Teach, Grow, Achieve Program Combines Sports With Life Lessons

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Teach, Grow, Achieve program provides summer camps that keep students sharp once school's out.

The kids may be young, but they've figured out something important about sinking a putt.

"It can make such a difference when you take a little bit deeper look at things – why we're hitting the ball in a certain place versus right at the hole and why that is going to work a little bit better for them," said Alex Tegels, with Central Hennepin County TGA.

That's what the Teach, Grow, Achieve camps are designed to do – combine lifelong sports like tennis and golf with academic and life lessons.

"If it's flat putting, you just aim straight at it, but sometimes it's not," camper Carter Christie said.

Golf is an excellent teaching tool, especially for applying concepts like physics, geometry, anything else you can think of. For kids, especially, learning is a lot more fun when you don't even know you're doing it.

"And it's really appealing to parents because they love that aspect of getting them to think outside the box," Tegels said.

It's never too early to develop critical thinking skills or to provide an outlet for competition.

"Sometimes, you make really hard putts and you get really excited and it distracts people," Christie said.

"We do try to make it really fun by doing contests and games," Tegels added.

For more information on the program, visit TGA's website.