New Y Program Teaches Teamwork and Skills at Four Local Schools

More than 240 students from four local schools now have a year of team experience under their belts –where before they had none — after participating in a new Longmont YMCA Youth Sports program, “Team Sports for All”.  (more)

How did this come about?

More than a year ago, PE Teachers from four Title I, bilingual elementary schools delivered a compelling message to the Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA of Longmont:  a significant portion of their students had little or no team sports experience. 

According to the teachers, many of these students had not learned concepts such as fair play, teamwork and sportsmanship.  These same students often lacked structured after school and physical activity and the discipline that organized sports can provide. 

These teachers then asked the Longmont YMCA to help – and to partner with them to close this critical gap in children’s development.

The YMCA responded by establishing a low cost, year-round school based sport team program at four Title I schools including fall soccer, winter basketball, spring soccer and summer softball.  The teams were promoted to the entire K-5 student body, and the response was enthusiastic and immediate.  The Foothills United Way Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, Daniels Fund and the Longmont Legacy Fund were among the organizations who provided funding.

The result:  three age appropriate teams per school were created for a total of 12 new teams. A total of 135 children were placed on school-based teams each season, exceeding our goal to involve a minimum of 80 children. To date, “YMCA Team Sports for All” has enrolled more than 240 kids.

“YMCA Team Sports for All”  has been received with high enthusiasm by school administrators, PE Teachers, children and their parents.  The success of the program was a direct result of the partnership between local schools and the YMCA.  Parents and PE Teachers alike welcomed the YMCA emphasis on core values (Caring, Honesty, Respect & Responsibility), the Y team sports ethic that “everyone plays”, role modeling in good sportsmanship and teamwork as well as skilled, balanced coaching.