WIMBERLEY — Participating in sports, recreational activities and more outside of school hours could be beneficial to kids, which is something that the Wimberley Youth Sports Association (WYSA) has continued to do over the years.
The Wimberley Youth Sports Association (WYSA) has promoted sportsmanship, teamwork and character through fundamentals coaching and competitive play in the community. WYSA, formerly known as the Wimberley Little League, was officially merged with the Hill Country Recreation Association — which began approximately in the 1980s — effective Sept. 28, 2015, according to the Office of the Secretary of State certificate of merger.
Without WYSA, according to its website, the local kids would either travel out of town or wait until they’re in junior or high school to participate in games, such as baseball, softball, soccer, football and basketball.
While some of what WYSA offers is available to adults, the majority is geared toward the youth in the community.
“For the most part, the vast majority of our participants are youth. And I'll describe youth as anywhere from 3 years old to 14 years old on the high end,” explained WYSA Executive Board President Kelly Latz. “We offer different sports, literally year round, both recreational and I don’t know what word to use anymore: elite, select or travel. They are somewhat synonymous, but we do have that part. The vast majority is it’s a youth sports rec program for the Wimberley community.”
WYSA acts as an avenue for students to participate in sports before they reach the point where they begin to do so in school. In most places, sports programs start at the seventh grade level and WYSA does have some participants in its programs that are at that age, so there can be some overlap there, explained Latz.
“I grew up in and raised some older kids in southwest Austin. The big difference I see between being involved here in Wimberley versus back in Oak Hill is all of our kids, for the most part, we know where they're going to middle school and high school,” he said. “They're going to Danforth and Wimberley High School for the most part. There are charter schools or homeschools. But, whereas back in Oak Hill they scattered to lots of different high schools. You can look at us kind of as a bit of a feeder system into the middle school and high school sports programs.”
According to Latz, those who participate in the WYSA programs can seek benefits including, but not limited to, learning the following: how to be a good teammate; handling both success and failure; and representing their community.
As WYSA conducts programs that feed into the middle and high schools, Latz said that they have a “fantastic working relationship” with Wimberley ISD. This is found in the school district allowing WYSA to practice and play all of the youth basketball games at the school gyms, as well as building an additional space/facility on school district property at Blue Hole Primary.
“We've recognized for quite some time that we need more space. But, you know, the price of land is pretty expensive these days, to say the least … When the school district agreed to let us use some of their space, one of their existing facilities, that’s been a great help to us,” he explained. “We've got a great relationship with the school district and we try to work closely with the junior high and high school coaches, again, with the thought that, ‘Hey, we're developing kids that are going to come play in your programs, so we want to work together with y'all.’” The new facility, targeted to be complete sometime in 2025, will be used for almost all of the sports that WYSA offers: baseball, softball, soccer and football. In addition to a land lease with WISD, construction funding originated through Hays County dollars, Latz said.
Additionally, WYSA launched a boxing program this fall for adults and kids. The youth program is being offered at a gym which is walking distance from Wimberley High School and Danforth Junior High School, located at 19 Las Flores Dr., Bldg. #200. The afterschool program allows participants to develop their self-esteem and physical, mental and emotional strength through the sport of boxing.
According to the WYSA website, the current schedule for beginners (school-aged children) is from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on the following days: (coaches will be on-site beginning at 3:35 p.m.):
• Mondays and Wednesdays: Elementary (ages 7-10)
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Junior high (ages 11-13)
• Monday through Thursday, from 5:30-7 p.m., the gym will offer beginners classes for high schoolers (ages 14+).
As WYSA is a 100% volunteer-run organization, Latz concluded that the programs would not be possible without the volunteers and the support from the community, sponsors and families.
“We are blessed in Wimberley to have lots of volunteers willing to give their time, talent and treasure to help us out with all of our programs,” the board president shared.
Learn more about WYSA at www.wysasports.com.
