Play Ball! San Antonio’s Best Youth Sports Organizations

San Antonio Youth Sports Organizations

(Updated 10/2014 with new Sports Organization options across San Antonio and 2015 Winter Youth Sports YMCA and JCC dates)

WINTER SPORTS STARTING IN JANUARY USUALLY BEGIN REGISTRATION IN MID OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER. (See below for more detailed information.)

My Instagram and Facebook feeds over the last week have been filled with pictures of excited and adorable faces during the first days of practices and games across the city of San Antonio! It’s Spring sports time and the new soccer, t-ball and baseball cleats haven’t even been fully broken in yet. With a 5 and 7-year-old, our family has entered our 14th season of sports between these two and I remember what an exciting new chapter in life it is for both parents and the aspiring athletes.[hr]

A Coach and Father’s Perspective

I asked my husband, Blake, who has coached majority of our children’s teams, to give his perspective of what he believes to be the important things to know when thinking about starting your young child in any kind of organized sports.

San Antonio Youth Sports Organizations: BasketballQ: What age should I start my child in sports?

Blake: It depends on the interest level of the child. If you have a child that absolutely loves balls, kicking and shooting on mini goals and is very motivated when it comes to sports, I would say 4 or 5 years old is a good age to introduce them. You maybe tempted to start them younger if they love balls and sports, but there is a mental learning curve to being able to understand what it takes to play on a team, which goes deeper than just liking to throw or kick a ball.

Q: What’s the most important thing to remember in my child’s first ever experience with team sports?

Blake: Above all, you want to ensure that it is a fun and positive first experience for you child. If at all possible, choose a team with friends or a coach who you know will make it positive. After the first couple of weeks, if the practice and game environment is filled with stress or the coach seems to be taking it way too seriously, talk to coach or league director and ask for a change. For many young children, if the introductory seasons are not positive, it could detour them from that sport for years to come.  At this age, you want them to have fun, learn about the game and how to work together as a team. (Side note: My best friend in Houston had a negative coaching experience in her son’s first soccer season when he was four years old and ultimately pulled him from the program and enrolled him in SoccerShots to learn the basics; he thrived in that introductory environment where he gained a tremendous amount of skill and confidence.)

Q: Any additional advice, as either a parent or as a coach?

Blake: I can’t stress enough just to lower your expectations that first season, no matter what age they start! It can take an entire season or two just for the child to be confident enough to fully engage with the sport. Several parents report it takes two to three seasons for it really to click, which is all part of the developmental process.[hr]

My Mommy Advice

San Antonio Youth Sports Organizations: BaseballAs a naturally competitive woman, I admit I found myself coaching my kids on what they could do better next time, immediately after a game. After reading this article that went viral last year, I completely changed my perspective and make a conscious effort to tell them after every game, “I LOVED watching you play!” So, my last bit of advice as a mommy, is to read this excellent article. It could quite possibly be one of the best ones on this topic.[hr]

When to get started

*Note all leagues are different and that is why I included direct links to each sports organization below. Generally there are “early bird” discounts in most youth leagues.

  • Spring sports generally begin practices in March/April and usually start registration in January/February.
  • Summer leagues generally begin practicing in June/July start registration around May/June.
  • Fall leagues generally start practicing in September/October and register in July/August.
  • Winter leagues (many indoor basketball leagues for young kids such as YMCA, JCC Spurs League, SOA and Upwards) start practicing in January and register in October/November of each year.

Lightroom (Houston 198.jpg and 3 others)

Here are some reviews of sports organizations around San Antonio, broken down by area of town with personal comments from moms who have participated in them:

North San Antonio

Mays YMCA and i9 Sports are both wonderful youth sports organizations that put focus on the team and building confidence in the players. i9 practices and games are on the same day, while the Y holds a practice during the week and a game on the weekend (practices are the same time, but the game times vary). i9 also selects a player of the game, and the child can take home a yard sign with this on it. Both organizations will work with groups of parents who would like to put their kids on the same team as friends. Both also struggle a little with finding coach volunteers; it’s not always easy to coach if one has never tried before. It’s really up to the parent and child, but both organizations have a lot to offer! New information as of 10/2014: Winter Sports – Basketball (Girls and Boys 3-13 years old), Volleyball (Girls 8-14 years), Flag Football (Ages 6-12 yrs). Early Bird Registration Oct 13-Nov 2, General Registration (Nov 3-21) and Late Registration (Dec 1-7) *ymcasatx.org for details

Mays YMCA – This is where it all began for us when my son was very young, playing in the winter league for indoor basketball. I have such fond memories of this time and absolutely loved that all practices and games were at the same time on Saturday mornings. This was perfect when the kids are five and under! When we moved to outdoor soccer with the YMCA, I will a little less impressed with the program and how disorganized it was, at times.

