YES FUND PILOT PROGRAM LOOKING FOR NEW TEST CENTERS
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Youth Education Services (YES) Fund has developed a new concept for youth leagues and wants bowling centers around the country to help test this exciting program designed to get kids into the sport.
When the YES Fund was created last year, an initial project was the development of a new mainstream sports model for bowlers 12 years old and younger. This concept involved testing new team-based structures for competition along with the development of training and recruitment programs to attract volunteer coaches.
“Six months ago, the YES Fund team activated a small number of leagues to start the learning process,” Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) Director of Youth Chad Murphy said. “We received a lot of quality feedback and now are ready for the next step with more test partners.”
The YES Fund’s pilot program leagues involve a format similar to other youth sports. Each team has four players along with a volunteer coach. The teams hold a practice once a week before competing in league play. Teams are paired according to ability and there is no handicap involved in scoring.
“We saw some interesting results while participating in the first round of testing,” said Debbie Haggerty, the youth coordinator at Fireside Lanes in Sacramento, Calif. “It was amazing how much the kids in the YES Fund leagues improved in such a short period of time compared to bowlers in standard leagues. We could see the volunteer coaches and the practice day during the week really made an impact.”
A preliminary test league at West Acres Bowl in Wichita, Kan., saw similar results.
“What excites me more about this than anything is that the kids are actually practicing with their coaches away from the actual competition,” Ray Baty, the West Acres Bowl Center manager, said. “This program has really opened my eyes to a whole new way of promoting the sport of bowling.”
Any organizer involved in youth bowling may participate by starting a YES Fund pilot program league. For more information, contact Chad Murphy at Chad@bpaa.com or 817-385-8469.
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