ETHS students run 2nd intro-to-golf camp
Dear Evanston,
Last summer, Thomas Haller, an Evanston Township High School (ETHS) rising senior who is on the ETHS golf team, organized a highly successful free introduction-to-golf camp at Canal Shores Golf Course for kids of color.
The camp is back again, and this year it's open to boys and girls of color ages eight to 13. Thomas and teammate Mia Houseworth are looking for 16 participants.
The camp starts on Tuesday, June 16th and will run every Tuesday and Thursday for eight weeks. Because the State of Illinois allows only eight students per session because of Covid-19 concerns, there will be two time slots: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Thanks to a grant Thomas received from Evanston Cradle to Career's Advocates4Action, the camp is completely free.
The camp will be run by The Golf Practice, which has led many golf camps throughout the North Shore. They will provide clubs to participants (which will be sanitized before use). Kids are welcome to bring their own if they have them.
Students and parents will be required to wear masks when they arrive at the course, but can remove them once they're on the course and are maintaining social-distancing guidelines.
Students and instructors will remain 6 feet apart at all times.
To register for the camp, email Thomas at thomaswhaller@gmail.com.
Please let him know your preferred time slot, as well as your email address, phone number, and your child’s name, age, and gender identification.
There will be paperwork to fill out on the first day of camp.
Drinks and snacks will be provided, and halfway through the camp, campers will be provided with a free golf shirt.
Last year, I asked Thomas what made him decide to start the camp.
"I'm on the golf team and it's very noticeable throughout the north shore that there's a lack of participation of people of color in golf," Thomas told me. "A big reason for this is many haven't gotten the chance to be exposed to golf, so I thought with the help of our community golf course we could help introduce the game to kids with a beginner golf camp. This would help kids who may otherwise not have the opportunity to be introduced to golf and maybe fall in love with it for the rest of their lives."
You can read DE's article from last year here.
Read Geeked on Golf's story about last year's camp.
[photo credit: Geeked on Golf]
