Snow can't slow YMCA soccer season sign-ups

Just close your eyes for a minute.

Now imagine the sound of laughter and joyous screaming as kids run down the field kicking a soccer ball.

The ball rolls across the lush green grass in Barnett Park. (Try not to think about the goose droppings.)

The sidelines of the soccer fields are lined with grandparents in lawn chairs.

Parents are slathering sunscreen on the younger siblings as they shed their jackets because the day is heating up.

After half an hour, the kids run off the field, tired by giddy because they scored their first goal of the season.

Open your eyes and try to remember all those images as the snow falls and you realize you need to sign up your child for the YMCA/Valmont youth soccer league.

While it’s hard to imagine, the youth soccer season begins in just a few short weeks.

And the registration deadline is Friday, so there is time to build the teams and get in a few practices.

The soccer league is the YMCA’s biggest program of the year, simply because it is open to kindergartners through eighth graders, boys and girls, and it is a sport which is easy to learn but hard to master.

Stop by the YMCA service desk or register online for youth soccer and you might just see how well your kids can kick a soccer balls in snow boots.

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Good luck to the McCook High School swimmers and divers today and Friday in Lincoln at the Nebraska State Swimming and Diving Championships.

The MHS swim team practices at the YMCA everyday from November through February, which means those kids have put in a lot of hours in the pool and it shows..

It is not easy to qualify for the state meet where the schools are not divided into classes, so we are competing against must larger schools with much larger teams.

These kids have also put in years of practice.

Every McCook kid who qualified in swimming competed on the YMCA’s winter youth swim team growing up.

And all the divers participated in the Y’s summer dive clinic.

But as I’ve said in the past, swimming is a lifelong sport, provides a possible job in the form of lifeguarding and is a life-saving skill everyone should possess.

Now, diving? I’m not sure I can come up with a reason it exists other than it is pretty cool to watch yet a bit terrifying.

A diver must possess several skills including some flexibility, a dose of athleticism and a tinge of craziness as your head comes that close to the diving board.

With the high school swim season officially coming to a close, the pool schedule will be changing as their practice times becomes available.

The youth swim team has another few weeks of practice, so check the YMCA’s pool schedule online or call the service desk to check pool availability.

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Another Partners with Youth phone-a-thon is in the books.

On Wednesday night, dozens of volunteers spent their evening making hundreds of phone calls on behalf of the program which provides funds for those who cannot afford fees for youth sports or memberships.

Thank you to Matt Sehnert and his crew at Sehnert’s Bakery for hosting the volunteers for the 14th year in a row.

It makes asking for money a little bit easier when you get fed and can hang out with friends as you call people.

And thank you to everyone who donated Wednesday to Partners with Youth.

No one is turned away at the YMCA because of financial reasons and that is made possible because of the generosity of our community.