News & Downloads

February 22 -  Congrats to the 10U Boys All-Stars for their strong showing in the city tournament ! (Trey Hawkins, Corey Ramey, Joey Miller, Alex Rice, Henry Sowards, Truman Douglas, James Webster, Fred Perkinson, Arthur Jenkins, Ricky Bustamante, Chris Arbuthnet, Michael Williams and coaches Arthur Jenkins & Jim Webster)

February 17 - An excellent article for all new and experienced KYS sports parents.

February 15 - Congrats to the Lakers in the 9-10 Boys Tournament for winning the championship! (Sebastian Caudill, Trey Hawkins, Arthur Jenkins, Logan Haun, Joey Miller, Fred Perkinson, Mathew Stanley, Michael Williams . . . and coaches Arthur Jenkins & Fred Perkinson.)


Congrats to the Lakers in the 11-12 Boys Tournament for winning the championship! (Joseph Allen, Anderson Fuller, Sam Higdon, Harrison Killian, Machen Murphy, Cameron Natour, Jackson Sexton, Colter Swanson . . . and coaches Andy Sexton & Greg Swanson.)


February 14 - Congrats to the Knicks in the 7-8 Boys Team League (Div. A) Basketball Tournament on winning the championship. (Ryan Barclay, Eli Crowder, Sam King, Gavin McGilvray, Jay Pemberton, Caden Rector, Caleb Thompson . . . coaches Matt Crowder & Bart Pemberton)


February 13 - Thanks to these spring 2012 baseball sponsors: Golden Inc.; Novinger, Ball & Zivi, P.C.

     




  

February 13 - Congrats to the Lakers in the 7-8 Boys Team League (Div. A) Basketball Tournament on winning the championship. (Sean Brennan, Quinn Brennan, Gray Davis, Corban Dunlap, Adam Osborn, John Sheringham, Wyatt Shomaker, Johnny Wilkes . . . coaches Scott Osborn & Ted Brennan)


February 12 - Contrats to the Grizzlies in the 5-6 KYS Boys Basketball Tournament for winning the championship! (Jones Cooper, Cooper Everett, Jeremiah Fletcher, Jacob Silas, John Whitesell, Jaylen Williams, Owen Winters . . . coaches DeBora Fletcher & John Winters


February 9 - KYS registration deadline for baseball, softball & lacrosse: February 17.

February 6 - Congrats to the KYS Monarchs in the 6-8 Girls Basketball Tournament on winning the championship! (Lindsey Bertani, Kendall Fisher, Rebecca Robinson, Maggie Tipton, Emily Whitfield . . . coaches Chris Whitfield & Hanson Tipton)


Congrats to the Grace Rams in the KYS 9-11 Girls Basketball Tournament on winning the championship! (Tara Conway, Abby Dickens, Olivia Ellison, Lauren Lewis, Gentry McReynolds, Kara Nipper, Virginia Pirkle, Reagan Shaw, Abby White . . . coaches Brett Ellison & James Lewis)


Congrats to the KYS Heat in the 7-8 Boys Team League (Div. B) Basketball Tournament on winning the championship! (J.W. Bullman, Keon Daniels, Chris Hunter, J.J. Jackson, D. Kershaw, Kwan Nelson, J. Thomas, Joseph Thomas, Dominic Vent . . . coaches Chris Hunter & Kenric Daniels)


January 27- KYS basketball tournament brackets: 11-12 boys, 9-11 girls, 9-10 boys, 7-8 boys, 7-8 boys team league, 6-8 girls, 5-6 boys.

January 26 - KYS basketball standings: 11-12 boys, 9-10 boys, 7-8 boys, 7-8 boys team league, 6-8 girls, 5-6 boys.

January 22 - Download the KYS January newsletter.

