My Summary From Coaching First Tee This Fall

I put together this "cheat sheet" to summarize all that we taught the First Tee kids this fall. I am amazed by how much I learn from coaching the kids. (I initially typed "teaching" but changed the word to "coaching" to more accurately describe what it is I try to do.)

What Did We Learn This Fall?

October 2025

Life Skills

1. Responsibility - making positive choices for myself and

  others; be honest with myself and others; have courage to do

 the right thing.

2. Respect - be kind, considerate and caring of myself and others;

understand how my attitude and how I treat others matters; treat others the way you would like to be treated.

3. Confidence - belief in myself and my abilities; knowing that it

is fun to try new activities knowing that it is ok that I need to practice to get better; I can be confident even when I am not at my best.

4. Setting Goals - a goal is something I want to do, be or have with

 the understanding it will take time and effort to reach it; pursuing goals is helps me grow as I learn from wins and losses

5. Perseverance - “keep on going!’; life is full of challenges and

 struggles - perseverance is my ability to overcome those challenges and struggles by keep trying my best even when it might be hard.

Other Life Skills We Talked About

1. Good sportsmanship - be honest, say “good shot”, and

be encouraging to others.

2. Honesty -  being truthful even when it might be hard to be.

3. Have fun! – enjoy what I am doing

Golf Skills

1. Safety

A. Carry my clubs by the head

B. Don’t run on the golf course

C. Staying in the safety zone

2. Putting

A. Don’t walk in anyone’s line!

B. Line up my putt with your feet

C. How to read a green (uphill/downhill and break) 

D. Controlling distance with the length of my swing (and

make sure I follow through (don’t stab at the ball))

E. Rock my shoulders to move the putter head

F. Who gets putt first?  (The ball that is farthest from the

hole whether it’s on the green or not)

3. Chipping

A. “Chipping” is what I do near the green; “pitching” is

 what I do from farther away.

B. Stand with the ball toward my back foot, stand nearer to

the ball, lean toward the target and use a putting stroke

C. I can also putt the ball if close enough to the green if the 

grass is not too rough

4. Sand Trap/Bunker

A. Don’t put my clubhead on the sand (“don’t ground my

 club”)

B. When I practice, draw a line about an inch behind the ball.

 I want to hit the sand on that line and lift the ball out of the sand trap/bunker

C. My goal is to get the ball out of the sand trap/bunker and

 not to have to hit a second shot from the sand

C. Rack the sand smooth after I hit.

5. On The Range

A. A tee can make it easier to hit the ball

B. How is a driver different from other clubs?  Its face has

less loft, and it is the longest club.

C. It is good to start my practice session with a lofted

club because lofted clubs are easier to hit.

D. Take my  time when hitting on the range – always have a

target that I am trying to hit

E. It can be easier to hit the ball with a shorter

backswing