It's Basketball Season at the Y!

This winter, the Youth Sports tool our YMCA is using to promote and teach is that of basketball. Sportsmanship, character development and fun are the focal points in our programs. We teach these things through the YMCA Core Values of Respect, Responsibility, Caring and Honesty.

The Walnut Creek YMCA has a few different basketball options for kids. When all is said and done, our programs will have reached close to 1,000 kids! Our "Second Season" is starting this Saturday, with another league for grades K-7th and a clinic for players age four to nine.

The first season was great - we had over 80 teams of boys and girls, playing hard every week and learning how competition can be made an all-around positive experience. The first season concluded with a tournament for the teams from all Des Moines area YMCAs who wanted to partake. We had 5 divisions between boys and girls in 3rd grade and older. The part we enjoyed most was handing out 25 Sportsmanship Award plaques. It is very fulfilling to acknowledge kids who helped up teammates and opponents, admitted the ball went out of bounds off of them, encouraged others and kept their heads up when things didn't go their way. Whether these kids won or lost their games, the kids were flattered and full of smiles when we recognized them being athletes of character.

Another great event at the conclusion of our first season was YMCA Night at the Iowa Energy game. As we've done for a few years in a row, we partnered with the Energy to provide cheap tickets and a pre-game clinic for all the kids on the court with the Energy players before the game! With all of the players, their parents, siblings and other family and friends, we had over 1,500 YMCA folks at the game on January 25.

As our "Second Season" rolls on, we relish the opporunity to deepen the lessons and relationships we've been building all year!