Friday March 29th, 2024 3:35AM

Gainesville Highschool First Tee National School Program (July 29th) from WDUN TV on Vimeo.

This video is about Gainesville Highschool First Tee National School Program

VIDEO: Gainesville elementary schools to add golf program to PE curriculum

GAINESVILLE - All 5 Gainesville city elementary schools will add the First Tee National School Program to their physical education instruction. 

Gainesville elementary P.E. teachers spent the morning at the Gainesville High School gym learning how to deliver the The First Tee National School Program within their P.E. curriculum, and specifically, how to integrate the character education and health lessons along with basic golf instruction.

The program allows students to learn the game of golf in an area like a gym with equipment that includes larger clubs, velcro targets and tennis balls.

"We want to get them excited about the game of golf, so that in the future, when they have a chance to go to a green grass facility, they will have the knowledge and some level of skill," said First Tee instructor Diane Lamb. "We are also incorporating core values and healthy habits in every single lesson so that we are developing the whole student."

Assistant Principal and Coach of the boys golf team at Gainesville High School, Bryson Worley, was at the four hour training session for the elementary teachers and said he was impressed with the program.

"Golf is a difficult sport to learn and they do a really good job of introducing kids to it in an environment that is safe and allows them to be successful. Its always good to introduce not only the game of golf, but also the core values and healthy living principles to all of our kids. Whether they take the game further or not, they have been introduced to it and can take those core lessons from it as well."

The P.E.. teachers got familiar with the equipment and even spent some time in the classroom with Lamb to learn more about how golf can be included in their lesson plans. New Holland Knowledge Academy P.E. teacher Russ Pullen said he is excited to introduce the sport to many of his students for the first time.

"The sport of golf is something that hardly any of my students have any background in, so they will be learning a new game that has life skills in it as well." 

The program is being implemented in partnership with Georgia Power through an extension of the Southern Company’s long-standing relationship with the PGA TOUR. 

"We are proud to help bring the First Tee Program to the Gainesville City elementary schools," said Darrell Snyder, Georgia Power Gainesville Area Manager. "Georgia Power has a strong history of supporting education and workforce development initiatives across the state."

The First Tee has implemented the program at 197 elementary schools throughout Georgia through its partnership with Georgia Power and Southern Company. Nationwide, more than 7,000 schools in 1,000 districts have signed on to deliver The First Tee National School Program.  

© Copyright 2024 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.