Summer camps use golf to empower Bay Area kids and teens

TAMPA, Fla. - As the golf coaches for First Tee of Tampa Bay guide their students on the course, they hope the organization’s nine core values come through: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

"Every one of our sessions start with a nine-core value, so you kind of reiterate that through the day with them so that they feel comfortable with it, and they actually can go through it with their parents when they get back in the car," lead golf coach Melvin Beard said.

First Tee is wrapping up their summer camps, which consist of life skill lessons, individual drills and on-course play. 

"I just loved teaching and making the kids' day, like when they're hitting the shot and the expression, it's like as soon as they hit the ball, they're like, ‘oh my gosh, I can do it.’ That's what I love," assistant golf coach Rasmita Taylert said.

The campers, ages 6-17, vary in skill level. Many share a similar passion for playing the difficult sport.

"You really try to focus on yourself, not anybody else, because it's just you and the ball, not a thousand other people and the ball," 14-year-old Olivia Beuns said. "It's just you. The only pressure you're getting is from yourself."

READ: MOSI offering over 100 different camps for kids during the summer

Beard says the kids can be hard on themselves when the game isn’t working out, so he loves helping them fix the small mistakes in their games.

"When you see that light bulb go off, that's when you're like, ‘you got it now. Now you own it.’ If they can own their swing and it's not borrowed, they can go back to it tomorrow," Beard said. 

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