Category: Uncategorized

Louis Kelly, First Tee – Greater Philadelphia alumni and now coach, has been with the chapter for longer than he can remember. Coach Kelly started when he was just 13 years old, graduating through the program in 2010.

Growing up with the First Tee – Greater Philadelphia chapter, Coach Kelly had been so positively impacted as a participant that he thought the only thing he could do was give back by returning to be a coach at the chapter in 2017.

“I love First Tee and I’ve been around it a long time now. Coaching my kids and being with influential people outside in the business world makes me reflect that I just love being able to bring a smile to people’s faces,” said Coach Kelly.

Coach Kelly focuses primarily on the in-school curriculum, along with coaching golf lessons for the participants to help them make their high school golf team. From there, Coach Kelly wishes to see his kids in the program graduate and go on to college where they can play for collegiate teams.  

In addition to the curriculum and golf lessons, coaches like Coach Kelly serve as a mentor for the community, helping to support participants along their educational and golf journey. Coach Kelly focuses on building a positive self-identity as a core characteristic in life.

“The mind believes in whatever you say about yourself, so we need to make it a good one,” said Coach Kelly.

“We need community, and as you know, First Tee has allowed young people to come in a safe space and be around positive coaches and other young people to build healthy habits and life skills.”

Jose Perez grew up in Salinas, California where his family loved watching different professional sports, but primarily soccer because of their Hispanic heritage. It wasn’t until Jose was 8 years old when he was first introduced to the sport of golf – and instantly he fell in love. “In other sports, you have to rely on other people. With golf, you only have to rely on yourself and that’s why I love the game,” said Jose.

Jose became a participant at First Tee – Monterey County after being introduced to the game, loving the programs he took part in. So much so, after graduating from the program, he became a First Tee coach in 2013. “Monterey County had a summer program which I applied to that summer. I took my first class and loved it. First Tee – Monterey County has helped me a lot in my career. The coaches I had gave their best at everything and gave me values and skills I could use in my life. The least I could do is give back,” said Jose.

While coaching at First Tee – Monterey County, Jose is also studying to get his degree in accounting. Once he completes his bachelor’s degree, he will apply to get his master’s degree and become a CPA. One day, Jose hopes to do accounting for businesses all over California and take over his dad’s pallet business.

“If there’s anything I could teach my participants, it’s to be patient, be positive and always be willing to ask for help.”

While watching a PGA Tour event one Sunday, Chad Molander saw a commercial that really caught his attention – it was about First Tee. He’d always loved the game of golf and that well-placed commercial flipped a switch in him. He decided coaching is something he wanted to do and within a week he had a meeting with Executive Director, Jamie Alt.

Molander was no stranger to volunteering but he had never worked with kids. The more he learned about First Tee (coaching kids, teaching life skills and core values, along with golf), everything seemed to fall into place. After his first day of volunteering, he was “all in.”

Even with a busy work schedule as a Senior Compliance Specialist with Wells Fargo, he’s made time to coach at Warrior Run in Norwalk for the past five years and is extremely dependable. In fact, over the past five summers, Molander only had to miss four out of the 72 days he was scheduled to coach due to work or family obligations. He has passed First Tee training and is now a Certified Level I Coach which allows him to lead participant sessions. He is also a First Tee — Central Iowa board member. Yeah, we’d call that “all in.”

He appreciates that First Tee is not just about golf – it’s so much more. Molander explains, “I like that we teach the nine core values, which I work on incorporating into my own life. The kids are asked to study their booklets, take the end of session tests, be attentive to their coaches’ instructions, practice, and play if they’re going to advance to the next level. It’s up to them to put in the work. Not everyone ‘gets a trophy’ right away in First Tee – and that’s okay because sometimes life works that way.”

Molander recalls two kids who started in the program the same year he began coaching. “They had the potential and the golf ability, but they didn’t apply themselves enough to pass the tests. Last summer they came into the sessions focused and qualified to advance to the Birdie level.” After receiving their certificates, both made time to personally thank him for everything he had done for them over the years. “I realized this is why I’m a First Tee coach. This is what it’s all about. I had made a difference.”

On a personal note, Molander shares, “Being a coach for First Tee, in a way, saved me. I was going through a difficult time – looking for something to do – a way to give back. Becoming a coach allowed me to realize what people will do for others. Being part of an organization, surrounded by other board members and volunteer coaches, who care so much, and give so much of themselves to help others, has changed me. It helps me with my job, with my interaction with family and friends… it’s changed my perspective. Working with the kids gives me a sense of purpose. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

We can’t thank Chad enough for his time and effort in caring for our participants and helping us Build Game Changers.

If you’re interested in becoming a First Tee coach, contact our Program Director, Mikayla Olson at [email protected].

Visit our 25th anniversary page for more impactful stories and videos from our alumni.

