Dyess Youth Center Sports Program earns NAYS Excellence award

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Autumn Velez
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Recently, the Dyess Youth Center was recognized for excellence by the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) for the youth sports program.

Each year, five NAYS affiliates from across the nation are recognized by NAYS with the Excellence Award. The award goes to the top-qualifying communities that display diversity as well as adherence to the requirements that allow these organizations to be affiliated with the organization.

"Winning the Excellence in Youth Sports award means that we are viewed as a prestigious program," said Samantha Gregory, Dyess Youth Center sports director.

The Dyess Youth Center sports program set itself apart from the other contenders because of unique classes such as archery, Kajukenbo and lacrosse, in addition to traditional seasonal sports such as basketball, soccer and tennis.

"In order to provide variety, we often research what type of activities other military bases offer," Gregory said. "We are always looking for more ways to grow."

As an NAYS affiliate, the Youth Center focuses on making sports an enjoyable experience in hopes of forming lifelong habits. The Dyess Youth Center does this by concentrating on good sportsmanship and the basics of sports education.

"Our goal is to teach all participants the fundamentals of a variety of sports while placing an emphasis on fun and sportsmanship," Gregory said.

Gregory attributes the success to the presence of properly-trained volunteer coaches. The coaches are trained in order to provide the best experience for children of various skill-levels. The training includes a clinic that goes into depth about the psychology of coaching youth sports, tips on teaching and communication, injury prevention and sport-specific information. Coaches are required to pass an exam to ensure their understanding of the material.

"We believe coach education is extremely important because it enhances the children's knowledge of the program and philosophy of NAYS," Gregory said.
For the volunteers, being able to contribute to the growth of participants is an award within itself.

"I absolutely love coaching," said Alex Garza, Dyess Youth Center coach. "The program is about sportsmanship, which makes it nice to come play some ball and just focus on the kids. That's why I keep coming back every year."

Even though Gregory accepted the award on behalf of the Dyess Youth Center Sports Program, the award belongs to more than just the youth center.

"We hope that participants, parents and staff will be proud to say they are a part of an award-winning program and contributed to this award," Gregory said.

Since winning the award, high expectations have been placed on the youth center. In the future, Gregory has plans on continuing to expand the youth sports with the addition of the Start Smart program. Start Smart centers around giving younger children the opportunity to build confidence in motor skills by introducing them to a variety of age-appropriate tasks. There will also be continual growth with the addition of a Ready, Set, Run, Bubble Bump soccer and Quidditch.

"Someone saw that the program has value, and this encourages us to work harder to ensure we maintain this high level of performance," Gregory said. "I'm excited to see where we can go."