Our national home office contracted an independent research firm to look at the impact of The First Tee on participants. The findings are exciting! After three years in the program, youth at The First Tee chapters reported¹:
73% reported high confidence in their ability to do well academically.
82% felt confident in their social skills with peers.
52% credited the program for their ability to appreciate diversity.
Further research² with teens and alumni show The First Tee’s youth development program has a lasting impact, creating better citizens and lifelong golfers in the process.
BETTER CITIZENS
- 91% of alumni engaged in community service while in The First Tee.
- 72% continued after their time in the program ended.
- These numbers are significant compared to the 22% of the US citizens between ages 16 and 24 participating in community service³.
LIFELONG GOLFERS
- 96% of teens in our program say their golf skills have improved
- 90% of our alumni consider themselves lifelong golfers.
BETTER STUDENTS
- 80% of teens and alumni say The First Tee helped them become a better student.
PREPARED FOR LIFE
Our program aims to get young people ready for life’s challenges. The longer teens and alumni stayed in the program, the more they reported improvement in their:- interpersonal skills
- managing emotions
- goal-setting
- resilience
FROM COACHES TO MENTORS
Participants don’t go through the program alone. The power of mentorship is extremely important to us, and both teens and alumni said their relationship with their coaches grew stronger and more meaningful over time.
¹ An independent, four-year, longitudinal research study led by University of Minnesota’s Maureen R. Weiss, Ph.D. Flip through the online version or download it as a PDF. ² “A Lasting Impact: The First Tee’s Role in Fostering Postive Youth Development,” 2015, Springfield College Center for Youth Development and Research ³ 2014 survey, U.S. Dept. of Labor: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm