LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sports can offer an outlet for kids of all ages and National Youth Sports Week is the perfect time to shine a light on getting out and getting active.
The YMCA of Greater Louisville offers programs for kids of all ages and skill levels so that they can get involved and reap the benefits of participating in team sports.
“The education, the ABCs of what happens in the schoolhouse are obviously very important, but the social element, the teamwork element, that independent sort of testing your own mental emotional boundaries, you get that in sports,” said Alli Stack, one of the regional sports directors at the YMCA.
Stack works at the Bullitt County YMCA and also coaches soccer. She says that youth sports have a significant impact on childhood development, both with their mental health and physical health.
“You know you could just see a wallflower blossom. It teaches you leadership and it teaches you to set goal, to challenge yourself, character. You know, again, talking about being a gracious winner and a graceful loser that’s all about character,” said Stack.
That’s something that YMCA says is part of its mission.
Joshua Pitchford works as the regional sports director in Oldham County and says that youth development is something that ‘The Y’ stresses. Pitchford says he grew up playing football and now he’s teaching his players the same skills he learned as a kid.
“I was playing sports in high school and middle school and all that stuff and I just, I really developed physically, mentally, socially through sports,” Pitchford said.
“We have kids who are now learning routes, we have kids that are learning how to catch a football properly, we have kids who are learning to throw it properly. I get super excited about it which makes the kids super excited about it and of course they’re going home and telling their parents, ‘Can we work on that? I want to get ready for flag.’ And it’s just awesome to see the excitement is there and their dedication to the sport is there,” he continued.
The YMCA of Greater Louisville offers baseball, basketball, field hockey, soccer, swimming, and lacrosse. Recently the local YMCA started offering NFL Flag Football. Stack says that partnership allows kids to wear actual NFL logos when they play. She says that encourages these kids to dream big.
“With NFL Flag, these kids are actually putting on NFL jerseys. So talk about, you know, being able to envision yourself as a professional athlete. I think probably any amateur athlete envisions themselves as a pro at some point or another. But to actually wear the jersey, you know there’s even more of a sense of sort of ownership and possibility and these kids are really excited about it,” Stack said.
That can be a real motivating factor for these kids, and once they’ve got the itch to play it can grow into something else.
“You can see that look in their eye when it clicks in that moment when they scored that first goal, made that first defensive save, and you can just see that they’re committed now. They’re excited, they’re engaged, they want to be here, and as a coach that makes you want to keep doing it,” said Stack.
The YMCA of Greater Louisville says they offer programs for kids of all ages and skill levels. They are also looking for volunteers to coach teams and hiring referees to officiate games.
If you're interested in checking out the different youth sports programs the YMCA has to offer, click here.