Meet & Greet with Ace-level Participant Takumi Fukuzawa

Takumi with his sister Megumi, a fellow Ace-level player at The First Tee of Howard County
This month, we’re catching up with Ace-level participant Takumi Fukuzawa, a rising sophomore at Centennial High School, where he plays on the golf team. Read on to hear about why The First Tee has been important to Takumi, and if you missed our feature last month with his sister, Megumi, check it out here!
Q: How long have you been a participant with The First Tee of Howard County?
A: I joined The First Tee when I was 10 years old, and have been in the program for about five years.
Q: Why did you first get involved with The First Tee?
A: I first got started with golf at an after school club at elementary school, and I quickly found a passion for golf. When I found out about The First Tee program, I joined right away and continued because every class was exciting. Q: What level are you currently playing at with The First Tee? A: I am currently in the Ace level in The First Tee. Q: Did playing with The First Tee motivate you to also get involved with your school’s golf team? A: Being in The First Tee motivated me to join the Centennial High School golf team. I have been on the team for a year as a freshman and my experience there was amazing. I met many new people along the way.
Takumi playing in his first match as part of Centennial High School’s team
Q: What has been your favorite experience with The First Tee? A: Since I joined The First Tee, I’ve met so many coaches and friends, but my favorite experience is having the opportunity to mentor classes. When I mentor the younger golfers, they have fun and are energetic, and that is what makes mentoring such a great experience. Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from participating in The First Tee? A: The biggest lesson I learned in The First Tee is the importance of giving back. I learned this through mentoring because by mentoring, I saw the work coaches had to do for the kids to have fun, and the coaches have also taught me. Now as an Ace-level student, I want to help the coaches so they have less to worry about and can let the kids have as much fun as I did. Q: How do you see your experience with The First Tee impacting your future? A: My experience with The First Tee will definitely will help me achieve my goals in the future because I learned things such as the goal ladder, which brings me to my goal step by step. Achieving my goals using the goal ladder will help me have a brighter future. Q: What would you tell other students who are considering getting involved? A: I would tell students who are considering The First Tee to give it a try because golf is a great sport to learn and has many things to teach, such as the Nine Core Values. In high school, balancing extracurriculars and studying got harder, so I had to choose between golf and baseball. However, in the end, I chose to play golf because it taught me so much and The First Tee was there to offer me more things to learn.