PLAY · LEAD · SUCCEED Collin County · January 2013

JANUARY 18-21, 2013

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January Issue, Our 16th Year!

If you’re reading this, we’ve proven the Mayan calendar wasn’t predicting the end of the world and we can now focus on the upcoming year!

“Resolution” is the word of the month. Some people make them religiously each

year and others resolve NOT to make them. I like to make goals for the year instead of resolutions. Resolutions usually seem more general in nature, i.e. “I will work out more this year”. I prefer to have a goal with a finite objective.

This is a great time to talk to your kids about what it means to have, work towards, and achieve a goal. Goals for school grades and skill development are a few good examples. Everyone likes to feel the sense of achievement after putting forth an effort, so helping them set their goals and line out the steps they will need to take to reach them gives them an opportunity to have successes they can be proud of.

Many comment there is a sense of entitlement among the younger generation. These could be individuals that were told as children wonderful and talented they were whether they put forth any effort because their parents feared they would have no self-esteem in the absence of praise. Your child may not reach their goal, so be prepared to help them understand why and what they need to do to be more successful next time.

We give praise where praise is earned at my house. Those that have successes get the praise they deserve and those that don’t put forth the effort...well...they do the dishes!!

STORIESGirls on the Run 5Bringing the Hardware Home 9Area Athletes Honored 20

REGULAR FEATURESThe Game Plan 2 Positive Coaching Alliance 8Scoreboard 8 Chalk Talk 10 Athlete of the Month 11 Sports Calendar & Directory 12-13A Team to Watch 14 Kid’s Korner 16Tip Off 17Coach Spotlight 22

YSTCollinCounty

ORJ PUBLISHING, LLCPresident/CEO Tresha Glowacki

tresha@orjmedia.comwww.youthsportstoday.net1

10 W. Sandy Lake Road #110 PMB 154 l Coppell, TX 75019 l 469-767-4542

ContactYouth Sports Today is published monthly by ORJ Publishing, LLC & distributed free of charge through local merchants. Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements do not necessarily reflect that opinion of the publisher. Youth Sports Today is not responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented to the magazine. Advertisers and its agencies assume all liability for advertising content. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without the permission in writing from the publisher. Photographs are welcomed and must be submitted by the 15th of each month prior to publication.

Department Contact

Publisher Ruthi Elliottruthi@youthsportstoday.com 469-777-8333

Editor John Leejohn@youthsportstoday.com

Contributor Janet Calltharp

Graphics Dept. Winston T. Byrdwinston@youthsportstoday.com 469-777-8333

Cover story Tresha Glowacki

Photography Christopher Baylor

Table of ContentsCOVER STORY Texas Winter Games 18-19

Alyssa Bogdan working on her beam routine at Kurt Thomas Gymnastics in Frisco.

Zach having fun in his SoccerTots class at Frisco Indoor Sports.

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Hayden Reiter working on his kicks with Coach Chris at NTA Taekwondo in Frisco.

Dylan Jacinto makes a free throw shot for his 5th grade Panther Pack team at Plano Sports Authority.

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Spring Season is Here!Girls on the Run® is an experiential

learning program for 3rd to 5th grade girls that combines lessons in self- em-powerment, healthy decision making and body image with warm-ups and workouts to train for completion of a 5 km (3.1 mile) run/walk. The program encourages emotional, social, mental, and physical development.

MissionWe inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun,

experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

VisionWe envision a world where every girl knows and activates her limit-

less potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.

Program Structuren10 week program

for girls grade 3 – 5 that incorporate self-esteem enhancing les-sons to coincide with an uplifting workout.

n Program con-cludeS with a 5K (3.1 miles) running event. The Spring 5K is organized and ran by the Girls on the Run DFW staff and volunteers.

Registration opens: January 21, 2013Classes start the week of February 11, 2013If interested in coaching opportunities, the paperwork deadline is

January 14, 2013. If interested, email volunteers@gotrdfw.org

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Players burned up the courts in the Little Elm basketball tournament just before the holidays.

Kids work out during the Speed and Agility Training at the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney.

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Indoor soccer teams were in high gear last month at Plano Sports Authority.

Chase Toledo, a 7th grader at Legacy Christian Academy, works out with EPT at The Cell in Prosper.

Kadence Cheang works on her floor routine at Kurt Thomas Gymnastics in Frisco while Katie Cortese and Reganne Cheang look on.

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Positive Coaching Allianceon Filling Emotional Tanks

Youth Sports Today proudly presents a new series of tips for youth sports coaches and parents from Positive Coaching Alliance and its local Chap-ter, PCA-North Texas. This month, we cover the PCA principle of Filling Emo-tional Tanks as shared in PCA’s live workshops, online courses, books and

free resources available at www.PCANorthTexas.org.Following is a script that coaches can draw from in order

to share the Emotional Tank concept with their players. With just a few adjustments based on which sport you coach and your players’ ages, you can deliver the core message in your own voice.

