South Sound YMCA Keeps Kids Active With Winter Sports

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It is a common problem for parents in the Pacific Northwest. Winter is cold and rainy and kids that were busy and active all summer and fall are getting stir-crazy, watching too much television and playing too many video games. They need exercise and the chance to stay busy and active.

This winter Thurston County kids have the opportunity to avoid the winter doldrums and play on a great sports team with outstanding coaches, and a wonderful group of kids. Practice and games are a time commitment for families, but worth it because of the joy we see in our kids when they play, and the great skills they learn.

The South Sound YMCA, in addition to offering the traditional winter sports line-up of basketball and volleyball, is excited to announce a partnership with the Chinqually Booster Club to coach and support Futsal, also known as indoor soccer. Chinqually has never had the opportunity to offer Futsal to their teams, but the partnership with the Y allows them to make this available to pre-K through 5th grade age kids.

“It is a great opportunity for kids who want to keep up their soccer skills during the winter and to learn great ball skills,” said Travis Lensing, part of the YMCA Youth Development team. Futsal is an Olympic Sport and is played with two teams of five players each, one of whom is goal keeper. Compared with outdoor soccer, the hard surface, smaller ball, and different rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces. The Y encourages Chinqually coaches to join this partnership and to bring their fall and spring teams with them. They will be joining a dedicated group of volunteers.

Great Coaches Keep Kids Coming Back

Great coaches are one of the reasons for the success of Y Sports. Coaches must have three references and a background check. “When we call references as part of the extensive background check on new coaches we are thrilled with the feedback that we get,” said Aquatics Director, Tanya Anderson.

“They are beyond coaches, they are mentors as well. They create a following and they make an impact in these kids’ lives. It only takes one season to get these coaches hooked. The affirmations from the parents and the kids make the coaches want to do this again,” said Lensing. When they first start coaching they aren’t sure what it will be like, but then they start receiving thank you cards and artwork from the kids that they coach and they realize the impact that they make, which keeps them coming back.

Partnerships within the Community: Lacey Parks & Rec, Chinqually Booster Club & Nova School

“A great benefit to coaches is that they can pick and choose practice times and location that works with their schedule. We will make it fit for the coach.  We are in every elementary school in Thurston County. We work with the schools to contract out gym space,” said Anderson.

Also new this season is a partnership between the YMCA and Lacey Parks and Rec. “They take sign-ups for basketball, 2nd 3rd, 4th 5th. This is fabulous. We’re helping them and they are helping kids. They’ve built up such a great relationship with North Thurston Public Schools. We are both a values based program so their goals align well with the Y mission. Those kids will have a chance to gain skills with their friends and classmates,” said Anderson.  The Y is also partnering with the Nova School to provide volleyball and basketball for the private middle school.

Core Values: The Heart of Y Sports

The YMCA four core values are at the heart of their sports program: Caring, Honesty, Responsibility and Respect, and these values are instilled in every game and every practice. “Give every child an opportunity to play. Teach good skills and techniques and sportsmanship. The older you get the more competitive it becomes,” said Lensing.

In the younger grades the referees and coaches teach skills and techniques. It is not about competition at that point. Fifth grade is the cap for the majority of sports, with the exception of volleyball and basketball. “We want to build the skills and the confidence that allows them to move on to school sports and recreational sports. If they want to focus on the competitive side a little more they can get into that we are happy to feed these kids into. Even in some of our middle school and high school kids do this as an additive to their school sports program. This is an option for them to get more playing time,” said Anderson.

Registration for Y Winter Sports starts on December 18th for the season which runs from January 14 through March 2.

For more information, call the South Sound YMCA at 360.357.6609 or visit their Youth Sports website.

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