A big thank you to all the players who attended the evaluation process for the Thompson-Okanagan Region (Zone 2) BC Summer Games team. Congratulations to all those who will be representing the region at the games this summer.
The final roster can be found HERE.
To register for this workshop – CLICK HERE
There is growing concern that girls are not participating in sport and physical activity as much as, or for as long as, boys––and more importantly, that they are missing an important opportunity to build the foundation to be active for life. To help address this gender gap issue, Sport for Life is leading a BC Initiative which focuses on training community coaches and mentors on the specific needs and interests of girls ages 8 to 12 in order to better engage them in sport and physical activity.
The Kamloops Youth Soccer Association is proud to be hosting Dr. Vicky Harber for two workshops delivered over two days to leaders who are, or plan to be, working with/coaching girls in and around this age range.
Details on the workshop are:
What: Gender Differences when working with girls (BC Gender Gap Project)
When: Friday, May 25th (6:30pm to 9:00pm) & Saturday, May 26th (9:00am to 11:30am)
Where: Valleyview Community Hall (2288 Park Drive, Kamloops – next to Marion Schilling Elementary School)
Who: Any coach, mentor, leader working with girls ages 8-12.
Cost: This is a FREE workshop funded by the Province of BC and the Government of Canada
To register – CLICK HERE
(full participation is ideal, but partial attendance is also welcome)
Questions can be directed to Jill Shaw, workshop coordinator, at jill@physicalliteracy.ca.
While the workshop is being hosted by the KYSA, any other sports coaches who would like to attend are more than welcome if space is available. Please contact KYSA President Candace Dodson-Willis at Candace_Dodson@icloud.com to determine if there is room.
The board and staff of the Kamloops Youth Soccer Association (KYSA) want to thank everyone for registering to play and/or for volunteering to help out with this season of soccer. We are so excited about the new season and we hope that you enjoy some of the new programs we are initiating this year. To ensure you are all aware of these changes, please read below:
One of the things that makes leading the KYSA such a fun and enjoyable experience is working not only with the staff, board and volunteers, but it’s seeing the joy on the young soccer players faces as they fight for a ball, get a goal, make a good pass, save a goal and/or do something that they are proud of with their team mates cheering them on. The KYSA wants to highlight these moments so we are launching a #TOGETHERWEARE campaign!
With this project we hope to bring our membership together and help to showcase all the amazing things the KYSA brings out of our athletes. The young soccer players of Kamloops are strong, determined, skilled, respectful, and hardworking. Together they make up our organization, and it’s time to show everyone all of these great attributes.
As coaches, players, and parents, you are being tasked with the job of documenting moments with pictures throughout the season and telling us what you think these moments represent. It can be anywhere from strength or determination, to goofiness. Show us what your athletes do on and off the field, as a team. Each team will be encouraged to participate and decide what “they are” together, and take a photo with their slogan. Parents, don’t be shy to get a parent group together and tell us what you are as well! We would love to have everyone in our membership participate.
Upload your photos to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #TogetherWeAre and be sure to share your post with @kysablaze so we can see what you are up to and share it with our larger KYSA community. Alternately you can email our new Social Media Coordinator, Nevada Woods, at: nevadabb13@yahoo.ca and we can share them for you on our FB page! We look forward to seeing all of the different ideas and photos you can come up with!
If you aren’t already a follower of our KYSA Facebook and Instagram pages, it’s about time you did so you can follow along with our season, as well as hear about all our new and exciting changes that will be continuing throughout the season. Search for @kysablaze on Facebook and Instagram to find and follow us.
OR if you aren’t a Facebook follower, please check out our newly revamped website at: www.KYSA.net
We are a not-for-profit, volunteer based organization and we are always looking for feedback from our membership, or for volunteers to help us out in various different ways, so if you have any thoughts, ideas or you would like to help out, please feel free to reach out to me at the KYSA office at 250-376-2750 via phone or if you would like to send me an email, please email the office at kysa@telus.net and ask them to forward your phone message and/or email to me.
Thanks again for continuing to support the KYSA, we really appreciate it!
Yours truly,
Candace Dodson-Willis
The KYSA, President
KYSA introduces our Free Winter Drop-in Sessions to get ready for the season!
The KYSA is proud to offer a series of FREE drop-in game sessions for currently registered members. These sessions will be led by Ciaran McMahon (KYSA Technical Director), and Mark Bell (KYSA Senior Staff Coach) who will be supported by a handful of qualified KYSA staff coaches. All sessions will involve a general free-play warm-up followed by 30-40 minutes of scrimmage play.
This program is open to all age groups. Attendees will be grouped together based on general age to create suitable groups to deliver the session.
Interested players simply need to show up ready to play. While our facility is covered it can be cold and is typically 5 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. Should we have to cancel a session due to severe weather we will post that information on our website by 2pm each Monday.
Graduating high school soccer players who are, or have been, registered with the Kamloops Youth Soccer Association (KYSA) are eligible to apply for one of nine scholarships the association will be awarding in 2018.
KYSA Scholarships are awarded to students proceeding from Grade 12 to a university or post-secondary institution approved by the KYSA Scholarship Awards Selection Committee and/or students already attending a post-secondary institute, but are registered with the KYSA for the 2018 season.
This year, thanks to proceeds from the KYSA’s inaugural Volunteer Appreciation and Awards Dinner held last year, the board of directors of KYSA have agreed to increase the value of the two scholarships it awards annually to $750. There are also seven other KYSA-sponsor donated awards to be given out this year.
To qualify, an applicant for a KYSA Scholarship Award must have been registered in the association for three or more seasons, not necessarily consecutive.
The nine awards and the donors are:
Additional information on the KYSA’s scholarship program and application forms are available to download on the association’s web site at kysa.net. Hard copies of the application form can also be obtained from the KYSA office on McArthur Island.
KYSA Scholarship recipients will be chosen based on a variety of criteria, such as the applicant’s participation in school activities, their leadership qualities, sportsmanship and time spent volunteering with church or community organizations. Soccer talent is just one of the yardsticks the selectors use to determine the award recipients. A candidate’s contributions as a referee, coach or manager in the KYSA is also taken into consideration.
Applications for this year’s KYSA Scholarship Awards must be received in the KYSA office by 4:00pm, Thursday, May 31st.
Contact:
Keith Liddiard, Executive Director, KYSA: 250-376-2750
Photo:
The 2017 recipient of the Forward Law-sponsored KYSA Scholarship Award was Jennifer Pierson, seen here with Forward Law partner, David Hughes.