Another hole in one!
The Varsity Boys Golf Team at Charles R. Drew Public Charter School in Atlanta just became the first Atlanta Public School team to win a State Championship in golf and the first all black golf team, players and coaching staff, to win a State Championship in the sport in the state of Georgia. The team beat the two-time defending state champions by more than 15 strokes.
The boys were led to victory, by their coach and former professional golf player, Nyre Williams. Williams is also the director of The First Tee of East Lake Foundation. The foundation is a youth development program that mentors and teaches young people golf. Williams went to Tennessee State on a golf scholarship and played for a decade after school before going pro in 2003.
All of the boys on the Drew Charter school’s golf team belong to The First Tee of East Lake. “First Tee’s benefits span far beyond learning how to play a great game of golf. We also encourage life goals and healthy habits. To be honest, our goal isn’t to breed professional golfers. However, when they work with us, the option to play golf is there,” Williams told Blavity.
Last year, the team came in fourth at the state championship and many of the team members were committed to doing better this year. Anthony Ford, a senior on the team spoke about the pressure that’s on them now, “We’re making history. We’ve got even bigger stakes [on] us now, going to the national championship. Being the only Black team there, it means a lot. We’ve got a lot of people rooting for us.” Head Coach Joe Weems said they predicted this win. “At the beginning of the year when I met with the parents at the interest meeting, we talked about being on the national stage. So here we are.”
Golf has afforded the boys so many opportunities, including scholarships to top institutions, travel across the country and and access to elite golf academies.
“The biggest highlight would be the capacity to teach these men things they wouldn’t have an opportunity to learn outside of the game,” Williams said in an interview with Blavity. “This platform has allowed them to recognize their worth and aspire to goals they wouldn’t have otherwise thought of accomplishing.”
Tiger Woods isn’t the only one ya’ll! Let’s keep encouraging our young people to be their greatest selves!