The Boundary Youth Soccer Association (BYSA) kicked off its fifth year on Sunday morning. The sports field at Boundary Central Senior Secondary was divided into 10 soccer pitches of varying sizes so they better matched the length of the legs found on the kids in four age classifications: U13, U11, U9 and U7.
Program administrator Jeff Olsen said they had 250 kids in U-7 and up. Not on the field on Saturday were another 50 kids in the Kicks for Kids (K4K) program for ages 2-4. “They do their thing Monday to Friday in Midway, Grand Forks and Christina Lake this year,” Olsen explained.
Registration for the season is $120 but if a family has more than one child in the program, the fee is reduced to $108 each.
Olsen said the BYSA executive is currently healthy with seven directors. Planning for the 2015 season started back in December. Coaching clinics, refs, sponsors and equipment all had to be in place. Early registration started in January.
“Enrolment is pretty much on par with what we guessed it was going to be,” Olsen said. “So it is steady; over five years we have maintained an interested core group of just around 300 kids. We have kids coming back which shows that we are doing what the kids want us to do.”
Teams practice in their home communities during the week and meet on school fields across the Boundary on Sunday mornings from now until the spring season wrap-up tournament on June 27 in Grand Forks. Olsen said they are 90 per cent sure they will run a fall program this year too.
They don’t keep scores or standings through the season. At the final tournament of the year there is a scoring format, but it is geared towards keeping everything tight.
“The goal is to get kids outside and playing sports—it is not about them winning and losing. Everyone gets equal time regardless of talent.”
For more information, check them out online (boundaryyouthsoccer.com) or phone Jeff Olsen at 250-443-5199.