First Tee is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this month, and over the years, it’s helped produce no shortage of game changers. 

One example is Marcus Freeman from First Tee – Greater Charlotte. He says the organization has helped him grow as a golfer and person. 

“Being a part of this community has helped me get through hard times. First Tee – Greater Charlotte was a safe place for me in 2020. During this time my grandfather was going through end stage pancreatic cancer and my family, like the world, was navigating COVID-19 and social distancing,” he says. 

The support he received from First Tee inspired Freeman to pay it forward. 

He completed more than 300 hours of volunteer work for First Tee in 2021. He collected more than 500 books for a First Tee book drive, and he’s a member of the chapter’s participant advisory council. Freeman has also volunteered for his swim team and tutored students in Japanese.

“An aspect of volunteer work that I enjoy is seeing the impact that giving to others can have,” he says. 

Freeman is one of 28 First Tee participants from across the country who’ll attend Innovators Forum this November in Dallas. The workshop empowers First Tee teens to develop a meaningful service project in their community focused on education, health or sustainability. Eight participants will be awarded scholarships totaling $32,000 after the event.

A junior at Palisades High School, Freeman is an accomplished violinist, and he won a medal for performing Japanese poems in 2019. Freeman aspires to study sports science in college. “I enjoy learning more about physical fitness and how the body works,” he says. Freeman spends his free time researching training tips and injury recovery. 

As he progresses as an athlete and student, Freeman says he’ll continue to use the lessons and qualities he’s learned at First Tee, including confidence. 

“When I first joined the program, I was a little shy when meeting new coaches, parents and other players. I spent time observing the instructors and how they interacted with all the different people coming and going. I saw them shake hands, make eye contact, smile and speak confidently,” he says.  

“I knew I wanted those skills as well. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and I started to apply what I observed to my own social skills. I practiced a strong handshake. I introduced myself to people I didn’t know, and I have met many interesting people, like professional golfer Davis Love III, all because I have improved in sharing my personality.” 

Learn more about Innovators Forum. 

Lots of kids aspire to become astronauts but few go on to build careers in space exploration. That hasn’t stopped Hannah Rens from chasing her dreams into orbit. 

The 24-year-old is a systems engineer for Boeing Space and Launch, working on Boeing’s Starliner, a commercial crew and cargo vehicle that will be transporting NASA astronauts to the international space station.  

“My ultimate career goal is to be chief engineer of a permanent human habitat on the moon,” says Rens, a former participant at First Tee – Siouxland and First Tee volunteer. “To achieve that goal, I need to develop advanced business skills, gain industry experience and further my engineering technical education.” 

That’s why she’s attending the First Tee Alumni Summit presented by Gallagher this November in Dallas. The event provides an opportunity for selected alumni to advance their career by building new skills while reconnecting with fellow alumni and chapter leaders. 

“I’m looking to learn more about working in a rapidly evolving industry, startups and founding your own business, and how to develop an effective personal brand,” she says. 

Rens says her nine years in First Tee helped shape her future. “It provided me with a structured path to improving my golf game, peer and trusted mentors, and interpersonal and professional skills that have been essential in achieving my goals,” she says. 

While in First Tee, she was selected to attend the Leaders and Entrepreneurs Forum at Disney World. “Getting to meet other students from across the U.S. while listening and working with successful business owners and entrepreneurs was unlike any other experience I had in high school,” she says. “The business principles and goals I learned have stayed with me.” 

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Rens began her career with internships focused on aircraft maintenance and repair. As Starliner prepares to expand its service to additional sites in Earth’s orbit, Rens works on vehicle life span and sustainment. Ultimately, Starliner will become one of the first spacecraft with turnaround times closer to traditional air traffic. Talk about a Game Changer. 

Rens now serves as a mentor for high school and college students who want careers in the space industry, and she’s enrolled in an astronautical engineering master’s program at the University of Southern California focusing on human spaceflight. 

Rens still golfs, and she’s a certified open water and dry suit SCUBA diver. Learn more about the accomplishments of First Tee alumni. 

By her own admission, Lauren Lauterbach was practically born with a golf club in her hands – and she has the baby pictures to prove it.

Golf has always been a way of life for Lauren. Weekend rounds with her father and his buddies led her to playing on her high school team in Wisconsin and walking on to the Wake Forest Women’s golf team her freshman year in college. She left Division 1 golf after one year when the time commitment took away from her studies and jeopardized her long-term goal of becoming a physician.

Lauren still wanted to give back to the game she loved so she started volunteering as a coach at what is now First Tee — Central Carolina. She coached twice a week at their after-school program and became a lead coach in her third year with the chapter.

