CLEARWATER, Fla. - These guys go way back.

Way back to the time Brian McGibbon was only six years old and offered a lesson to the goat – Jack Nicklaus.

"You know, I was a young kid. I was cocky," McGibbon said. "I was good at golf at that age. Didn’t think twice about it."

• The Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation is celebrating its 40th anniversary
• The Academy's multi-purpose room was rededicated as the Nicklaus Family Center
• The Academy serves students at risk in grades fourth through eighth grade.

And didn’t think twice about charging Jack five dollars for the lesson. Thirty five years ago McGibbon spent the day with Jack and Chi Chi Rodriguez. The golf stars were well into their storied careers, but McGibbon didn’t see stars.

"Two normal people in my life that were a part of my life on an everyday basis," McGibbon said. "I don’t think of them as heroes or superstars or whatnot. Just two people I looked up to that had such an impact on my life."

And he wasn’t the only one. Thanks to the Chi Chi Rodriguez Foundation, hundreds of kids have been impacted in positive ways. Celebrating the foundation’s 40^th anniversary, Chi Chi reminisced about the early beginnings, even gloated about its success.

"Yeah, absolutely, I knew it would be this good," Chi Chi said.

"Chi Chi’s done a great job with the kids," Jack said. "You know, he’s a great person. He’s been a giver all his life."

The sport that made household names of Jack and Chi Chi plays an integral role in the development of academy students.

"Golf is a vehicle to teach them the lessons of life and to get them out to be contributing citizens," Jack said.

"Golf is a sport that will give you character," Chi Chi said. "In golf, you never lose if you try to win with honor. Somebody else may shoot a better score , but you don’t lose."

As one of the foundation’s students in the early years, McGibbon still draws from his experience.

"I thought I was out here playing golf," McGibbon said. "And 35 years later, it wasn’t golf. It was life lessons that I had no idea I was learning."

Honor, integrity, respect…core values to carry throughout a lifetime. Jack Nicklaus, an early contributor to Chi Chi’s foundation, believes in those values and what they can do for children.

"From wherever they came from to wherever they’re going, it’s a journey and we want that journey to be a good journey for them," Jack said. "And for each and every one of them to be a better citizen and to be able to hold their head up in life and say, you know, I contributed and left this place better than when I came.