File Photo
Participants and instructors in the Vic Johnson Junior Golf Clinic.
i>
File Photo
Aumong the participants in Sam Pury ear's group was Chris Roane (first on right).
Cjinic
from /Hige BI
four-week program. Of that total,
there were 15 girls, in grades three
through nine.
"This was our best year for
attracting and keeping girls in the
program." Johnson said. "They
came in, tried it out and stuck with
it"
Sticking to a task is one of the
goals of the program, according to
Johnson. Exposure to golf and
other areas is another.
"This gives them a chance to
learn about golf," Johnson said.
"We're not teaching them golf so
that they can become a pro. We
want them to receive exposure,
and once they learn the game they
might want to go further and play
on their own."
Many of the kids who have
come through the program have
done just that. Some have gone on
to try out for their high school
teams. Others have taken it a step
further.
Johnson and his staff try to
make the most of their time with
the kids. They receive two hours
of instruction on both Tuesday
and Wednesday. The sessions get
under way at 10 a.m. an^JJast until
noon.
"That's about as long as you
can keep kids involved," Johnson
said. "As hot as it has.been this
summer, that's taken a lot for them
to make it through the program."
The staff (Sam Puryear, Jim
Conrad, Robert Bethea. Donald
Evans and Edward Frazier) has
been together four years now and
that too has been a key, according
to Johnson.
"They really help out a lot,"
Johnson said. 'They've gone
through the process and they
understand what has to be done."
At the conclusion of this
year's camp Johnson had six
golfers who were ready to play on
regular courses. Arrangements
have been made for each of them
to play at Winston Lake Golf
Course two days per week. There
are also several young players in
the group who Johnson said he
believes will be outstanding play
ers when they get older. One of
them is Chris Roane, who will be
a sixth-grader at Hanes Middle
School when school starts next
month.
The kids who participate in
the program are from four areas
targeted by Johnson. This year the
I ?
program consisted of 15-20 kids
from the Sims Center in Happy
Hill, Reynolds Park Recreation
Center, The Winston Lake Family
YMCA and Emmanuel Baptist
Church.
"We have gotten good cooper
ation from the centers," Johnson
said. "The directors have done an
excellent job of working with the
kids in different programs. They
really have a lot of structured pro
grams in which the kids can par
ticipate."
Golf
from page BI
Both have had a busy sum
mer schedule. Each enjoys par
ticipating in other sports such
as basketball, football and vol
leyball as well as playing musi
cal instruments. Joseph plays
the clarinet and Torrence plays
the saxophone. In addition to
working with the golf program,
they attended band camp this' 1
summer at UNC-Greensboro.
Torrence also participated in a
science camp on the Wake For
est campus this summer.
Although they've been
playing golf only a little more
than a year, both say they plan
on pursuing it in high school
and college. Joseph said he
plans on trying out for the team
at North Forsyth.
Gene Williams, one of the
HAWS instructors, said he
believes the two could have
careers in golf if they continue
working hard at it and pro
gressing.
"Right now they're doing
really good," Williams said.
"You would really be surprised
at how well these kids and the
other kids in the program have
taken to golf. All they really
need is the proper exposure and
training."
That combination Lvthc key
to success, according to
Mohammed Herb, who runs the
program.
"We have a lot of kids with
the talent but they haven't had
a chance to get the instruction
and training," he said. "That's
why we are so adamant about
providing it."
mmmm
Photo by I mas Sivad
Joseph Martin follows
through on his swing during
a practice session.
JPress Box
from page B1
said.
The staff has split the partic
ipants into four groups.
"The first level consists of
the ones who don't know any
thing and are starting from
scratch," he said. "In level two
we teach the basics. It's all fun
damentals. In level three we
take the ones who show poten
tial and put them on the HAWS
golf team. They go out and play
on golf courses (Grandview on
Tuesday and Winston Lake on
Thursday). The ones in level
four know the rules, the eti
quette of the game and are
ready to play by themselves.
We let them go out to tourna
ments and urge them to play for
their school teams."
The level three and four par
ticipants make up the team that
plays against other Housing
Authority programs. This year
they will travel to Rock Hill.
S.C.. and Durham for tourna
ments. Also for the first time
the program will host a USGA
sanctioned tournament to raise
money for its operation.
"The instructors and myself
are really looking forward to
the challenge of putting on a
tournament," Herb said. "There
are a lot of people who want to
help junior golf fttr minority
kids but they don't know how.
This is one way they can by
supporting the tournament."
Another of the keys to the
program has been the relation
ship with the local housing
authority. Bill McLean and
Wesley Chapman have been
instrumental in keeping the
funding along with interested
kids coming to the program
each year. "There are quite a
few people working with the
Housing Authority who have
been instrumental in making
this possible," Herb said.
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