It wasn’t planned that way, but it turned out to be very nice timing.
On Sunday, the day the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy was holding its second season wrap-up and “graduation” at CommonGround Golf Course, the Academy produced its 1,000th caddie loop of 2013.
Perhaps it was just a fitting punctuation mark for a year that has included highlight after highlight.
“From my standpoint, we have great quality kids who are working hard and doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Geoff (Duffy) Solich, who with brother George lent their name and financial support to the Academy. “From where I stand, I just see success.”
The Solich Academy at CommonGround, which many consider a model for similar programs, uses caddying and the game of golf to help teach kids valuable leadership skills. The Academy promotes the use of caddies by paying all of their base fees. It also trains teenagers who eventually will be available to caddie at other courses in the Denver metro area.
The Solich Academy is designed to teach the participating young men and women — many of whom come from families with considerable financial need — the value of a strong work ethic, social interaction and perseverance. Besides caddying, the teenagers are required to participate in community service by working with one of the junior outreach programs with which CommonGround partners.
Considering it just made its debut in 2012, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy has drawn considerable attention with its work. This year, 31 kids participated in the program and one accumulated 54 caddie loops at CommonGround, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA. Nearly 600 golfers at the course took an Academy caddie at some point this year.
While 2012 was a success in many respects, the inroads made in 2013 by the Academy have been eye-catching. Here are some of the highlights:
— Just last month, the Academy received invaluable national publicity when the Golf Channel aired a 7-minute, 46-second feature story on the initiative. To watch it, CLICK HERE.
— In June, a similarly complimentary story was televised locally on Fox 31 News.
— Earlier this year, the Daniels Fund gave the Academy a $25,000 grant.
— Late in the winter, for the first time a Solich Academy caddie (Asni Solomon) received an Evans Caddie Scholarship at the University of Colorado. The Evans Scholarship pays all the tuition and housing for the caddies who receive it. And one of the aims of the Academy is to get more qualified candidates for the Scholarship, which is national in scope and dates back to 1930.
— Notably, Solomon told her story — and the opportunities she received from the Solich Academy — as a featured speaker in front of the 1,200 people who attended the ACE Scholarships Spring Luncheon. Among those on hand were former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and many prominent members of the Denver metro community.
— One of the people who thought enough of the Solich Academy and its mission to come to CommonGround to speak to the caddies was former Denver Broncos standout John Lynch, who made an extended appearance in June.
“I’m absolutely thrilled” with how the Academy is coming along, businessman and philanthropist George Solich said Sunday. “To see all phases of this coming together — the number of loops, the Leadership Academy, the giving back to the community — it’s been unbelievable. Then to be out here taking the kids caddying has just been really special. Every one of them that I’ve been out with has been just a terrific kid, and they’re really good caddies. So I think we’re doing something right.
“I feel like we’re really hitting it on all cylinders right now, and I think people get what this is about.” (The Solich brothers are pictured above on Sunday, with George in the red shirt.)
On Sunday, the kids in the program, along with their families, organizers and supporters celebrated Year 2 of the Academy. The youngsters participated in a Caddie Olympics (pictured at top and below), then there was a buffet dinner followed by a recap of the year, individual recognition of the caddies and an awards presentation.
From here, three more Academy caddies are expected to soon apply for Evans Scholarships at CU, and eight of the caddies or so will move on to courses such as Cherry Hills, Denver and Lakewood Country Clubs — and possibly others — to continue their caddying in future summers.
“It was just a great building year from Year 1,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate. “We got our 1,000th loop today. That’s probably the most important number, but the quality of kids this year was significantly better, partly because we had a number coming back for their second year so they were not only better caddies but they helped bring along the younger kids. And we had a really, really strong class of first-year caddies. And, like anything, you just learn what works and what doesn’t work.”
The one thing Mate and the Soliches would like to see moving forward is a larger percentage of the golfers at CommonGround utilizing caddies through the Academy program. But at Colorado public courses — like CommonGround — using caddies certainly hasn’t been the norm in recent decades.
“I would like to see it become the culture of CommonGround where it’s known and people come here because of the caddie program,” Mate said. “I don’t know that that’s happening yet. The people who are already here who embrace the mission are loving it.
“That’s the thing the Golf Channel story will do is hopefully spread the word to other parts of the country that hey, caddie programs can work. It takes a little different model than what it used to, and the economic barriers are significant, but this program has proven that if you can mitigate the economics, it works.”
With what the Solich Academy has accomplished in its first two years, the Soliches see big things ahead. Besides everything else the program brings to the table, it can open up doors to kids who might not otherwise be able to go to college.
“I think we’re going to see the effects of this here very soon, where we’re going to have to export Evans Scholars to other universities (because) we’re just going to have so many candidates,” George Solich opined. “We’re going to have to do one of two things: expand the (CU Evans Scholars) house or start exporting them. I think either of those is a possibility. It’s a great problem to have.
“I’m thrilled we have so many great kids here (at the Academy) — the ‘three D’ kids: determined, dedicated and driven. They’re all just great. And I think that’s kind of lifted the boat. Having all these great kids is making the program everything it should be.”
