Saint Philip Neri CYO
St. Philip Neri Parish " Home Of The Saints " Lafayette Hill - PA

Saint Philip Neri CYO

CYO Sports Mission Statement


CYO Sports is:

One component of a parish’s comprehensive youth ministry program which

enables the partnership of parents, coaches, priests, religious, teachers

and adult leaders to manage and support a sports program that allows

youth to grow in their relationship with God and come to better understand

themselves and the Catholic faith.

Such a program:

Employs healthy and enjoyable competition to promote the sharing of

gospel values among athletes, parents, and coaches, assists parish leadership

in nourishing the emotional, spiritual, social, and physical needs of young

people, encourages young people to appreciate the gifts that they possess

and challenges them to share these gifts with their community.

Allows youth to witness the life of Christian discipleship in their coaches and

adult leaders, encourages youth to become responsible members of their

faith community.

 

CYO Points of Emphasis…

MINISTRY— CYO sports provide a unique opportunity for youth ministry with the

potential for great Christian influence. All CYO sports volunteers should strive to ignite

spiritual development out of the relationship between the youth and athletics. God has

blessed the youth with many gifts and talents, and volunteers are called to realize the

importance of animating an appreciation for those blessings. We encourage our

volunteers to act as ministers by facilitating prayer before and after practices and

games, attending Mass as a team, and creating a team service project, among other

things. Most importantly, we ask that the volunteers teach values of faith and

character development and reflect those values in their own actions. Participation in

athletics provides many “teachable moments” and all involved need to be prepared to

constructively address those opportunities.

SPORTSMANSHIP— All CYO programs must reflect Christian attitudes and values

through coaches emphasizing good sportsmanship. Coaches are expected to set

sportsmanship standards with their teams and discuss proper conduct. Part of

showing good sportsmanship involves both coaches and their teams shaking hands

with the other team before and after each contest. Sportsmanship also includes

treating game officials with respect. Officials will make mistakes, and therefore coaches

and athletes must be tolerant. The CYO is not tolerant of shouting and criticism nor

any negative or derogatory comments toward officials, coaches, spectators and/or

athletes. In short, let players play, coaches teach, officials officiate and parents

support.

ENJOYMENTYouth play sports because it’s fun; youth leave organized sports

because it’s not fun—it’s that simple. The CYO is not a spectator sport for the

benefit of coaches and parents. All competitions are supposed to be enjoyable for the

athletes! Good CYO coaches “succeed” by enabling youth to develop their talents,

not simply by winning. Coaches succeed by helping each youth become the best

they can be through skill development, building a team as part of the parish

community, helping youth see beyond themselves to the needs of others, appreciating

the social aspects of sport, seeing God as the source of our gifts and praising Him for it,

and having fun along the way. Good CYO coaches constructively instruct their athletes.

It is critical that our youth understand that they get their worth from God as a

free gift, NOT from “success” in athletics. We pray that parents will support their

children without placing undue pressure on them to win or be the best athlete on their

team or in their Region, none of which their child can control. We also ask that

spectators cheer in a positive manner. Remember that the participants are not small

adults, they are children playing a game.