Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 7, 2000

Volume 28, Number 27

Yale athletes host day of sports
and fun for city youngsters

For the last six years student-athletes and coaches from Yale have been teaching sports and sportsmanship while bonding with youths from the New Haven community at youth events hosted by the Athletics Department.

On Saturday, April 8, over 100 members of the Athletics Department will host New Haven youngsters in the 2000 Yale Olympic Youth Day on the grounds around Yale Bowl. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. and culminate with three Bulldog varsity games that afternoon.

Invitations have been extended to local youth organizations, schools and members of the Yale Kids Club for this event, which will include at least eight different sports clinics with Yale teams and other activities.

"The kids get to meet different athletes and participate in sports they would not normally be exposed to," says Yale junior Lee Jelenic, one of four leaders of the Yale Community Outreach Committee. "Some of the kids may not be able to afford the equipment to take part in these sports, so we provide the equipment and instruction for a fun introduction. It's a very rewarding experience for everyone involved, including the Yale squads that want to improve team chemistry and bonding."

Jelenic, a member of the Yale hockey team, says: "I decided to get more involved in Youth Days at Yale after participating in my first event in the fall of 1997. The kids were so enthusiastic and great to work with."

Teachers, principals, coaches and parents bring youngsters to the Athletics Department events every year. Kelly Tietrosimone, a sixth-grade student at Nathan Hale School in New Haven, has attended Yale Youth Days for the past five years. "It's great that the Yale students take the time to come out and be with us," she says.

There is, however, more to the Youth Day events than clinics and meeting Yale coaches and athletes.

"We eat breakfast and lunch with the kids, give them shirts and take them to a variety of varsity games," says Jelenic. "Each group is given a country to represent and a few words of the native language to learn and use during the Youth Day program."

Danielle Gray, a basketball and softball player at Nathan Hale School, will be attending her third Yale Olympic Youth Day this weekend. She says: "I love the clinics in basketball and softball. It's great to get my questions answered by the Yale athletes; they are always willing to teach you."

Wanda Faison, a local teacher and coach who once brought 75 youngsters to a Yale-sponsored event, sees Youth Days as an important opportunity for many of the students she works with. "The kids don't do much on the weekends, coming from single-parent or working-parent homes," says Faison. "One of the best things about Youth Day is the chance for students from different New Haven schools to mix. Some kids meet people from other schools and end up hanging out with them."

The Yale Athletics Community Outreach Program began when Athletic Director Tom Beckett came to New Haven six years ago. Since then, there has been a steady increase in the number of Yale athletics programs involving the New Haven community.

"This is a lot more than just clinics and activities," says Tim Ford, director of the Yale Athletics Community Outreach Program since its inception in 1994. "The kids have a rare opportunity to identify with the student-athletes and develop a relationship. They know they will have other chances to see the Yale students at other youth events or in Yale games featuring those athletes."

While reservations are required for participation in the Youth Day activities, families and children are invited to attend the Yale varsity games on that day, which will be held in the University's facilities near Derby Avenue. Contests include: women's tennis vs. Pennsylvania, 12:30 p.m., Yale Tennis Complex (free admission); men's lacrosse vs. Rutgers, Soccer-Lacrosse Stadium ($3 for adults; $1 for children); baseball vs. Princeton, 1 p.m., Yale Field ($3 for adults; $1 for children). Also that day at noon, there will be a free exhibition meet between the Yale men's and women's track teams vs. Birmingham, England.

-- By Steven Conn,
Director, Sports Publicity

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