January 18 - An Open Letter To All KYS Families
We want to tell you about an incident that occurred during this 9-10 year old boys basketball season. You may not be aware of the story but we still want to you to know what happened.
     A KYS coach gave a strongly worded talk -without profanity- to his team after a loss last Saturday. The boys hadn't been practicing well or listening well in games. The team has struggled and has won no games. In an attempt to motivate the kids to play harder, the coach used this "tactic" of attempting to "light a fire" under them. Some of the parents on the team agreed with the coach that it was good medicine for the players. Others were extremely upset about the way the coach addressed their children, some of whom started crying. The next day the team played their best game of the season, according to the coach and some parents.
     KYS absolutely does not condone coaches berating kids or demeaning their character. KYS spoke with the coach and he subsequently apologized to the players on at least two occasions for hurting their feelings and making them cry. While he concedes that the "tactic" may not have been age appropriate for some in the group, he stands by his message, even though he could have used softer language to make his point. The desired result was simply to motivate kids to give their best effort.
     We respect the time and energy that our volunteer coaches put into coaching KYS kids and want to take the time again to thank all of them, including the coach of this team. We realize that coaches get emotionally involved in their teams and in the season and want the kids to have success.
     It is sometimes difficult for coaches to keep kids playing hard, especially during a losing season. Coaches give talks to their teams every weekend. But let us assure you, at KYS each season, disagreements virtually never spiral into such heated feelings between parents and coaches as this situation did. At the same time, neither coaches nor KYS are perfect. Mistakes may have been made in this situation, but they're far from a cause for dismissal. We stand behind our coaches. None is flawless. None is paid. Moving forward this coach will remain with the team but there will be a KYS staff member at practices and games to assist.
     KYS has been organizing and administering recreational youth sports programs since 1956. This hoops season 120 coaches and assistants help kids learn the game. More than 400 games will be played this basketball season. This spring there will be more than 500 games of baseball, not to mention, softball, and lacrosse. KYS tries in all these games to provide boys and girls an opportunity to build confidence and to learn what it means to be a part of a team.
     In addition, our Challenger leagues give special needs children an opportunity to enjoy the same thrills and exhilaration as their friends and siblings do in youth sports. We also offer the same opportunity to children from the inner city through our partnership with SOAR Youth Ministries.
     The goal and the mission of KYS will always remain to see children grow and develop through participation in youth team sports.
     There will always be challenges throughout any season but continuing on through adversity is one of life's lessons and one of the reasons we want kids to play team sports. There are lessons they will learn through playing sports that they cannot learn in a classroom.
     We sincerely thank the families of KYS for the opportunity to be a part of your child's life.
                                                                            - Knox Youth Sports Board of Directors

January 10 - 2012 KYS Cooperstown Team Picked
Congrats to these players who have been selected to represent KYS next summer in Cooperstown, N.Y.: Preston Armstrong, Hank Bertelkamp, A.J. Chambers, Cal Cook, James Eaves, Keith Gabrielson, Nathan Johnson, Carson Matthews, Heath Mooneyham, Will Rice, Roland Ryan, Matthew Stubblefield, and Thomas Wilson. And also a special thanks to head coach Joe Riffey from the KYS staff for volunteering to take KYS players on this trip of a lifetime. The team will be the eighth select team of 12-year-old players to play in this 100-team tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park. Each player will receive Dreams Park uniforms, a commemorative ring, and stay at the Dreams Park. Players will participate in an opening ceremonies at which parachutists deliver a game ball and a home plate. The players will test themselves in a homerun hitting contest, base-running, throwing, and around-the-horn. The whole team may be asked to sing Rocky Top at the closing ceremonies just as last year’s team did. They’ll visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame downtown, dozens of baseball card shops, and souvenir baseball bat shops in the downtown of this lakeside village. They may attend Oneonta Tigers minor league games at a stadium nearby. According to one parent whose son went last summer: “It’s hard to explain the experience of seeing 1,500 twelve year olds, from all over the U.S., coming together to enjoy their passion—baseball.” One of the things that last year’s coach, Jason Shymlock, was most proud of “was the team’s sportsmanship after they were knocked out of the tournament. They lost their elimination game to a team from N.C, and the KYS kids ran back to the barracks, changed clothes, and ran back out to watch the team that beat them play their next game. We watched the whole game and our team stood outside the dugout of the N.C. team and created a tunnel for them to run through as they left the field for the very last time. Everyone of our boys gave congratulations to the N.C. team, and both teams’ players and parents were very appreciative of that show of sportsmanship from a special group of KYS 12-year-olds.” For more info, visit cooperstowndreamspark.com.

January 10, 2012 - KYS spring sports workouts: baseball/softball, March 3; lacrosse, March 4. Spring seasons start: lacrosse, March 31; softball, April 2; baseball, April 9.

November 30 - Check out 2012 KYS Hoops Master Schedule.

October 1 - Download our Code of Conduct and the KYS October newsletter.

September 1, 2011 - New! KYS Team Leagues
In the new KYS Team League—which is for recreational players who want to play together—coaches can protect 8 players. Teams will play 12 games plus a tournament.

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