Children's Sports... Opportunities for kids to get involved in organized sports start at about age 3. It seems so young, yet you realize it is a great time for them to work on getting along with others, accept the different strengths each member of a team brings, follow the instructions of an adult other than yourself and the favorite part for many, enjoy the post-game treat! There are many photo opportunities, too, as you watch your little one kick a soccer ball, swing a bat, or pick flowers on the field while the action continues around them.

As they get older, sports become a family commitment with practices often scheduled in the late afternoon or evenings and games on the weekends. While sometimes it feels that you are shuffling between practices and games, you realize what an important role the involvement in sports can play for many children. There are so many different types of sports for children in Santa Barbara ranging from more individual sports like tennis, golf, swim or dance to team sports like baseball, soccer or roller hockey. We hope you will encourage your child(ren) to explore some of the possibilities. Many of the local sports for children are all volunteer-run organizations giving parents the chance to be involved as coaches, assistant coaches, snack coordinators or communication coordinators (phone/email trees).

Do you know the differences between regular team sports and "Club" and "All Star" sports? For most of us, we learn as we go. We start out with our kids doing a seasonal sport and before we know it, we are going year round with professional coaches. Below is a comparison from a local coach on the differences between Club Soccer and AYSO.

In our family, sports have become a love/hate issue... Our kids love playing, we love their commitment to the sports but we hate the crazy schedules! Daily, we have the challenge of fitting in dinner, showers and homework when everyone is walking in the door at 7pm. Our weekends ping pong between being at a hockey rink or driving down south for water polo tournaments. The difficult thing with sports these days at the elementary level is that there is already so much pressure to commit. When most of us were kids, this was still an experimental phase where you tried different sports and in high school you chose your sport. I live in the car most afternoons and I am so grateful to the moms I carpool with that make this process just a little easier.  The positives however outweigh the negatives... We have 2 girls who will be entering junior high next year and I am willing to drive them anywhere with sports if it helps keep them from being distracted by all of the teen issues that they will soon be facing. What I do love though is the support kids get from being part of a team. As kids get older these teams are made up of kids all over town so it also opens up their world a bit with new friendships.

Be sure to read about this month's Non Profit in the Spotlight - The Assistance League of SB.  They operate a great thrift shop that funds their outreach programs in our community like Operation School Bell, Operation Prom Dress, and many more. >>

Daylight Savings... It's time to spring forward...Saturday night when you go to bed, don't forget to move your clocks FORWARD one hour. This is a favorite time of year as the sun staying up later signals the start of spring and summer!

St. Patrick's Day is next week and we want to make sure you check out a delicious, easy recipe for Corned Beef & Cabbage in the Recipe Club >>

Below is a partial list of upcoming events and activities so click on our EVENT CALENDAR so you do not miss anything >>

Use the PARENT PLANNER to click on events and resources you are interested in and click PRINT MY PLANNER to print or email your list.

Camp Calendar | School Schedules | Movie Showtimes

SB Youth Lacrosse Association

New program for girls...  UCSB women's lacrosse coaches Paul Ramsey and Jillian Boyd are going to direct a new girl's lacrosse program in Santa Barbara in 2010. Ramsey and Boyd are targeting five elementary school locations to run After School Programs for girls in 1st - 6th grades starting Monday, April 5th. UCSB players will coach the girls.

The program will be similar to one run by Ramsey in Malibu when he was the head coach at Pepperdine University. Two days a week girls will come outside when class is over at their school and receive 90 minutes of fun lacrosse instruction from college players. The registration fee of $195 will include all equipment and practice gear. Scholarships will be available to families unable to afford the full registration fee.

Youth Girl's LacrosseThe SBYLA three year plan includes adding a grade a year (7th grade in 2011 and 8th grade in 2012) along with creating competitive cross-town competition among the 3rd grade and older age groups following established U.S. Lacrosse models.

If you would like your daughter's school to be one of our five inaugural locations please contact us.

E-Mail Paul Ramsey or call (805) 636-6772.

Please visit thier website for more information as it becomes available.

Nurturing the growth of our children through Yoga
by Maureen Clair, Children's Yoga Instructor & Owner of Yoga Dreams, LLC

Children are playful, expressive, and highly imaginative. A yoga class designed just for little ones offers the opportunity to use these characteristics in a positive framework while also receiving excellent exercise for mind & body. More and more parents across the nation are choosing yoga, a 5,000 year old practice that is taking center stage in today's world of children's sports and enrichment programs.

Yoga Dreams Top 5 Benefits of Children's Yoga
*Encourages creativity & imaginative-thinking
*Develops balance, focus, & strength
*Teaches body awareness & healthy lifestyle choices
*Offers a non-competitive environment to exercise & grow
*Promotes peace & calm

Yoga is a whole body exercise utilizing all muscles in the body in a balanced way as opposed to many sports which may develop long-term instabilities in children as they grow. Therefore the practice is a great compliment to any other sport your child may be playing. Yoga cleanses and stimulates the systems of the body encouraging better digestion, stronger immune system, and higher functioning in the organs. In young children in encourages a healthy development of the nervous system and brain development as children begin to connect synapses between the left and right sides of the brain. Muscles are lengthened and toned supporting joint and bone health. Did you know that 90% of bone development happens before adulthood?

