Category: Programs

Michelle Lee: Game Changers Integrity Award Winner

Michelle Lee

Michelle has been a participant in our First Tee program for three years. At 11 years old, she has already won over 50 junior golf tournaments around San Antonio and beyond. With her 2 sisters, the Lee girls are some of the most hardworking participants we have. With aspirations to play professional golf, Michelle knows that hard work, integrity, and dedication are keys to success. Michelle enjoys reading and watching golf when not playing and she credits her sisters for her fierce competitiveness.

Congratulations Michelle! Well deserved! Keep up the great work!

Armond Walker: Game Changer Respect Award Winner

Armond Walker

Armond joined our First Tee program almost 4 years ago, and right away, he was a leader. It was evident he is a young man with a bright future ahead of him. He respects those around him and loves helping younger participants with their golf swing. As a leader, the respect he has earned with the younger participants resonates. He has aspirations to play professional golf but would be happy to end up as a successful coach of the game with a dream to one day own his own golf academy. Armond loves fishing and occasional video games in his spare time.

Congratulations Armond! Keep leading the way and using the life skills you’ve learned in the program!

Zayden Broadnax-DeBerry: Game Changer Perseverance Award Winner

Zayden Broadnax-DeBerry

Zayden has been a participant in our First Tee program for a year. Zayden is a fitting recipient of this award for his determination and all around positive attitude. He has persevered through obstacles many would consider insurmountable for a young boy. Zayden shows up and gives his best at every class. Zayden also enjoys playing soccer, coding and video games and aspires to be a lawyer when he grows up.

Zayden is an amazing young man who deserve this award! He has exemplified what it means to persevere and lives out this Core Value daily! Congratulations Zayden!

Riley Lisenbee – Game Changers Honesty Award Winner

Riley Lisenbee

Riley is a fun young man to have at the First Tee. His creativity is evident, and it is no surprise that he enjoys playing the tuba and piano. He dreams of becoming a chef or inventor. His honest approach to practice and building relationships with his peers makes him a fitting recipient of this award. Riley has been a participant for 2 years now.

We are so proud of Riley and all the fun he brings out in everyone. He truly embodies this Core Value Award with his interactions with peers and coaches on and off the course!

2022 Game Changers Luncheon

The First Tee – Greater San Antonio was excited to host our inaugural Game Changer Luncheon, where we celebrated, in 2021, the over 1000 youth that were impacted by our First Tee programs. We awarded the Nine Core Value awards to 9 participants, as well as an overall Participant of the Year award and $2,500 scholarship to Kyle Mahan. Two corporations were also awarded for their Distinguished Service to the First Tee – Greater San Antonio. Mary Carriker, former executive director of the organization, was also awarded the inaugural Mary Carriker Commitment Award. Jeff Traylor, Head Football Coach at UTSA, was our guest speaker, with former FTSA Board Member Richard Oliver as emcee.

At the First Tee – Greater San Antonio, we empower youth to build character and life skills through the game of golf. The Game Changer Luncheon is our way to recognize our standout participants from the past year! These kids have gone above and beyond just being a participant in our program. They have made friends, been a mentor, volunteered, shown passion, and many other character traits that the First Tee instills. Below are the award winners:

Isabella Coronado – Courtesy

Hailey Creech – Confidence

Michelle Lee – Integrity

Zayden BroadnaxDeBerry – perseverance

Armond Walker – Respect

Jack Polansky – Responsibility

Dax Spencer – Sportsmanship

Honesty – Riley Lisenbee

Judgment – Riley Yount

Participant of the Year – Kyle Mahan

We cannot thank our donors and sponsors enough. Their continued support allows us to keep expanding our programs and allowing more kids than ever to learn about golf, but more importantly the character and life skills that First Tee instills in them. Congratulations to all award winners.

First Tee – Greater San Antonio @ 2022 Valero Texas Open

40 of our First Tee participants had the opportunity to celebrate with the Valero Texas Open Champion, JJ Spaun! Our players got to experience the emotion of a first time winner of a PGA tour event. There were many smiling faces with the excitement of meeting someone who has fulfilled the dream of working hard through the game of golf. Our game changers are inspired by players like JJ to be the best in a sport that they work so hard at every day. Due to the record setting charitable amount raised by this event, our players also got the pleasure of meeting PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, and Valero Energy Corporation CEO, Joe Gorder who spoke with them about the importance about golf on and off the course. First Tee – Greater San Antonio is grateful for events like the VTO that creates special moments for our participants.

