Nick Nelson turned pro at the age of 16; passing the P.G.A. training school at Lilleshall, England in 1977. At the age of 18 he became the youngest fully qualified member of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland. Nick competed in professional golf tournaments in Europe and won the 1980 West of England PGA Assistants Championship and placed third in the West of England PGA Championship in the same year. He was voted most improved assistant by the Bournemouth and District Golfers Alliance in 1979. Nick immigrated to America in 1982 where he was regional sales manager for a well known Golf Company and subsequently co-founded a golf club manufacturing company.

Edgar Daniel Lopez is one of our Campus Coordinators at TFT. He graduated from CSUMB with a Collaborative Health and Human Services degree. He enjoys spending time outdoors and playing soccer.

Jessica Abe is the Program Manager for The First Tee of Monterey County.  Jessica graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay with honors in May 2007 receiving her BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. She is excited and ambitious about assisting TFTMC in the development of the Future Citizens Foundation’s mission with a focus on The First Tee of Monterey County programs.

Jessica started in July of 2007 as the Clubhouse Programs Coordinator thru 2013 and continued as the Future Citizens Coordinator thru October 2016.  Jessica recently achieved Recognized status thru the Home Office as a The First Tee Coach in August of 2017.  As the Program Manager, some of the areas Jessica oversees include the following: • Golf & Life Skills Experience• Staff & Coach Development •Character Development • Program Scheduling • Break Week Camps  • Special Events • Outreach, Programming, and Scheduling for Alisal Unified School District (AUSD), King City Unified School District (KCUSD), Greenfield Unified School District (GFUSD), Monterey County Unified School District (MCUSD), Salinas City Unified School District (SCUSD), North Monterey County Unified School District (NMCUSD).

I initially became involved with The First Tee in 2007 when collaborating with our Executive Director Nick Nelson in the launching of a new Mentoring Program a precursor to our Pay It Forward Program. I was the Family Services Specialist at Frank Paul School and assisted in pairing one of our students with a volunteer at TFTMC. It was a great experience due to the role each one of us made to have an impact in the child’s life. My partnership with TFTMC through Alisal Unified School District (AUSD) paved the way for me in ultimately getting hired to work for this great organization. I graduated from Hartnell College, receiving my AA in Behavioral Science. I have been working at TFTMC since 2011. I am bilingual Spanish/English. I am the go-to Campus Coordinator (CC) for the following: • Membership Applications • AUSD Liaison • Parent Liaison • Community Outreach. Along with four other Campus Coordinators (CCs) I can be contacted for the following: • Summer Camp programs • Fundraisers • Special events collaboration, etc. I enjoy being part of a team that has a big impact in our community. My experience and lifetime residency in Salinas has given me the opportunity to offer our community excellent service through The First Tee of Monterey County.

Jacob has been a part of The First Tee of Monterey County staff since 2008! He found The First Tee as a senior in high school beginning his path of youth development as a volunteer. Since then, he has developed into a Campus Coordinator for The First Tee of Monterey County as well as an official Recognized The First Tee Coach. He have been a resident of Salinas, Ca for his entire life making him aware of how important it is to get our youth to become great citizens within our community and for their future.

Coach Oscar Pioquinto has been a part of The First Tee of Monterey County since the summer of 2014. After joining the team as a part time assistant coach during the yearly summer camp, coach Oscar decided to stay on board to be a part of the impact the program brings to the young adults in the Monterey County. As a lead coach he has taken on the responsibility of the Boys Only program, Tournament Club, Inter District League Tournament, and Teens Class. His personal goal at The First Tee is to make an impact to as many young adults that he encounters and stride to be the best coach he could possibly be with the training he receives. From Tulare County to Monterey County Oscar has always worked to make an impact in his community and is currently pursuing a bachelor of science (BS) degree with a minor in Community Health Education at California State University of Monterey Bay with an expected graduation date of Spring 2018.

In 2015 Cristian saw opportunity to become part of a bigger picture, as a First Tee Coach Cristian empowers the youth in the program to work on Life skills, Core Values and Golf Skills so that they may reach their goals. Being part of Certification at the Monterey County Chapter Cristian strives to motivate the youth to take charge of their own progress within The First Tee program. Growing up in the East side of Salinas Cristian feels a close connection to the three elementary schools that he leads: Alisal Community, Cesar Chavez Elementary and Jesse G Sanchez.

Jorge “J.J.” Sanchez, Golf & Life Skills Coach began his involvement as a participant with the First Tee of Monterey County in 2004.  In 2010, he worked over the summer as a lead coach.  He transitioned to a year-round coaching role in 2015.  Currently, J.J. is the lead coach for MLK Elementary, Boronda Meadows Elementary, and La Mesa Elementary on the weekdays.  On weekends J.J. leads the Teens Only programming. As a Level 1 trained coach, J.J. is looking to further his coaching career while impacting youth every day.

I have been a coach at The First Tee of Monterey County since 2011. Currently, I am the go-to person for Boys only on Saturday, the King City classes, and am the lead coach for Fremont elementary. I am also a student at Monterey Peninsula College working on my degree in business. I was a participant of The First Tee of Monterey County and now I aspire to pass the values that the program taught me onto the youth of the community.