We’ve done soccer & t-ball through the Mays YMCA (off of Blanco). Both have been positive experiences, although we sometimes felt the age groupings were really weird. When my daughter played soccer, she and her teammates were 3-turning-4, and yet we were playing against teams that had 5 and 6-year-olds on them, which was frustrating because the skill difference was so immense. I also feel like the YMCA can be a little disorganized at times. But particularly with t-ball, she really enjoyed it, and had an excellent coach who was absolutely amazing with the kids.

JCC – This is where we have spent the majority of the seasons in recent years since my children went to pre-school there, however, you DO NOT have to be a member. Even when we left the school, we couldn’t get away from their organized sports programs. Their sports program is very strong, organized and a good size without being too big PLUS they have a full-time sports staff organizing each season of the Spurs Indoor Basketball League in the Winter (Season is Jan – Feb with registration in November), multiple soccer seasons (including Fall and Spring), T-ball, Machine-Pitch Baseball and Flag Football (Late Fall – November – December with registration in October). One of the biggest reasons I love this program is that although it is volunteer based as far as team coaching for all sports, a second practice is held every week by the coaching staff of the JCC. That, along with a centralized location for both practices and games, is big benefit that most other leagues do not offer. My favorite though, is that all games are always Sunday afternoons, therefore we never have to give up our entire weekend to sports and can travel without missing our young children’s games. The JCC has an early Winter sports option for Flag Football with practices and the season running from late October – December, before their Spurs indoor basketball season begins in January. Flag football registration – begins in early October and usually goes until the season begins.

Upwards via Community Bible Church – I can’t say enough great things about how well this program is run, especially for being so large. It is a well oiled machine and we recently moved our 7-year-old son to this league mainly so he could play on a team with older children, based on how they group children. They have girls’ flag football, boys flag football, basketball, cheerleading and soccer leagues. For each sport, they hold “assessments” to try to even out of the teams but do allow for friends to be on the same team, if possible. We were blown away by the volunteer coaching staff and the obvious training program they followed at weekly practices. Besides taking time to really learn about the game, during each practice they take a break and talk as a team about their week and how they can be good friends and teammates. They are given fabric stars for memorizing a verse and awarded a star of accomplishment at the end of each game. The 2015 January Upwards Basketball and Cheer season (4 yrs – 6th grade) registration is Sept 13-Nov 8 $99 and Nov 9-15 $109) with practices beginning Jan 5, 2015. More info: [email protected]

This school year, my children have brought home flyers from SOA (Stone Oak Athletics). The website says: At Stone Oak Athletics, our mission is to strengthen the individual, the family, and the community through organized athletics, educational enrichment, and life skills training. We offer competitive sports leagues for youth and adults, developmental camps, personal and group fitness training, and wellness programs that benefit the entire community and offer cheerleading, summer day camps and basketball camps, sports clinics,and basketball skills training in ALL areas of San Antonio, NEISD/Comal ISD/Judson ISD Schools, NISD, SAISD/Harlandale Schools. (Good news here is that the Spring Soccer season doesn’t begin until mid April and you can register through March 26.) Fall 2014 North Fall Season – Basketball ($140) and Girls Cheer ($150.)(Season runs September 27 – Nov 16 and REGISTRATION DEADLINE is SEPT 12) In the Fall, they have Soccer and the season starts Sept 20 and REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS Sept 12. $100)

Fair Oaks/Boerne

Both the YMCA of Boerne and BYAA (Boerne Youth Athletic Association) are great at introducing Sports!!

