f&mc_eid=6132f2a03d

First Tee hosts First Champions Challenge

By News Staff / CBS 19

First Tee Hosts First Champions Challenge

The First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge is helping some area students practice life skills and the game of golf. Twenty Charlottesville and Albemarle County students competed in the Champions Challenge at the Birdwood Golf Course. The students, representing six schools, took part in nine challenges designed to test their gulf skills and life skills. The challenges included the Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin and the Core Value Challenge. This event is based on the National School Program, a partnership between First Tee and elementary schools across Central Virginia. It provides physical education teachers with training, support, curriculum and equipment, worth more than $3,000, at no cost to the schools. The teachers then introduce their students to golf while also teaching motor skills, healthy habits and First Tee’s Nine Core Values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment. During the 2017-2018 academic year, all of the elementary schools in Charlottesville participated in the National School Program partnership, during which the PE teachers taught the First Tee curriculum for three to four weeks as a unit in their classes. The Champions Challenge then gave participating elementary school students the chance to apply all they learned to a competition on the golf course. Students from Walker Upper Elementary School won the title of champion, followed by Johnson in second, and Scottsville and Venable tied for third. First Tee plans to host this challenge event annually, and the organization aims to extend its reach to more schools in Albemarle County and in Greene County. For more information about the National School Program, contact Sarah Pitman at (434) 987-0772 or by email at [email protected]. Source: http://www.cbs19news.com/content/news/First-Tee-hosts-first-Champions-Challenge-481098511.html

First Tee Blue Ridge Making a Difference in Central VA

By Jerry Ratcliffe / The Daily Progress

First Tee Blue Ridge making a difference in Central Virginia

If you would really like to do something for Central Virginia, specifically youngsters that reside in our area, then check out First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge. The organization is on the comeback trail and stronger than ever. A previous First Tee program survived by the skin of its teeth for just over a decade before going under when the City of Charlottesville pulled the plug on funding. First Tee Blue Ridge receives no city or county money. All funding raised remains right here, and is making a major impact with kids. The reorganized group reached approximately 5,000 youth last year, and get this … operates with a four-person staff plus a group of volunteers.

If you’re not familiar with the First Tee program, then you likely jump to the conclusion that it is all about golf. You’re not alone. First Tee uses golf as a platform, but that’s only where it begins. First Tee Blue Ridge’s mission is to teach the nine core values to its students, values such as integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf. Yes, kids are learning the game at the same time, but so much more. Thanks to Farmington Country Club, Birdwood Golf Club and The Highlands practice range in Ruckersville, kids are learning in quality, safe environments and taught by instructors who care about kids.

The program touches youth in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Buckingham, Orange, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties and is involved in 11 elementary schools (tied in with the physical education programs), and all six Boys and Girls Clubs in the area. Within the past year, the Charlottesville Police Department has joined forces with First Tee. Sgt. Joey Lewis recruited some kids from Walker Upper Elementary School and picks them up at 3:15 for a van ride to Birdwood.

Along the way, officers and kids strike up conversation and form a relationship before golf and core value training begins at the Birdwood practice range.

 

If you don’t believe First Tee is making a difference, talk to someone involved in the program as a leader, instructor, or better yet, talk to one of the parents of a kid involved. Some of these kids will become good golfers and perhaps even earn a college scholarship. Others will just enjoy the game through life, and some, eh, may lose interest in golf along the way.

What will be everlasting are the life lessons and core values.

 

Jin Ellington, the Blue Ridge chapter’s executive director, wants all her First Tee kids to eventually exit the program with what she calls her five C’s: competence, connection, confidence, character and caring. Oh, and a bonus one, contribution, as in giving back to the program and the community. “This is a dream curriculum, one of the best I’ve found,” said Dr. Ellen Markowitz, assistant professor at UVa and the program’s keynote speaker at its annual spring luncheon. Markowitz has traveled the country in a life-long association with sports-based youth development programs, something she is passionate about. She spent 20 years in New York City with an involvement with youth development before coming to Charlottesville. “First Tee makes an incredible difference,” Markowitz said. “I know how hard Jin and everyone in the organization works. Life skills must be taught. It’s not just about putting, chipping and driving. First Tee is one of the best groups in the country teaching these values.”

Ellington wants the First Tee kids to be college ready, career ready and community ready after they go through the program. Notice there was no mention of golf in that mission statement?

What better way to help kids grow in your own community while having fun at the same time? Naturally, none of this comes cheap. Like any group, it requires financial support. If you’re a golfer, the most enjoyable way you can support the group financially is to participate in the organization’s largest fundraising event, its annual golf tournament. The First Tee Invitational will be held July 16 at two locations, Farmington and Keswick Hall’s Full Cry golf courses. If you regularly read this column, then you know that both Farmington and Keswick were recently named among the top five golf courses in the state by the Virginia Golf Ratings Panel’s Top 50. Spaces are limited, so if you’re interested in playing or buying a foursome for your company, contact First Tee pronto. If you don’t play or can’t play, you can become an event sponsor or contributor.

 

For more information on how you can participate in assisting the tournament or the First Tee organization in general, check out its website: firstteevirginiablueridge.org, or contact Ellington at (434) 987-0133.

 

You’ll be investing in Central Virginia’s future.

 
Source: http://www.dailyprogress.com/sports/ratcliffe-first-tee-blue-ridge-making-a-difference-in-central/article_84e62f0d-14d2-5b7d-b79c-e78cba3a1ff6.html