Paso Robles Golf Club teaches free class to Liberty school students
Paso Robles Golf Club Director of Golf Mike Brabenec, center, leads a Liberty High School P.E. class at the club on Friday. Photo by Heather Young
Every week for the past school year, Liberty High School students have taken part in an eight- or nine-week session at the Paso Robles Golf Club as part of their physical education class.
The partnership between the school and business started when Liberty School history teacher Chris Cline was assigned to teach P.E. for the first half of the school year.
“I was looking for activities to do and [Mike Brabenec] offered the First Tee program to us,” Cline said.
Twice a week after school, the golf club off the First Tee Junior Golf Program. The program is offered to children under the age of 10 on Tuesday afternoons and to those aged 10 to 17 on Thursday afternoons. Liberty School’s P.E. class goes every Friday from 12:20 to 1 p.m. Brabenec, director of golf, leads each class, which he models after the First Tee program.
Each week the program touches on core values. The last class of the term on Thursday focused on sportsmanship, honesty and judgement. The 16 students were split into two teams that had to strategize together while they played a game of tic tac toe. Each player took a spot on the to the side of the board on the green and aimed for a specific square. A team won the score when it got at least four balls in one square.
“They’re going to talk to each other while they’re doing this,” Brabenec said. “They have to talk. It teaches them a lot of skills — how to communicate, how to plan.”
Cline said that the partnership will likely continue when school resumes in the fall. While the school takes the summer offer, the golf club will offer a summer session of the program on Tuesdays from 9 to 10:30 a.m. from June 23 to Aug. 18 for those 10 and younger and on Thursdays from 9 to 10:30 a.m. from June 18 to Aug. 13 for those 11 and older.
“It’s a great program,” Paso Robles Golf Club owner Mike Rawitser said.
“It give them exposure to golf in a real fun way,” Paso Robles Golf Club Director of Business Development Mike Bremer added.
Liberty High School is a continuation school for students in the 10th through 12th grades and are at least 16 years old. The school has about 130 students.
