16 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, October 29, 1999 Y M C A Y o u th I I VI J> * 0 <s Basketball in a league o f its o w n hen we visited the Y's basket ball program at Queen Elizabeth Park to take pho tographs, we asked one of the coaches if taking photos would disrupt the players' concentration. His reply, "I don't think so. Give it a try and let's see what happens." We needn't have worried. What we p A Q T /v A p r \ C saw was two teams ' *VFVjW w of 9-- 11-year-olds C D flM T H F Y totally focused on · · * " ** * their game. Nothing seemed to distract them, even the popping of flashbulbs. Only the instruction of the coaches and the rulings of the refer ee influenced their concentration. : They ignored everything else and remained intent on playing basketball. The skill level and knowledge o f the game was amazing, as was the teamwork. Equally impressive was the support o f the audience: parents, grandparents and sib lings filled the stands, but there wa$ none of the parental griping or sniping that sometimes accompanies competitive youth sports. When there was a particu larly good play, supporters of both teams applauded. When a player went down, supporters of both teams seemed equally concerned until the situation was taken care of, and supporters of both teams applauded as the young player got to his feet and rejoined his team. Four hundred and thirty-three young people lake part in the YMCA'S Youth Basketball program. Of these, 262 are return players from previous years. The League is divided into six levels: Minor, Junior, Midget, Intermediate, Advanced and Senior levels, and players are posi tioned in each level on the basis of skill and experience, as well as age. Participants play 16 games per year, one game a week. Every Saturday, 19 YMCA basketball games are played in Oakville. The Oakville YMCA'S building pro ject will enable many of the youth bas ketball games and practices to be held on site. However, as Youth Worker Scott Millar points out, "There are just so many youth who want to continue to play and there are so many more who would like to join the program, that I don't anticipate giving up our rented space. There is too much demand for the program now and we can already see signs of increased interest from the newer areas of Oakville." Like other YMCA programs, no one is ever turned away if they are unable to pay. The YMCA, as a charitable organi zation, will offer financial assistance if it is needed. Our congratulations to all those involved in the YMCA of Oakville's bas ketball program -- coaches, referees, and the most important ingredient of all ii the players and their very supportive fami lies. The OakviHe Y's basketball program is YMCA Canada's motto in action -- "building strong kids, strong families, strong communities." W Win this 3025 nip W ideLot" Dream Value: $360,755 EARLY BIRD PRIZE!! Win this NEW 2000 BMW Z3 Roadster. Value: $52,785 »> I n v e s t in g in C o m m u n it y When you play, we all win! .511 proceeds benefit the Community Foundation of Oakville, making grants this year to the Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital Charitable Corp. and the Oakville YMCA Get your C A LL 3 Easy Ways to get your tickets to W IN! MAIL this order form to: Great Dream Home Lottery, P.O. Box 84026,1235 Trafalgar Rd,, Oakville. ON L6H 3J0 FAX this order form to: 905 845-1395 1 88 RUSH ORDER FO RM 8 to 8 weekdays and 9 to 3 Saturdays. Have your VISA or MasterCard ready! Early Bird Draw: 6 pm November 12, 1999 at Builds' BMW. Final Draws 7 pm December 3, 1999 at Glen Abbey Mattamy Sales Pavilion, Oakville. Please rash me: ( ___ ) set(s) of 3 tickets for $100 per set = $ ( ) individual ucket(s) for Name Phone # Pirns Postal Code METHOD OF PAYMENT cheque (enclosed) money order (enclosed) / VISA MasterCard ""/ Expin $40 per ticket = $ r 1 ! CALL toll-free 1 888 535-7777 or locally 905 845-2010 Card # _____________________ / ____________ TOTAL $ Cardholder's Nam e________________________________________________ Signature______ _____ ____________________ _____________ __________ ^ lwsnc The C K kville Beaver OB 0 1 Licence I P9 9 0 9 7 4 Subm itted by Carole Thompson, Development Officer, YMCA o f Oakville.