The First Tee holds two academies each summer for teen participants wanting to focus on their golf and life skills: The First Tee Life Skills & Leadership Academy and The First Tee PLAYer Advanced Academy. Participants for both academies are selected from a national pool of candidates from chapters of The First Tee.

Life Skills & Leadership Academy

Nearly 100 junior golfers from The First Tee attend the Life Skills and Leadership Academy each year. Teen participants have the opportunity to develop and hone skills to become leaders in their chapters, schools and communities while experiencing championship golf, career exploration and dorm living. The 2015 Academy is staged by The First Tee home office and hosted by The First Tee of Blaine, The First Tee of St. Paul, The First Tee of Three Rivers, and the National Sports Center.

PLAYer Advanced Academy

Intended for advanced players pursuing collegiate golf, 20 to 24 elite junior golfers from The First Tee chapters are selected to attend each summer. Participants receive life skills and golf instruction from The First Tee Coaches and special guest speakers to help improve their chances to compete at a higher level athletically and academically.During the week, they participate in interactive sessions in the areas of:
  • golf technique
  • education and career exploration
  • physical fitness and nutrition
  • golf equipment fitting
  In addition, participants will experience dorm living  as well as on course play and compete for The Cohen-Tattersall Cup. The 2015 Academy was staged by The First Tee home office and hosted by The First Tee of the Northern Nevada and The University of Nevada, Reno. Please notify Derrick Elstob if you are interested in learning when the application for the 2016 Academies become available.