Most sports hold fundraisers to raise money for trips, supplies, or the end of year banquet. Golf, however, has added one more thing to the list: The Ronald McDonald House. 

Head golf coach, Mitchell Jensen, knew he wanted to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity, but had originally chosen prostate cancer research. He opted for the Ronald McDonald House for its local, assured impact on the surrounding community.

 “My heart has always kind of bled for kids that are in need,” Jensen said. “That money goes to benefit kids that are sick or injured, that just can’t afford different care, and I wanted to make sure that those kids had something to their benefit, I guess, from Boswell High School.”

Jensen’s decision to fundraise the community alongside his own sport is unprecedented, as the district often does not have the funding for sports as a whole.

“We need golf bags, we need golf polos, we need golf balls, tees, and the fundraising part of it is super important so we can have those things,” Jensen said. “That being said, I didn’t want to be selfish in the fact that all this money is ours. Like, I feel especially this time of year it’s more important to teach these young people, yes, this money is ours, we raised it, but we’re going to give some back.”

Growing as people as well as athletes is a prevalent part of Jensen’s team. His players bond through the guidance offered through practice, and the familial atmosphere a team provides, in spite of the challenges of the sport. 

“Like our coaches, our staff. We’re all pretty much just a big family,” junior Clayton Wellborn said. “It’s going to be hard, and you’re going to get frustrated, and you want to quit. But if you don’t, and you just put the time in, you’re going to be a lot better and you’re going to like it a lot more.”

Perseverance is one of the many values Jensen emphasizes in his team, alongside everyday kindness. 

“The benefits that I get from coaching are when kids come back years later and say thank you,” Jensen said. ‘“Thank you for what you did. Thank you for what you taught me. It really had an impact on me and it really kind of pulled me out of a crummy situation.’ And as coaches, you don’t know what kids go through. I do my best to say ‘hi’ to every single kid that walks in my door or walks past my door, because that may be the only time they hear that that day.”

The steadfast light that Jensen provides in and out of the classroom is reflected in his players, who have used his team as a way to grow. 

“Put in the work, and you’ll see a definite outcome,” senior Sebastian Valente said. “Whenever I was a freshman, I don’t know, I felt like I was getting treated weirdly against the other kids, but I just put in the work, especially in school and now I’m number one on varsity, and I definitely came a long way for it.”

At the end of the day, Jensen seeks to benefit the future of the community through his players. 

“I wanted our golfers to know that our money that we’ve got is going local,” Jensen said. “That was a big thing for me. That it was going to impact a little kid that is injured, a little kid that is sick, that might not have as much as you, that it’s going to impact them.”