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Begun in 1991, a collaboration
led by John R. Clay and funded with a
grant
from the John and Mary Margaret Clay
Foundation, the Youth Sports Council of Fort
Worth has worked with the City of Fort Worth
Parks and Community Services Department to
provide year round sports programming at
Community Centers located throughout the city.
Thousands of youth have been able to play flag
football, soccer, basketball, softball, baseball
and volleyball at no cost. Parents may sign up
their children by going to a neighborhood
community center with the child’s birth
certificate and purchasing a city ID card(a five
dollar cost). This card is valid for one year
and the child is eligible to sign up to register
to play on sports teams throughout that year.
The city provides the facilities to play and the
Youth Sports Council provides uniforms,
equipment, officials, schedules, and awards.
This unique public-private partnership is funded
through a combination of public monies provided
through the City budget and private funds
generated by contributions from foundations,
corporations and individual donors to YSC.
The mission of the Youth Sports Council of
Fort Worth, Inc. is to assist in the development
of youth sports programs aimed at helping the
high-risk youth of Fort Worth break the cycle of
poverty. The Youth Sports Council seeks to build
self-esteem, provide positive role models and
promote good individual habits such as staying
in school, avoiding drug and alcohol abuse and
resisting gang involvement and other criminal
activities. Many of the ills of American society
today are directly traceable to the “cycle of
poverty”. Some sociologists term the growing
segment of our population  affected by the cycle
of poverty as the “permanent underclass”.
Obviously, some young people are able to break
the cycle. And, the good news is that to help
one boy or girl escape has implications for
generations. How do they do it? Almost always it
is because someone took a personal interest in
that young person, provided a glimpse of what he
or she could be, and gave them the support to
overcome their surroundings. Youth sports
programs can be a tremendously effective vehicle
for breaking the cycle of poverty. Kids are
interested in sports. The team experience
mirrors so many of life’s circumstances.
Success, failure, hard work, cooperation,
supporting others, discipline, following rules,
and dealing with unfairness (bad calls) can all
be experienced in a season. Carefully selected,
well trained coaches can serve as a role model
and help teach important life lessons. Quality
uniforms, equipment and programming will help
make disadvantaged kids feel worth. Finally,
supervised sports activities offer an
alternative for the idle time that often draws
kids into destructive
circumstances.
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