Bella Vista youth attends First Tee leadership academy
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bvwv/Sports_and_Recreation/6727/
BENTONVILLE — Connor Cockrell, age 15, was selected to attend The First Tee Life Skills and Leadership Academy in Manhattan, Kan.
The academy took place July 8-15 at Colbert Hills Golf Course and Kansas State University.
Cockrell, who lives in Bella Vista, is a member of The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas. He was selected among more than 100 teenagers, ages 13-17, from The First Tee’s golf learning facilities around the world to participate in the event.
“ Connor reflects all the character core values of The First Tee, ” Director of Development Sarah Hickman said. “ We are very proud of this young man and the respect, responsibility and integrity he displays at every program session. He is a great example to all our other participants.
“ Connor is the second young person from our chapter selected to attend the Life Skills and Leadership Academy, and our staff is honored to serve our future leaders, like Connor, in the community, ” she added.
The purpose of the academy is to provide First Tee participants with valuable character education and leadership instruction from the organization’s Life Skills Education curriculum and Kansas State’s Leadership Studies Program. The sessions feature workshops, career exploration seminars and golf clinics. Forty coaches are on hand during the academy to provide life skills and golf lessons.
The theme of this year’s academy was SuperSTAR for Life. Each day, participants learned about various life skills, such as selfmanagement, planning and decision-making, interpersonal skills and helping others.
The Life Skills and Leadership Academy is designed to complement the national program, recognize and reward exceptional youth for their accomplishments and teach them important mentoring skills they can take back to their local chapters.
The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas is a nonprofit organization that serves young people ages 6-17, from all backgrounds, by teaching character and life skills through the game of golf. This year to date, more than 250 participants have participated in weekly, active program sessions, and more than 2, 000 youth have participated in outreach programs through physical education classes, church groups and other youth and civic organizations.
To learn more about the local First Tee chapter, visit the Web site www. thefirstteenwar. org.