North East San Antonio

CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) at Mount Sacred Heart. We are not catholic but it allowed the kids to play for CYO since they are in the Montessori program. Pros: If you play for your school/parish it links you with parents, the friends your kids learn with and see everyday, parents are the coaches/team moms so it is a very parent driven organization. They are very accommodating of kids of all skill levels. It’s not very competitive at the younger age groups. Obviously it is also religious based and it is very focused on respect of your fellow players. Prayers before and after the game. Mostly affordable and most parishes will let anyone play (from best I can tell). It is very high in parent involvement which I think that is a bonus. Cons: sometimes the parents are coaching just to be involved and may not have great skill in that sport. It is also time-consuming, 2 practices a week and 1-2 games per weekend however it is a relatively short season. It can be disorganized but I presume that happens with other organizations! We’ve done soccer, basketball and T-ball thru CYO and have been very happy. Our kids are playing with their friends, learning skills and incorporating religion. The kids are grouped by age and not skill which is nice.

Thousand Oaks YMCA has a wonderful new facility and tons of youth sports options.

Alamo Heights/Central San Antonio

We are actively involved in Alamo Heights Little League.  My husband has coached our youngest daughter’s t-ball & machine pitch team, The Honey Badgers [not kidding] for several years!

Our daughter has played in AHFSH (Alamo Heights Fort Sam Houston) Soccer League for several years now which is very organized and fun and all games are on Saturday mornings.  They have also played at the Walzem/Alamo Heights YMCA Basketball for several years and my husband coaches. Honestly, in our opinion, they are the most disorganized organization we have ever run into and if there were a better alternative for her to play basketball at this age, we would jump on it. Both kids also play in Alamo Heights Little League and have since t-ball. While it does get competitive at older levels, the younger one is still in Machine Pitch and it’s still just about fun. Alamo Heights Little League is extremely organized and a great experience. AHLL also has Fall Ball at most age levels and it’s great because there are NO practices and all games (6 or so) are on Sunday afternoons. It is very casual and fun.

Helotes

We love the Greater Helotes Little League. My son started off playing T-Ball there when he was 4 and now plays machine pitch with the league. We love it because they focus on instruction and really learning the game as well as an emphasis on sportsmanship. I have lots neighbors that participate in sports via Braundera YMCA and i9 Sports, too. (Terri)

Other Locations All Over San Antonio 

1) K1 Sports Academy San Antonio Co-ed Youth Sports (Updated after I received a flyer 9/2014) – Locations of games: JISD, NEISD, NISD, SAISD, SAC, City Parks and Other. Teams are formed by closest school or zip code. No practice facilities provided and location up to Team Parent. Fall Season runs Oct 4, 2014 – Dec 13. Fall sports available include T-ball ($80), Flag Football($80), Soccer($80), Indoor Basketball($100), Girls Volleyball ($100), Tackle Football($140), Girls Cheer ($120). All games on Saturdays.

We would love to use this as active resource for the community. What other sports organizations have you participated in that you have liked or not been impressed with?

Megan
Megan is a serious bargain shopper, Boxer loving, research junkie kinda gal. Chances are she can tell you the best item to buy from everything from a baby monitor to a dishwasher. She claims to be the blogger on the team that will never win an award for being an eloquent writer. In fact, she prides herself in graduating from Texas A&M University (’02) without ever having to write a paper! San Antonio born and raised, Megan learned early in life to always learn from others and she enjoys sharing helpful tips she encounters while navigating this ‘kid chapter’ of life. The three little people that gave her the title of mom and thus the inspiration to get out and explore our city, from a child’s perspective, are Carter (2006), Addie (2008) and Delaney (2013). She’ll admit, the third one has been WAY more work than they ever expected but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Her motto now is “What ever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” right?! Megan has a serious to-do list addiction which one day may need intervention; for now, this aliment allows her to accomplish the many balls she has the energy to juggle. She may be an outlier to some but loves working outside the home and is grateful for her working-mom-friendly company and career in sales, which gives her the best of both worlds. Although, Megan will be the first to tell you, without her ridiculously amazing husband and hands-on-dad, Blake, she wouldn’t be able to do any of it. Like most women, half the time she feels like she has it all together and the other part, she’s treading water trying not to drown. But as of now, she wouldn’t change a thing.