In late January the First Tee West Virginia Program kicked off at Kingwood Elementary School introducing young students to the game of the golf. The program was made possible thanks to the efforts of Donetta Browning, Kingwood Elementary physical education teacher. (Photo by the Dominion Post)
Browning initially learned of the First Tee Program two years ago, but the $3,400 needed to launch the program was lacking from the school budget. She contacted Richard Kissinger, First Tee West Virginia program director, and together they were able to obtain a grant to purchase the equipment. Browning then took the next step by earning her certification in the course.
“It’s an exciting program for the young kids to get involved with, and it teaches a lot of different skills that they don’t possibly get in other sports,” said Browning, CPASSmaster’s Physical Education Teacher Education graduate.
Since the First Tee program was founded in 1997, it has grown to more than nine million young people nationwide. According to the group’s website, the core values of the program include honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.
“The First Tee Program is the premiere youth development program in West Virginia,” said Kissinger. “The core values are integrated in a seamless, conversational way. It’s not preachy.”
Not only do students take away these important principles, but they also get the opportunity to learn about a game they might not otherwise be exposed to, Kissinger explained. Students who are not interested in traditional sports like football and basketball have a chance to engage and get excited about PE class.
In addition to golf safety, each week the children focus on one core value and work out its meaning. During the first week, the students focused on respect, clapping whenever the word respect was mentioned.
“What they are doing at Kingwood Elementary is awesome,” said Kissinger, who was able to attend the kick-off day at KES on January 21. “The hope is to expand the First Tee Program statewide and affect as many youth as possible.”
Browning has taught at KES for six years and was named the 2014 West Virginia Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the West Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
According to the First Tee Program website, the project began as a partnership between the Ladies Professional Golf Association, Masters Tournament, Professional Golfers’ Association of America, PGA Tour, and United States Golf Association, with the help of Shell Oil.