On Monday, golfers in Redding teed it up for a good cause: to help area student-athletes get off to a good start in college.
The major goal of the tournament at Riverview Golf and Country Club was to collect money for scholarships against the backdrop of friendly competition.
Players in the 2023 Nor-Cal Retired Coaches Association Scholarship Golf Tournament at Riverview Golf and Country Club in Redding, Calif. on Monday, July 31, 2023. (KRCR)
The annual Nor-Cal Retired Coaches Association (Nor-Cal RCA) Tournament raised around $300,000 for 150 student-athletes. It all started more than a decade ago, when a couple of the coaches banded together to give back.
“We were down there near the snack shack over on Eastside Road and we just started having Monday breakfasts together. And then, we just decided, ‘let’s do try something.’ The tournament, itself, is mushroom. Over 140 players. We have to get carts from all over the Northstate, Wilcox Golf, Gold Hills…wherever a cart’s available, we’ll bring it in and use it at the tournament. So, it’s just kind of mushroom,” said Lon McCasland, president of the Nor-Cal RCA. “You’ve seen it, Mike, you’ve been here the whole time!”
Two college-bound Enterprise High graduates were volunteers, measuring closest to the pin. Like the other scholarship winners, they can get $2,000 the first year and another $1,000 the second year.
“Redding has a very tight-knit community with sports and the [Nor-Cal RCA] helped make it stronger. The scholarship money is obviously nice, and very helpful, but, besides that, they just give you another community to be a part of going into college and going into other places and exploring your future,” Boise State-bound graduate Tobie Dendas told KRCR on Monday.
“I’m going to Cal Poly this fall and it basically pays for my meal plan. So they pretty much paid for my food for two years!” Aiden Brown told KRCR.
The retired coaches will collect the money raised on Monday and, after expenses, put it towards next year’s scholarships—to be awarded in the spring.
