Writing Assignment for Internship

AJGA Writing Assignment/Portfolio

Jack was a terrific athlete growing up he loved playing hockey, basketball, soccer and lacrosse. Unfortunately, Jack never realized his passion for sports would be stripped from him so soon. Jack was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at birth, and the disease progressed much faster than anyone could have imagined. At age thirteen Jack no longer had the lung function to participate in any of the sports he came to love.

Even if he could no longer participate Jack was always a fan of all sports. In the summer of 2008 Jack stumbled upon a golf tournament when he was flipping through channels, it was the 108th U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. After seventy-one holes the great Tiger Woods was one stroke behind Rocco Mediate. On the seventy-second hole of the championship Woods hit an approach shot to twelve-feet from the pin leaving him with a birdie putt to force a playoff. Jack looked on as Woods in his signature red polo nailed that putt and celebrated by double clutching with his putter in hand and his head faced towards the sky. Woods went on to win that championship, making it his fourteenth career major title and suddenly Jack wanted to learn the game of golf.

Golf was a sport Jack could play, it doesn’t require any running and if winded he could use a golf cart. Jack convinced his dad to start taking lessons with him, after their first lesson Jack turned to his dad: “My arms are aching like you wouldn’t believe” he said. However, Jack wasn’t giving up he was determined to stick with golf because it was one sport he knew could never be taken from him.

Around four-years after Jack started playing golf his lungs had deteriorated so much that he needed to use oxygen around-the-clock. This never stopped him from playing the game he loved; he started playing while wearing fifteen-pound oxygen tanks in a backpack around his shoulders.

At that point it became obvious that if Jack didn’t receive a lung transplant soon he was at serious risk for losing his life. In the summer of 2015 at age nineteen Jack received his lung transplant, the one thing that got him through the recovery was playing golf once again. His doctors told him that he needed to wait nine-months after the surgery to resume playing golf, Jack started playing again after just two months.

One year later Jack has resumed to his life as a college student when he receives a phone call. On the other end of the line it is the Make-A-Wish foundation offering him and one guest the opportunity to play the most prestigious golf course in the world, Augusta National. Three weeks later Jack and his father travel to Augusta, GA to take part in a once in a lifetime round of golf. Greeted at the first hole by the PA announcer Jack approaches the first tee. After placing his tee in the ground Jack turns to his father and said: “I want to look out one more time. I’m not going to see this again.” Jack shot a 109, but that didn’t matter. He had just played the same course that his hero Tiger Woods was named masters champion four times. Jack was finally at ease, enjoying himself for the first time after facing so many hardships in his young life.

Portfolio

http://zacharybassin1.wixsite.com/thebasement- Sports and pop culture blog I created completely on my own, all articles are written by myself.

http://scarredforlife.wixsite.com/scarred-for-life – Blog created completely on my own about overcoming my own medical obstacles, all articles are written by myself.