With his Apostolic Letter of October 11, 2011, Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI declared that a "Year of Faith" will begin on October 11, 2012 and conclude on November 24, 2013. October 11, 2012, the first day of the Year of Faith, is the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) and also the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

During the Year of Faith, Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and the catechism so that we may look at our faith, what we believe and apply to our lives in a new way - so that we may more fully encounter Christ in a deepening of our faith. There are many resources on the USCCB website to support our efforts to do so - I encourage you to look at this to see how you might do so.

Similarly, our theme in CYO Athletics 2012-13 is "Development". Our intention in CYO Athletics is that the experiences, learning and lasting memories of our sports program go beyond the field, course, gym or track.  As Blessed Pope John Paul II stated, 

"Sport...contributes to the love of life, teaches sacrifice, respect and responsibility, leading to the full development of every human person..."  

We are asking that each of us, as administrators, parents and coaches work to deepen our understanding and application of the Play Like A Champion Today ® philosophy so that our youth can reach their maximum potential and have fun in CYO Athletics.

To further this effort, we are working to provide online resources from our revised web pages on our return to the Archdiocese of Seattle website.

Coaches - the success of our program relies heavily on those volunteers who give of their time, energy and passion to coach our teams - we are so grateful for their willing and enthusiastic service!  We are striving to give them the tools they need to be effective in this crucial role:
* Coming soon will be resources we are working to integrate into the Archdiocesan Library Media Center for check out and review;
* We are developing online resources in the way of additional practice plans for each sport;
* New this year and available next week, our online refresher "Parents as Partners" for returning coaches;

Parents - as the primary teachers of their children, it is important that we equip our parents to reinforce what the coach is teaching in practice and games and that we provide opportunities for building families and community through athletics:
* We will continue to provide monthly reflections and opportunities for families in our e-letter;
* We encourage parents to work with coaches to develop "Champion Committees" for your teams;
* We continue to offer the "Parent Like A Champion Today" program for parishes and schools to support parents in their role within their child's youth sports experience;

Many plans are in motion for us to have a great year of CYO Athletics in 2012-13.  We appreciate your involvement and commitment to CYO Athletics.

May we grow deeper in our understanding of how our faith can be integrated into all aspects of our lives so that we may be models of Christ's love and service to our children and the youth of our community,

Blessings,

~Tauno Latvala

Director of CYO Athletics