-Charlotte Davis

Loreley & Russell John: First Tee – Greater San Antonio Tiny Tigers Participant & Lead Coach & Father-Daughter Duo

This week we’re highlighting one of our favorite father- daughter duos to have on our range! Russell (aka Hunter) is one of our Tiny Tiger lead coaches at the First Tee Learning Center. He leads the class his daughter, Loreley John, is a participant in!

Loreley John – Tiny Tiger participant

How long have you been golfing?

“I don’t know” – for a couple of years. 

What are some activities you like to do outside of school? What other sports do you play?

Play with my friends and go to the park. Soccer, basketball, and swimming. 

What’s your favorite golf activity? 

Hitting balls really high!

What’s your favorite lesson you learned in class this session?

Hitting a ball sitting on your knees and with one leg. 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

An architect!

Russell John – Tiny Tiger Lead Coach

Where are you from?

I grew up in a little town in central Missouri called Huntsville. 

How did you first get involved with the First Tee?

I started volunteering right before COVID shut everything down and then started volunteering again last year. 

What has your First Tee experience been?

I’ve appreciated the professional but still fun nature of the leadership and organization. They really seem to care about the kids and want to help you succeed as a coach. 

What is your favorite part about being a lead coach for the Tiny Tigers?

I have seen a lot of young kids who sometimes have very little or no experience with golf having fun for an hour through golf. I love watching the kids get one in the air and look sheepishly back at you like it was an accident or excitedly yell something about their amazing air shot. It’s really fun to the see the growth and excitement every week. 

What do you love most about golf?

I would give two key loves of the game. First, I get to spend an extended time in a relatively quiet and peaceful corner of nature. No chaos, no noise, and generally around enjoyable people. Second, the only person you have to blame or congratulate is you. There are bad breaks or unfair bounces, but it is a game, for me at least, where I compete with myself first and everyone else second. Because of that, it has taught me to compartmentalize bad shots and control my emotions that I maybe wasn’t so good at when I was a junior golfer. I can also go out and play with people who maybe aren’t as good and people who are much better without it impacting my game. 

A bad day on the golf course is better than a great day in a lot of other places!  

Youth On Course & First Tee – Participants Can Golf For Only $5 at 11 Area Golf Courses!

Golf is Cheap!  Well it can be if you are part of First Tee – Greater San Antonio!

We are always looking for ways to add value to our program without increasing our costs and provide additional opportunities for kids to get on the golf course. THANK YOU to the Texas Golf Association Foundation for extending a discounted registration fee for the Youth on Course Program (https://youthoncourse.org) to all First Tee Greater San Antonio participants for $5! Youth on Course is a program dedicated to help junior golfers play golf at affordable prices. With a YOC membership, your child will be able to go play golf at 11 different courses in the greater San Antonio area for just $5 per round! Kids will also have access to over 1,700 courses across the country as well for just $5 a round!

We are also excited to announce that due to the generous support of the Kolitz Family Foundation, all participants will receive the membership for free. Families have received a special link to sign up their children for this amazing benefit!  We estimate that approximately 500 kids will have this opportunity in 2022.

“Being able to provide affordable golf course access to our First Tee participants is a crucial element of our program. Getting kids on the golf course not only helps improve their golf game but teaches them the life lessons they can take with them on and off the course,” said Carrie Kimbell, Chief Executive Officer, First Tee – Greater San Antonio.

Thank you to the Texas Golf Association Foundation, Youth on Course and the Kolitz Foundation for this amazing opportunity.

Marlo Zamora: First Tee – Greater San Antonio Eagle Participant

Hi! My name is Marlo Zamora. I’m a Junior at Smithson Valley high school. I’m 16 years old and currently an Eagle participant in the program at the First Tee – Greater San Antonio. You will usually find me on the golf course. I also compete in numerous STPGA, Prestige, and TJGT, as well as high school tournaments. Golf has been a big part of my life since I was in first grade and has taught ME many life lessons. Outside of golf I really love competing in cross country races as well mini triathlons. I am also very involved in being an advocate in LGBTQIA+, racial equity, and women’s rights.

Over 8 years ago my mom took me to First Tee, little did I know it would change my life forever. The First Tee brought me a new love and competitiveness for golf as well as life long friends. This program has put many powerful and successful female role models in my life, showing me I can be and do whatever I put my mind to. It is my ambition of mine to get accepted into a D1 college for golf; through all the opportunities this program has given me has put me a few steps closer to my goal and I believe they will continue to do so.