July 2015 E-Letter

In This Issue
Quick Links
About Us
For more information about the Office for Youth and Young Adults, visit
Drop Shadow Accent Image
Dear CYO Athletics Community, 

In last month's e-letter reflection we looked at the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi and how we are called to use the gifts we have been given to be bread broken and wine poured out in service to others and that we are reminded of this at the end of each Mass.


In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus summons the Twelve and sends them out two by two for the beginning of their ministry.  In a reflection on July 12th of this Gospel, Fr. Juan Molina, OSST focuses on the fact that Jesus tells them to limit the "baggage" they bring with them and what this means for us.


Certainly, as a minister, as a coach, as a parent, we need to be aware of the baggage that we bring to the experience of those entrusted to our care.  Some of it is ingrained in us as personality traits (nature) and some of it is formed in us behaviorally through our surroundings (nurture).  In any case, it exists.  Some of our baggage is positive and some of it negative.


In the recently concluded 10th Annual Play Like A Champion Today � Leadership Conference, we were reminded in a variety of ways that we need to be intentional about how we use our roles as ministers, coaches, parents and administrators to shape our young people to be the best they can be.


As we travel through the experiences of our summer, we should take stock of those parts of us that we want to bring to the experience of our children and athletes and those elements that they would be best without.  Of course, since we are human, this is no simple feat of sorting through the "good" and the "bad".  Living lives rooted in faith, reflection and prayer can assist us in this process as well as empower us with the Cardinal virtues of fortitude, justice, prudence and temperance when our human frailty emerges.


I recently was forwarded an article by a colleague on Tony Robichaux, Head Baseball Coach at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.  In it, this very successful coach talks about what means most to him and what he tries to intentionally create in his players:


"However, I don't think coaches should be judged on victories, but on how their players are doing in life five or 10 years after leaving college. Did the boys who entered your school become men who put God first, family second and themselves last? Are they leaders who take what you've given them and given that to others? Those are the standards that matter.

 
I don't want to produce a bunch of players with only athletic courage, because that comes easily to young men. What I want to do is produce virtuous men who have moral courage. That's the real test of a man: whether he has the strength to say and do the right things out of inner conviction when others are expecting him to lower his standards and go the easy route of the world."

   
In the end, our openness to continually refining the baggage we carry with us and being intentional about our efforts to live out our role to the best of our ability, we in turn equip those we coach or parent, to be the best they are capable of becoming in their inner life so that their outer life reflects the disciple they are called to be. 

 

May we pack light and impact big!

 

Blessings,

 

~Tauno Latvala

Director of CYO Athletics  

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Summer 2015 - Important CYO Athletics Dates

  

August 6 - Fall AD Meeting

 

August 14 - Soccer Team Registration Deadline

 

August 15 - CYO Adult Softball End of Season Tournament

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Champion Challenge

  

Summer is almost here! What will your kids be doing during their "break"? Are you looking for ways to occupy their time?
 

 

Either when we were growing up as students or as parents, we have all probably heard about the importance of summer reading.


However, it is also important to note the importance of PLAY! It is no coincidence that this is the foundation of the Play Like A Champion Today � (PLACT) program that CYO Athletics began implementing with our mandatory coaches training in 2007.


A fellow PLACT partner and PE teacher developed the "Champion Challenge" to keep students active during the summer. As goal setting is an important part of the PLACT program, it is also an important part of the challenge for youth to accumulate 5000 minutes of physical activity in the summer months that are right around the corner.


The Champion Challenge resource will give you conversation starters to discuss with your kids and to establish and track goals for their physical activity. Even better, would be for parents to set goals for physical activity of their own and to incorporate shared family activities (hiking, biking, swimming, Frisbee...) into the goal setting for each individual.
 


 

Blessings on raising up to meet the Champion Challenge!
 

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
CYO Summer Camp - Scholarships still available!

  


 

CYO Summer Camp still has some space and financial aid available for this summer.  Come swim in our new pool, play paintball or laser tag, or learn to ride a horse.  CYO summer camps reinforce the values taught at home with fun Catholic programming and memories to last a lifetime. 

 

For more information and to register visit the CYO Summer Camp website for details. Sign up today!

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Eastside Catholic Summer Basketball Camp

  


 

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at Bishop Blanchet

  

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Bishop Blanchet Summer Sports Camps


 

 

Bishop Blanchet is sponsoring football, girls basketball, boys basketball, cross country, volleyball and girls soccer athletic camps. Athletes receive instruction directly from BBHS coaches, current athletes and alumni. 

 

Spots fill up quickly, so register soon. For more information and registration, visit www.bishopblanchet.org/camps.  

 

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
LinkedIn

  

Our connections on LinkedIn are growing, and we want to see more!  Please visit www.linkedin.com/pub/seattle-archdiocese-cyo-athletics/a2/767/4b8/ to view and connect.  We look forward to connecting with current and former CYO Athletes, Coaches, and Administrators!! Contact Sean Barton at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Amazon Smile - Support CYO Athletics!

  

Did you know that a portion of the money that you spend online at Amazon can benefit the Archdiocese of Seattle with no additional cost to you?  AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support CYO.  Every time you shop, Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price straight to CYO! 

 

Click Here to select CYO as your charitable organization, and the Archdiocese of Seattle will directly benefit from your online shopping.  We thank you in advance for remembering us while making your online purchases!

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image

Thank you for your commitment to CYO Athletics. If you have not received past E-Letters, they can be found on our website by clicking here. Please also send us stories at [email protected], the moments of grace that make our program special, and remind everyone why we do the work we do.

 

Sincerely,

CYO Athletics
Office for Youth & Young Adult Evangelization, Archdiocese of Seattle