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!