Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
FIRST TEE OF THE LOWCOUNTRY INSTILLS CORE VALUES IN KIDS THROUGH GOLF
The first time Nick Dunham volunteered to teach a program at the First Tee of the Lowcountry, he was hooked.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native came here to pursue a career in the golf industry as a student at Bluffton’s Professional Golfers Career College. What he found at First Tee was a way to use his love of golf to teach kids important life skills through the game.
EMBRACE THESE BENEFITS OF ENJOYING THE OUTDOORS
“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air.”
Healthy and playful advice for 2021, yet written by mid-19th century American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s a direct invitation to embrace the world outside, and studies suggest the elements are powerful medicine.
The Lowcountry has always been a paradise for fishermen and shrimpers, many of whom have made their living on their skill on the water, thanks to the pairing of the tidal marshes and creeks with ample opportunity for deep-sea and freshwater fishing.
And the kayak has long been an excellent mode of transportation in and around the calm waters of Broad Creek and other estuaries separating our sea islands.
BASKETBALL STANDOUTS MAKE MOVE TO THE LOWCOUNTRY
During a time when the sports scene in the Lowcountry was quieter than usual, the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring also brought an influx of next-level basketball talent to the area.
FALL SEASON PRODUCES STATE-TITLE TEAMS
The fall high school sports season began with trepidation and proceeded with cautious optimism. But for a pair of Hilton Head Island teams, it ended in glory.
The Hilton Head Island High School volleyball team capped an incredible season with a South Carolina High School League Class 4A state title in November — the program’s first championship since 2015.
HHI CREW FOSTERS VALUABLE LIFE LESSONS ON THE WATER
Trying to build the next generation of Hilton Head Island’s rowing community was enough of a challenge before the concept of social distancing became a ubiquitous phrase in the vernacular.
But Dave Erdman and Chuck Yocum have kept paddling.
HHI Crew has been a mainstay since 1995 — save for a brief hiatus in the mid-2000s — but the COVID-19 pandemic presented a new challenge, and right when things were really starting to sail. Yocum rejoined the organization in September 2019, and the program flourished, drawing rowers from throughout Beaufort County and across the Savannah River.
GROWING SPORTS PODCAST EMERGES AS A MUST-LISTEN
When Justin Jarrett launched Lowcosports.com in 2017, his vision was to promote the athletes and teams of Beaufort and Jasper counties.
The platform has thrived thanks to Jarrett’s insatiable passion for highlighting the stories of the Lowcountry, and an audience hungry for quality local content.
LOWCOUNTRY FENCERS OFFERS AN ATHLETIC OPTION FOR KIDS TO ACTIVE SENIORS
Most kids tend to get started in sports with the staples — baseball, basketball, soccer — but kids in the Lowcountry have a new option at their disposal, and it has appeal even for children who might not show interest in traditional athletic options.
BICYCLING AS A FAMILY IS OUR FAVORITE ACTIVITY.
Bicycling as a family is our favorite activity. My husband and I have been on bikes together since we started dating and we happily added our son to our riding adventures when he was 9 months old.
We've been on beach cruisers, tandem bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, and cargo bikes. We've ridden in the mountains and on the beach. We’ve biked in the sunshine, in the rain, and a few times in the snow (I don’t recommend).
LOCAL TEAMS READY TO PLAY AFTER PANDEMIC DELAY
While major college leagues around the country were delaying or postponing their football seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic— and while South Carolina’s public schools were pushing back the start of fall practice — the S.C. Independent School Association (SCISA) decided to play.
SCISA athletic director Mike Fanning never wavered from the notion of playing a full season, allowing the state’s private school athletics programs to resume workouts under a set of guidelines to encourage social distancing and numerous best practices to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
