Friday May 18th 2012

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Loving community, big results

BY RYAN SCHUETTE
news@theballstonjournal.com

St. Mary’s Catholic Church is located right in the middle of downtown Ballston Spa. The parish has been an institution for a great number of the people in the towns of Ballston Spa, Milton and Malta for many years, and its CYO youth basketball program has helped build character in hundreds of young children.

“I have been impressed over the years with our youth’s willingness to serve,” said parish youth minister Jake Stomieroski. “A high percentage of our youth is involved in community service and even stay involved long after they leave high school.” Many of these kids grew up playing basketball with Saint Mary’s and remember it for years afterwards.

“The CYO program has a lot to do with our youth involvement,” said Stomieroski. “It gives students an opportunity to play in an organized league when they may not have had a chance to do so at their school.”

CYO stands for Catholic Youth Organization. The organization provides a way for kids to play basketball against other kids their age around the capital district. “CYO is not just teaching the kids the fundamentals about basketball,” said Stomieroski, “but helping them build character, teaching them values, leadership, fair play, sportsmanship and how to work well in a team setting.”

“I remember a game last year when a player from another team swore at a referee,” Stomieroski said. “He got thrown out of the game, but the coaches from our parish preach respect and fair, clean play. It really helps the kids grow.”

Saint Mary’s parish has enjoyed a lot of recent success in the CYO league. Two of the boys’ teams recently made the semi-finals and are starting to become more prominent on the CYO horizon. The girls’ teams have become perennial powerhouses; the Junior Girls have won four championships in a row and are gunning for a fifth this season. The Biddy Girls won the championship last year and are hoping to repeat. “We consider this a major accomplishment,” said Patrick McMahon, CYO coordinator for Saint Mary’s. “No program has ever done that before. We are the only feeder program for the high school’s girls team so we tend to be aggressive at this level.”

McMahon gave all the credit to the coaches. “They are the reason the program is run like it is,” he said. “They bring out the best in the kids. We are constantly looking for younger coaches to carry on the program and teach the game of basketball.”

“The parish is very supportive of all of the youth programs and CYO is no exception,” Stomieroski said. “I know that Father Kelly (Father Thomas Kelly) is especially fond of the basketball program.” It certainly seems CYO basketball is something that has caught hold in Ballston Spa and will continue to grow, with each year being more successful than the last. “That’s how you build your program,” Mc Mahon said. “With more wins comes more players, and the number seems to keep on getting higher.”

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