• Backyard Sports Cares Blog



    • BYSC Celebrates February Birthdays with Coachman Family Center Kids

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    Categories At risk youth, under-served communitiesTags ,

    Last Sunday, Backyard Sports Cares visited the Coachman Family Center to brighten spirits of homeless children through sports and play. Based in White Plains, the Coachman Center is home to more than a dozen families in need of shelter due to various and unfortunate circumstances. Although the families live at the center in White Plains, the … Continue reading “BYSC Celebrates February Birthdays with Coachman Family Center Kids”

    Just Keep Swimming!

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    Categories afterschool programs, swimmingTags , ,

    By Arden Franklyn Whether your child swims for sport, exercise or fun, nothing quite compares to the feeling of weightlessness and freedom that swimming offers. I recently caught up with Colleen Ferguson, SUNY Purchase Swim Captain and lead coach for Backyard Sports Cares’ afterschool swim program for the Slater Center. Every Tuesday, Coach Colleen instructs … Continue reading “Just Keep Swimming!”

    BYSC Afterschool Swim: A Day in the Pool with Slater Center Youngsters

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    Categories afterschool programs, swimmingTags , ,

    By Arden Franklyn Water + Kids = Fun  — That was the winning formula last Tuesday at Backyard Sports Cares’ weekly afterschool swim program for Thomas H. Slater Center children. Hosted at the SUNY Purchase pool and led by Swim Team Captain, Colleen Ferguson, the program brings the fundamentals of swimming to seven to ten-year-olds with limited … Continue reading “BYSC Afterschool Swim: A Day in the Pool with Slater Center Youngsters”

    Backyard Sports Cares Receives Gannett Foundation Grant

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    Categories SoccerTags

    BYSC will Use Award to Support the Organization’s Soccer League in 2017 On January 18, 2017, Danny Bernstein, executive director, Backyard Sports Cares (BYSC) and Linda Breton of BYSC, attended a reception at the Journal News office in White Plains for recipients of grant funding from the Gannett Foundation.  Backyard Sports Cares was one of … Continue reading “Backyard Sports Cares Receives Gannett Foundation Grant”

    Backyard Sports Cares Announces Sponsorship Alliance with PM Pediatrics

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    Categories afterschool programs, under-served communitiesTags , ,

    Pediatric Urgent Care Provider to Help Sponsor Afterschool Recreational Programming at Mt. Vernon Elementary Schools Backyard Sports Cares (BYSC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing high quality sports programming to young athletes with limited access to community programs, announced today a strategic partnership with PM Pediatrics, one of the nation’s largest providers of specialized … Continue reading “Backyard Sports Cares Announces Sponsorship Alliance with PM Pediatrics”

    Backyard Sports+ Special Needs Athletes Play GaGa at SUNY Purchase

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    Categories inclusive sports, special needs sportsTags

    This past weekend our Backyard Sports Plus Special Need athletes and coaches were treated to an indoor session of GaGa at Purchase College.  The GaGa pits were provided courtesy of Scott Blumberg and Talon Athletics, a local GaGa activity provider and manufacturer of GaGa specialty equipment. The players received progressive skill instruction, including striking a … Continue reading “Backyard Sports+ Special Needs Athletes Play GaGa at SUNY Purchase”

    Backyard Sports Cares Brings Special Needs Sports Programming to New England

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    Categories inclusive sports, special needs sports

      This fall, Backyard Sports Cares launched its first soccer program for kids with Special Needs in Weston, CT. In collaboration with the Weston, CT, Parks & Recreation Department, the program has gotten off to a great start with enthusiastic volunteers from Weston High School helping to teach young athletes soccer skills, while having lots … Continue reading “Backyard Sports Cares Brings Special Needs Sports Programming to New England”

    BYSC partners with Tennis Innovators & White Plains Youth Bureau to bring tennis to deserving youngsters

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    Categories tennisTags ,

    Backyard Sports Cares is excited to announce a new partnership with Tennis Innovators of White Plains and the White Plains Youth Bureau, which brings tennis instruction to an enthusiastic group of deserving youngsters. Special thanks to Sandy Hoffman of the USTA who helped BYSC and Tennis Innovators come together on this special project. Cesar Andrade … Continue reading “BYSC partners with Tennis Innovators & White Plains Youth Bureau to bring tennis to deserving youngsters”

    Backyard Sports Plus Teen Basketball League Gets Going!

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    Categories inclusive sports, special needs sports, basketballTags ,

    Thanks to our teen coaches and players for a successful start to the Backyard Sports Plus Teen Basketball League.  Coach Vin Minotti led the group in clinical instruction followed by inclusive competitive basketball games for the squad.  We meet Sunday mornings at 10am at the main gym at Purchase College for all interested teen players and … Continue reading “Backyard Sports Plus Teen Basketball League Gets Going!”

    Backyard Sports Brings NewFlex Youths to Brant Lake

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    Categories Backyard Sports Cares, summer campTags ,

    For the fourth year in a row, Backyard Sports Cares hosted a group of kids from Mt. Vernon’s NewFlex Youth Program at Brant Lake Camp for a weekend of fun camp experiences and activities. It was another fabulous camp experience for the NewFlex Youth Program kids who participated in lots of activities and made new … Continue reading “Backyard Sports Brings NewFlex Youths to Brant Lake”

    BYS Teen Volunteers Teach Golf at Bits and Pieces Day Camp

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    Categories BYSC Cares, golf

    Guest post by BYSC teen volunteer: Max Bunzel Teaching golf to the kids at the White Plains Youth Bureau Bits and Pieces Day Camp has been an amazing experience for Scott Galst and me. We have seen many kids go from zero exposure to golf to playing and improving every week. We taught kindergarten, 1st, … Continue reading “BYS Teen Volunteers Teach Golf at Bits and Pieces Day Camp”

    BYS Named Family Favorite Again by Westchester Family Magazine

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    Categories special needs sportsTags ,

    For a second consecutive year, Westchester Family Magazine names Backyard Sports among the publication’s Top 5 Family Favorites for “Special Needs Recreation Programs.” As part of its annual Family Favorites Awards, Westchester Family Magazine surveys thousands of parents to find out who their (and their children’s) favorite service providers are across 47 categories. “We are … Continue reading “BYS Named Family Favorite Again by Westchester Family Magazine”

    Cheerleaders give performance pointers to Edward Williams Elementary schoolgirls

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    Categories afterschool programsTags ,

    For the past three months, Backyard Sports Cares volunteers and Scarsdale High School Varsity Cheerleaders, Madison Doyle, Ariel Stonberg, Talia Abbe and Isobel Lloyd, have been visiting and working with young girls at Edward Williams Elementary School in Mount Vernon. Last week, the fruits of their labor came to the stage. Edward Williams Elementary students, … Continue reading “Cheerleaders give performance pointers to Edward Williams Elementary schoolgirls”