In light of our upcoming Joy House Open Disc Golf Tournament, we thought it we be fun to look back on the journey of where it all started back in 2015 when the boy’s home first tried their hands at disc golf. For more information about our upcoming tournament, please click HERE
Disc Discipleship
Our Boys Enjoying Disc Golf – By: Richard Metcalf
Disc golf is a game that has been around for over thirty years, but lately seems to be becoming popular with younger generations in their teens and twenties. I was introduced to disc golf a couple of years ago by two friends that I went to church with. I immediately fell in love with the game, even though I was not that good. There are three reasons why I love disc golf; it’s competitive, active, and cheap. To me, it’s one of the perfect games to introduce to the boys at the Joy House. Our residents in the boy’s home have varying abilities and likes. Disc golf helps give us something that is competitive, active, easy to learn and not too intimidating because all of the boys are typically on level playing ground as most of them have never played before.
The first time I took the guys to play disc golf, a couple of them saw woods and walking and thought for certain they were going to hate it. After playing our first round the boys were hooked, especially when some of our less active residents beat a couple of the more active residents. The boys and I have enjoyed playing at various public parks including Sequoyah and Oregon, especially when we get to meet up with some friends and mentors that join in on the game. The greatest blessing has been the relationships that have formed between the boys and Christian mentors who have been willing to invest their time and energy in encouraging our residents while playing the game, or during a post-game chat over ice cream.
Recently we were contacted by a couple of men who heard by word of mouth about our ministry and the boy’s interest in the game. These men wanted to encourage the boys and make it even easier for us to enjoy this pastime, so they blessed us with a gracious donation of 125 discs and two portable baskets. Now we don’t have to be at a park to enjoy the game, we can practice right here on the Joy House campus. I would like to thank Darryl Kerlin, John Helton, and Will Knox for their willingness to give their time to teach the boys about disc golf and so much more. Here is what some of our boys have to say about their disc golf experience:
“I always have a great time doing disc golf! It’s always fun with my house dad. He taught me how to play and ever since I’ve loved it. Whenever the boy’s house plays, we all have a really good time. It was
“My favorite part about disc golf is spending time together and having fun.” – Shannon
“Disc golf is very fun and exciting. I’ve learned that I’m very good at this game after Mr. Richard taught me to play. I’ve loved it since.” – Chase
“When, I went for the first time, I was terrible but the funny part about it; I know how to throw a disc. I am pretty good at this and enjoy it.” – Cameron
