Dobmeier gets chance of a lifetime thanks to The First Tee

By Jerry Ratcliffe
Courtesy of The Daily Progress

When Charlottesville’s Eric Dobmeier wrote an essay to explain how The First Tee program helped him cope with life’s problems, he had no idea that it would lead to a meeting with golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.

The 17-year-old who was home-schooled, was one of six boys from around the nation chosen as semifinalists in the sixth annual RBS Achievers of the Year competition, a program created by the Royal Bank of Scotland in conjunction with Charter One and Citizens Bank, to recognize outstanding participants of The First Tee and to help fund their education after high school.

Dobmeier, who has participated in The First Tee of Charlottesville program, won a $2,000 scholarship, and a trip to New York City in June where he and his father, Stephen, were given a personalized tour and a visit to the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” Dobmeier said. “First thing I got to do when we arrived was to meet Jack Nicklaus and watch him turning on the Empire State Building lights.”

No sooner had that happened, but the group was on its way to the top of the building for a TV event with Nicklaus, a strong supporter of The First Tee program.

“Meeting Jack Nicklaus was really impressive,” Dobmeier said. “Just standing there beside him, I was nervous, like, ‘Wow, I don’t know what to do now.’ It was cool to hear him talk at the banquet about how he and his wife became involved with The First Tee and how much they enjoy the program.”

The First Tee program not only teaches the game of golf to youngsters but also emphasizes nine core values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

Among the highlights of his trip was not having to stand in line for anything, getting a great tour of the Big Apple by those who know the city, visiting Ground Zero, meeting Nicklaus and getting to watch Tiger Woods play during the Open. If the local program needs a spokesman, Dobmeier would be a good choice. He is a good example of how The First Tee of Charlottesville has helped local kids.

“It’s a great program and I would recommend it to anybody and everybody,” he said. “Now that I’m able to coach other kids, I hope I can pass along some of the things I’ve learned to those kids and hope they enjoy it as much as I have.”

Dobmeier said he joined the program because he wanted to be able to beat his dad at golf, but it evolved into much more than that.

“I used to get frustrated because I like things to go perfectly, and when they don’t, I’d throw a temper tantrum. But what I learned was to keep trying. It was very humbling, but I’ve kind of learned to accept things and not let my head take over my game, and that made it easier to stay calm,” Dobmeier said. “That carried over from golf to life, so that when something doesn’t go right it’s easier not to lose my cool, but instead learn how to fix the problem. It has helped me a lot in dealing with things.”

One of those things was a health condition that improved greatly after he joined The First Tee of Charlottesville, the gist of his award-winning essay.

“For a while I wasn’t taking good care of myself and letting my Cystic Fibrosis control my life, and that was only hurting me in the long run because I wasn’t as healthy as I should have been,” Dobmeier said. “But the last two years, I have taken control and gotten serious about my medicine, treatments, going to the gym, running, keeping my lungs clean. It has done great things.”

He said he can run a few miles or walk 18 holes without any problems breathing, as opposed to before when he couldn’t handle the burden.

Dobmeier, who is fascinated with cars, has a goal of attending a welding school and BMW technician school to secure his future in that business.