When Rebeka Filko first stepped onto a First Tee – Sarasota/Manatee golf course, she was 6 years old, newly arrived from Slovakia and barely spoke a word of English. Her family was in town visiting from overseas, and her parents signed Rebeka and her sister up for Girls’ Golf Summer Camp.
Nine years later, Rebeka is one of her chapter’s most dedicated junior coaches, a varsity golf team captain and one of this year’s First Tee Girls’ Academy participants.
“I genuinely don’t think I would’ve achieved even half the things I have done if it wasn’t for First Tee,” she said.
Finding her voice
Now a high school sophomore, Rebeka describes herself as a reserved kid growing up — so quiet that many of her classmates didn’t even realize she spoke English. First Tee became the place where that started to change, she said.
“The coaches were always so open and bubbly, and they gave me the confidence to keep opening up,” Rebeka said. She decided she had two choices: stay quiet or push herself to connect with new people. She chose the latter, a decision she credits with reshaping far more than her golf game.
Rebeka began volunteering as a junior coach at age 12 and now does so nearly every Saturday morning, helping lead games, teach fundamentals and keep classes on track.
Leadership on and off the course
Rebeka’s drive to serve others extends well beyond the golf course. She was central to launching the girls’ golf team at her middle school, helping to recruit and mentor teammates who had never picked up a club before.
She now holds a leadership role in her school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter and volunteers with her church’s children’s ministry, where she says she’s learned what it really means to make someone feel seen.
She further honed her leadership skills at the First Tee Girls’ Academy, where female mentors led workshops on topics like networking, building confidence and advocating for yourself and others.
Rebeka aims to become a pediatric surgeon, a goal she’s already building toward with advanced coursework in math and science. She sees a direct line between that ambition and her years at First Tee.
“Because of First Tee, I found my voice,” she said. “It gave me the confidence to build friendships with people that are now some of the best people, I have become a coach and even taken on leadership positions that I would have never even thought about.”
Learn more about the First Tee Girls’ Academy and find a First Tee chapter near you.