Perhaps even more important is the enhancing and enriching of a child's sense of self through yoga practice. Yoga inspires confidence, calm, and personal connection while a structured class can also aid in development of social and leadership skills. Through quiet meditations, games, breathing exercises and circle discussions, children are encouraged to be themselves and learn how to listen to their conscious, to their inner wisdom. As a yoga teacher of both children & adults I have heard adults say countless times how they wish they'd had yoga younger in life because of all the ways the practice has helped them.

In a world that sometimes feels like a barrage of noise it makes sense to give our children a space to be quiet, to learn about themselves, to grow, to be nurtured. My question is: what are you waiting for?

By Cathy Neushul, UCSB Asst. Women's Waterpolo Coach

As Head Coach of a youth sports club and parent of three daughters with multiple sports interests, I can state emphatically that the most important life lesson young children learn from organized team sports is Good Sportsmanship. Good sportsmanship can be defined as "placing the value of team members, coaches, opponents and officials before individual performance." This sounds simple on paper but is somewhat different when one attempts to practically instill Good Sportsmanship in young children.

Appropriate athletic behavior starts at home with a child's parents and is reinforced by the behavior of the coach.

I have 3 do's and don'ts for parents:

Do's

1. Emphasize the performance of the team at all times. i.e. a pass is as good if not more important than a score. More praise should come for a child who assists a score and who is always positively encouraging team mates.
2. Use examples of poor sportsmanship as a teaching tool. Players and coaches yelling at team mates, coaches running up the score and individuals pouting when the team wins, but they are not "the starof the game" are examples of poor sportsmanship.
3. Always finish a season, no matter what type of experience you perceive your child is undergoing. Commitment is incredibly important to teach at a young age. If you sign up for the sport, 100% practice and competition participation should be the goal. Life is full of less than ideal situations, especially in sports. It is our job as parents to help our children through these times. In the absence of an abusive setting, quitting before the season ends is not acceptable. Stick it out, guide your child, it will pay off in the long run. Believe it or not, a child can learn a lot from playing on a losing team.

DON'TS

1. Compare or discuss the performance of your child to others on the team. Youth sports teams will always have more advanced athletes in the mix. Use this opportunity to emphasize what each team member brings to the team.
2. Question the coach or coaching staff, particularly in front of your child. Again, in lack of an abusive situation, once you sign your child up for a team, you have entrusted tutelage to the coach. Second guessing, making comments about skill instruction and playing time is detrimental and will encourage your child doing so as well. When you have a choice, interview the coach and watch them in a workout or game setting. Coaches have a tremendous impact on how our children view sports. If a coach is assigned randomly as in the recreation leagues in town, AYSO etc, realize it is just that, a recreation league. If you want professional coaching, club sports is where you should be.
3. Voice negative comments or opinions about other people's children. Observe parent rules required by club or recreational sport organizations. Yell positive comments from the side lines and use restraint. Cheering for every point/goal when your team is ahead by a very large margin does not display good sportsmanship and sets a bad example for your child. Yes, they are listening. Above all, realize that we, as parents, are the ultimate example and that the last message we want to convey through sports is deriving pleasure out of running the score up on weaker teams or players or a loss by the opposing team.

So many life lessons are learned via team sports. Long lasting friendships, accountability and a sense greater than oneself, are the ultimate goal of any youth sports club. Learning how to win and to lose while maintaining Good Sportsmanship can help a child contend with challenges in life that extend far beyond the sports arena.

By Billy Gallagher, Asst. Director of Coaching for Santa Barbara Soccer Club

Santa Barbara Soccer Club

• 3 Full Time employees (2 Coaching Directors & 1 Administrative Director)
• 18 paid, professional coaches
• 30 teams U9-U19
• U8 Development Program
• Competing in one of the best youth leagues in the world
• For young athletes that have a passion or distinct ability for soccer
• U9 & U19 $1250 for a 10 month season (August-May)
• U10-U18 $1650
• Approx $60,000 worth of scholarships awarded each year
• Includes free going to goal sessions and 1v1 sessions weekly
• College Liaison program for college bound players
• Limited travel at the younger ages
• Minimum playing time policy
• Set curriculum aimed toward the long term development of the player and the person
• League season Sept-November games once or twice a weekend
• Tournament season Jan-May average 1 tournament per month

Santa Barbara AYSO

• Parent/volunteer coaches
• Cost $250 approx for regular season Sept - November
• Regular AYSO for U6-U18
• Coast $250 for All-stars January - June
• All-Star season for U10-U18
• Great for the recreational player
• 3-5000 players