“For us to succeed as a team and have a lot of fun to-gether this season, we want to fill each others’ Emotional Tanks. An Emotional Tank is like a car’s gas tank. When it’s empty, we go nowhere, but when it’s full, we can go anywhere. People with empty tanks become negative and give up more easily. But with full tanks, we stay optimistic and can handle difficult situations.

“As coach, I will do my best to help fill your Emotional Tanks. Here are some of the ways I will do that and some of the ways you can help keep your teammates’ tanks full.

n Tell teammates when we see them do something well, or when we see them giving maximum effort, even if the play does not completely go our way.

n Tell teammates when we see them improving. That will help them continue trying hard to improve even more.

n Listen to teammates when they have ideas to share.“People perform best and have full tanks when they get

about five pieces of truthful, specific praise for each time that they receive a piece of specific, constructive criticism...not necessarily all in a row, but over time. Truthful and specific praise means not just saying “Way to go!” but something like “Great hustle! You accelerated at just the right time.” I’ll give you lots of praise to keep your tanks full so that when I do criticize or correct something, you’ll know I still believe in you as a player and as a person.

“I want you to fill each others’ tanks. In some practices, we’ll use a Buddy System. You’ll pair up with a buddy and watch each other to see what your buddy is doing well. Then, we’ll get together and share what we saw our bud-dies doing so that everyone gets a full tank.

“Let’s try to avoid draining each others’ tanks. If your teammates make mistakes, they know it, and they feel badly. If you criticize them for mistakes, you make them feel worse, and they’re more likely to make more mistakes.

“This will be a great season if we keep our Emotional Tanks full. Let’s start right now by finding a buddy, and we’ll run some drills. Remember to keep an eye on what your buddy is doing well and be prepared to share it with your teammates.”

To bring PCA to your school or youth sports organization, phone PCA-North Texas Executive Director Scott Secules at 972-789-4100 or e-mail Scott_Secules@PositiveCoach.org.

SCOREBOARD YOUTH SPORTS TODAYAthletE UPDATES

Last month this photo was captured of Anna Sousa at Kurt Thomas Gymnas-tics in Frisco. She recently competed and made State Beam Champion, State Floor Champion and State All Around Champion! Way to go Anna!

Blakeney Latson appeared in our May issue with her team the D’Feeters. She recently made the Boyd High School varsity soccer team as a Freshman. Congrats!

The North Texas Knights featured in December won 40-12 against the Philly all-star team that has been the best on the east coast for years. They flew down to find out what all the hype was about with Texas football. On December 27th they will attend the O/D National Championship. If they win, that will give them three major national tournament wins.

The Hurricanes won all three regular games on December 1st at the Tour-nament of Champions with 27 points, with the highest possible points of 30 (1st Place Standing) and qualified to play in the Sudden Death Playoffs. They lost their first game but went on to win the championship for their di-vision. Out of five games played, there was only a total of two goals scored on The Hurricanes!

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The Texas Aces Squirts celebrate their championship win at the Fall Round-Up tournament.

This year at the 2012 Texas Hanmadong tournament in Plano, NTA Taekwondo of Frisco arrived with 13 young competitors, some competing for the very first time. After a day full of competi-tion in forms, sparring, and weapons, the Frisco taekwondo team went home with a total of 19 Gold, 8 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.

NTA Taekwondo of Frisco is located inside of Fieldhouse USA. Their school teaches Olympic style taekwondo for recreational and competitive students. For more information, visit their website at www.ntafrisco.com.

Bringing the Hardware Home from the Hanmadong

NTA teammates Sophia Dronova and brothers Max, Jay and Leo Cornwell. Sophia won gold in both forms and sparring. This was the first tournament for the Cornwell brothers and all three walked away with three medals each!

What is different about the best coaches? How do they consistently deliver champions – even in different locations, with a different group of athletes, and against different competi-tors?

Without question, coaches need a sharp eye for physical talent and a knack for recruit-ing. However, the best coaches are masters at creating consis-tency across their program by addressing what leadership ex-perts call ‘individualization’. This means they study each athlete in order to tailor their approach to the unique needs of that in-dividual. They understand that ‘one size does NOT fit all’.

It sounds like common sense, but it is not common practice. Maintaining a dual focus re-quires intention at the highest level. Championship-caliber coaches understand and em-ploy this. They know every athlete is a complex bundle of both physical and mental capa-bilities.

Over the years, researchers in every sport have developed scientific and objective methods to evaluate an athlete’s physi-cal abilities. They may look at speed, strength, agility, sport-specific motion, flexibility and stamina.

