One of the joys of working with youth is getting to share your interests with them. The grounds at Board of Child Care are perfect for disc golf. Given one of the staff’s passion for the game, over the past school year, many of the students have learned to play disc golf.
A few of the students, in spite of the limited, very mediocre instruction they have received, have shown themselves to have the potential to be good to very good disc golfers.
For those readers who are unfamiliar with disc golf, it is very similar to golf but played with discs (Frisbees). Instead of getting the ball into a cup the disc is thrown into a basket. In the same way a traditional golfer uses a number of different clubs to get the ball from the tee to the cup, a disc golfer uses a number of different discs each designed with a specific purpose to get the disc from the tee to the basket. There are drivers, midrange discs and putters. Unlike traditional golf, most disc golf courses are free and a set of discs can run under $30 compared to hundreds of dollars or more for a set of clubs.
On April 9th, we were lucky enough to have Travis Foreman, a professional disc golf player, come to Board of Child Care to run a disc golf clinic for the kids.
As part of the clinic, Travis was able to get Gateway Discs to sponsor the event. Each participant received a number of golf discs courtesy of Gateway Discs. Travis also gave away disc golf bags to three residents who won a putting contest.
At the clinic, Travis did a few demonstrations of his abilities and then patiently taught the residents about the different types of discs and how to throw them.
The residents then got to practice throwing the different types of discs at baskets set at multiple distances.
The clinic ended with a modified game of disc golf using two of the portable baskets Travis brought with him.
All of the kids who attended had a great time! So much so that the following Saturday, six of the residents and their staff went to the disc golf course at Poor House Farms to play their first round of disc golf on a real course.
Travis had such a good time that he offered to come back if another clinic was desired and he donated 24 of his own discs to ensure that the residents had all of the discs they needed to play a serious game of disc golf.We look forward to many future outings to disc golf courses in the area!
