YMCA Soccer Season Comes to an End

                                                                  By: Tyler Cobbs

            SMYRNA, Tenn.— The North Rutherford Family YMCA held its final game of the annual fall youth soccer program on Nov. 5, drawing dozens of children.

            The YMCA’s youth soccer league is for ages 3 to 10 and lasted from Aug. 22 to Nov. 5. The soccer league was split into two age groups: preschoolers ages 3 to 6 and grade-schoolers ages 7 to 10. The cost for registration is $55 for YMCA members and $65 for everyone else.

            Having fun, staying active, and learning how to play the beautiful game of soccer is what this program is about. It also brings a community of people together in favor of one goal: to teach their children good sportsmanship.

 “I really love the values and beliefs here at the YMCA and my 6-year-old daughter Isabelle loves it,” said Veronica Martinez. “She is always super excited to get out of school and go to practice.”

            Sports Director Grayson Hamilton, who is in charge of the soccer program is responsible for making everything run smoothly. He makes sure the teams have the same amount of time to practice, gets all of the jersey’s made for the teams before the season, and make sure the soccer fields are game ready each week.

Hamilton also coached two teams, one from each age group.

            The final match of the season was played at 10 a.m. on Nov. 5 between two of the preschool age group teams, Team Bullock and Team Gordon. The match was close, but very entertaining. It was a very warm day for it to be less than a month away from Thanksgiving, and the heat was clearly getting to the kids on the field. Hands were on hips and jerseys were soaked with sweat.

The YMCA staff and volunteers handled the heat very promptly by having multiple water breaks for the kids to prevent dehydration. The final score ended up in a 6 to 6 draw, with all of the kids involved receiving a medal and a cupcake afterwards.

            “My favorite part about our soccer program is that it brings people together,” said Gary Cobbs, the former executive director. “It also gives families a chance to get their kids into something active and healthy. You never know, this could open the door for a career for some kids.”       

            For information about the YMCA soccer program visit  www.soccer@ymcatnmid.org.

                                                                                                 

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