Southwestern Youth Association Sports

WHY ARE REGISTRATIONS SO EARLY?

This is a great question and one that has been prominent in our seasonal surveys and in the general feedback our coaches and commissioners get throughout the year. (WAIT!! you didn't respond to our survey? Please look for it at the end of every season). These articles are based on your input and we want to hear from you!! 

Ok, so why are registrations so early and why is it important?

As a non profit organization, we depend heavily on volunteers.  As such we need to have parents register early so we know how many kids will play a certain sport and so that we can determine how many coaches we will need, how many fields/gyms we need, how many officials we will need, etc.  Each season is different and while a lot of our volunteer coaches stay with us from year to year, it is a vastly changing network that has to be managed. 

Additionally, since we are a volunteer organization, we also must apply for permits from the County in order to utilize the school and park facilities.  As a sub note here, because of SYA’s size and partnerships that we have entered into over the last almost 50 years, SYA has access to some of the best facilities in Centreville area. We are great stewards of the facilities in our area, but must adhere to their schedules to get access. An example of this is that to prepare for the Fall Season, we must submit to the County NCS department our requested needs for gyms/fields by JUNE 1 each year.  While you may say, ok you should already know this based on historical information, you are right.  We do and we are able to submit to them our estimated requirements for the upcoming season, however, we do not get those permits until a week before the Fall season starts.  And we don’t know if we will get everything we ask for because the world of sports is ever growing and ever changing.   

There are many other reasons that we need you to register early.  Again, we have to find coaches, we need to organize schedules, we need to find volunteers, we need to secure insurance and generally all this takes time.  And in case you were wondering, SYA is an independent non profit program and does not receive assistance or funds from Fairfax County.  Over the last 49 years, SYA has worked to streamline this process and have tried many different ways to combat these issues, but it basically comes down to we need time to find volunteers and then organize the programs. 

In closing, please sign up early.  If you have suggestions that you think may help, feel free to contact SYA at ADMIN@SYAYOUTHSPORTS.ORG or by phone at 703-815-3362.  You can also register as a volunteer and join us as we work to improve our programs.  Please continue to respond to our surveys that are put out at the end of each season.  We have a genuine interest in continual improvement both within our organization and our individual sports, and our parent insights are the most important data point that we receive.   

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Office Location:
5950 Centreville Crest Lane
Centreville, VA 20121
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 471
Centreville, VA 20122
Phone: (703) 815-3362
Fax: (703) 815-2180
E-mail: admin@syayouthsports.org