After graduating from college, she moved back to Wisconsin and worked at a level 1 trauma
center for four years gaining experience in the field she hopes to practice medicine in the future.
When it came time to choose a medical school, she picked the one that best fit her: Des Moines
University. In looking for an activity that wasn’t school related, she Googled First Tee Chapters
in Iowa and found us. Lauren coached at our Warrior Run program in Norwalk, helped with the
Mother/Daughter outing at Woodland Hills, and you’ll often find her helping at our Girls Golf
program.

She gets great satisfaction when a concept or idea “clicks” for a student. “I love the Nine Core
Values,” said Lauren. “Teaching them to the kids is a good reminder to be using them in my own
life. No other sport exemplifies values like honesty, integrity and perseverance. You are your
own referee and responsible for your own mistakes. You must let it go and move on. I’m still
working on that.”

Lauren has been accepted into the Health Professionals Service Program with the Navy.
Through this program her medical education will be paid for, and she will serve at least four
years of active duty with the Navy after graduation from Des Moines University. “My goal in life
is to help, serve, and use my talents to the best of my ability.”

She relates, “I’ve been told you need to find things to ‘fill up your cup.’ Working with the girls and
kids fills up my cup.”

We can’t thank Lauren enough for her time and effort in caring for our participants and helping
us Build Game Changers.

If you’re interested in becoming a First Tee coach, contact our program director, Mikayla Olson
at [email protected].

Several years ago, when Huy “Tommy” Nguyen and his wife left their native Vietnam to study at Iowa State University, golf was a complete unknown. Fast forward a few years and Tommy and his son, David, are now passionate volunteer coaches for First Tee – Central Iowa.

When Tommy helped enroll his son in First Tee five years ago, it would be his very first introduction to golf. After only a few days in the program, David started hitting the ball well, began making friends, and having fun – enough to ask his dad to sign him up for the very next session. David is now a junior at Valley High School, an avid member of their golf team, and a dedicated player-coach for First Tee.

Tommy admits he was a “drop my kid off and pick him up later” guy. That is, until
Program Director, Mikayla Olson, sent out an email earlier this year about the program’s need
for additional coaches. Tommy took a “leap of faith” and signed up. “I am so thankful for that
decision. Being a coach with First Tee has really changed my life” expresses Tommy. Through
his participation, he has met so many amazing people and helped the community.

This father and son coaching duo kept busy this summer, helping at several of our locations
including Copper Creek, Woodland Hills, West Grand Golf, and Warrior Run. They never
missed a single day during all four weeks of both the Copper Creek and Woodland Hills
sessions. What drives them to give so much of their time helping First Tee?

Having been in the program for several years, David experienced how his coaches were such
impactful mentors and wanted to pass that on to other participants. He never appreciated
what it took to be a coach until he fully immersed himself in the program. It’s not only being
there for the session, but learning the curriculum, arriving early to set up practice stations, and
staying after to tear down. David says, “First Tee sets up an environment where you can learn
so much about golf but also about Life Skills and that’s really wonderful.”

As a parent, Tommy didn’t care much about Life Skills being part of the lessons. Now, as a
coach, he appreciates and realizes that is what separates First Tee from other golf
programs. Tommy shares, “I believe golf does reflect life – especially reflecting your character
on and off the golf course. As coaches, we really can make a difference in their lives.”

We can’t thank Tommy and David enough for their time and effort in caring for our participants
and helping us Build Game Changers.

If you’re interested in becoming a First Tee coach, contact our program director, Mikayla Olson
at [email protected].

Shelley Farmer had been aware of First Tee for years. She’d seen the commercials during PGA
Tour events. But it wasn’t until playing golf with a friend while wintering in Florida she thought
about getting involved.

Her friend was very involved with First Tee — New Hampshire and thought Shelley would make a great coach. When asked if there was a chapter in Iowa, she wasn’t sure. A quick internet search after the round lead her to our website. Within a week she’d signed up to be a volunteer coach.

Shelley has coached for First Tee — Central Iowa for two seasons. Her primary location is at
Woodland Hills Golf Course, which is close to her house, but she’s also helped at Warrior Run
in Norwalk and Copper Creek in Pleasant Hill. Wherever we needed her, she was there.

After a 30-year career as an investment manager at Wells Fargo she didn’t feel as though she
was contributing to society/giving back. Volunteering with First Tee fills that void and gives her
great satisfaction helping the kids.

She explains, “I find it very fulfilling being a coach – to see the progression of the kids in their
golf and behaviors. I’m happy doing it and it makes me feel like a better person. I tell people
about it all the time.”

Shelley has even gone to certification training to achieve the status of a Level 1 First Tee
Coach. This allows her to lead delivery of certain levels of First Tee curriculum. This makes her
even more valuable to our chapter than she already was.

We can’t thank Shelley enough for her time, effort, in caring for our participants and helping us
Build Game Changers.

If you’re interested in becoming a First Tee coach, contact our program director, Mikayla Olson
at [email protected].