Physical abilities are only half, if that, of the performance picture. Elite-level coaches are able to uncover the unique mental make-up of each athlete. How are they motivated? How do they compensate for a weak-ness? How do they respond when they’re intimidated, in pain, or dealing with a tough opponent or under pressure? Which athlete should I call upon to inspire the team and who is better at admonishing fellow players?

The good news is there is an equally scientific and objective way to answer these questions

about the mental make-up and performance of an athlete. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator™ (MBTI™) is a coaching tool when properly administered and interpreted, provides a more complete understanding of how to practice and train ath-letes given their innate physical and mental strengths and defi-ciencies. When you know how an athlete is inherently wired, you can better motivate, teach them how to handle pressure, and ultimately, help them real-ize their full potential as leaders and team players.

In your role as a coach, you need to discover who each ath-lete truly is and learn the right vernacular to enhance their brain. Expectations you set will be slightly different for each athlete, the way you interact, persuade, and correct will be different. The way you nurture a strength, give compliments and why, and the way you develop a weakness will be varied.

As a coach, you do not want to label or select based on an athlete’s ‘mental map’. That said, results certainly can help you understand your athletes and what type of position or role he or she is best suited for, which players tend to perform better in a team situation versus a single situation, and which athletes will lead more by ex-ample or be the leader who rally the troupes into high octane action.

As a coach, it is your job to connect this kind of information to your athletes. It provides indi-vidualized guidance to help each athlete unlock and unleash their fullest athletic potential and create a winning consisten-cy across your program.

The Coaching Connection: Unlocking Leadership Potential

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Coaches must use caution and care when selecting words to communicate with players, parents, and umpires. Usually, we know what we mean, but sometimes, as the song lyrics go, words get in the way.

Consider these real statements from auto insurance claim forms:

n I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.

n My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle.

n In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.

n The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in a bush with just his rear end showing.

n No witnesses would admit having seen the mishap until after it happened.

In each case, we know what the driver intended, but the meaning is cloudy (and funny).

This hit home for me recently as I made a statement to an

umpire about his ruling and my choice of words took the discussion down the wrong path.

With a runner on first, the other team hit a ground ball to our second baseman. He flipped it to the shortstop who made the force out at second. The runner didn’t slide and was interfering with my player making a throw to first base for a double play.

I jogged onto the field and said to the umpire, “He’s got to slide there – that’s a double play.”

The problem was, my initial statement wasn’t entirely

factual. The rule does not state that a runner has to slide. It does say that he has to avoid contact and not be in the way. I knew that.

Here was my mistake. During the 10-second trip out to discuss the call, I had already mentally covered that ground, and took the rule for granted. My thought process was:

1. Know the rule (I did)2. It was obviously interference3. The kid SHOULD HAVE slid4. How could a kid NOT slide

in that situation?I blurted out a hybrid of

thoughts between #’s 3 & 4. Because I didn’t take the umpire through thoughts 1 & 2, he assumed I didn’t know the rule and that my statement was false.

Once I realized my mental-verbal mistake, I tried to re-trace the logic flow. Too late. He was firmly entrenched in his call.

This reinforces that coaches

need have a clear logic path in mind before they start communicating, especially if it is with players and parents. This is also true of parents talking to coaches!

As I discovered, umpires won’t usually let us re-trace the logic path. Parents and players might, but it takes time and could require repairing a relationship or hurt feelings.

Coach Dan Clemens is the author of A Perfect Season: A Coach’s Journey to Learning,

Competing, and Having Fun in Youth Baseball. A leadership and communications consultant, he’s coached youth baseball, football, soccer and basketball for 10 years and is a high school coach. You can email him at Dan@CoachClemens.com.

Fifth grader Dayton Toney training with EPT at The Cell in Prosper.

ANY DAY - ANY TIMEJUST BRING THE TEAM AFTER THE GAME IN THEIR UNIFORM

PLANO: 2220 Coit Road, (972) 964-0061 · 832 W Spring Creek Pkwy, (972) 509-5522

FRISCO: 5580 N Preston Road, (214) 436-4529 · 15962 Eldorado Pkwy, (214) 544-8002

MURPHY: 104 N Murphy Road, (214) 501-2546

ATHLETES IN UNIFORM,

BUY A BUFFET GET ONE FREE

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INSIDE

Calendar PulloutYour source for area events, registration dates, clinics, tournaments & more

This month’s Student Athlete of the Month is ten year old Motorcross competitor, Ethan Mann.

Ethan just took first place in both the stock and modified divisions of the Winter League Mini Olympics Supercross in Florida this past November.

He also placed second in the modified division and third in the stock division of the Winter League Mini Olympics Motorcross.

Ethan and his family recently relocated to The Colony from Oregon, so we are excited to watch this young athlete for many years to come!

Student Athlete of the MonthEthan Mann, The Colony, 10 years old

PRESENTS THE

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Calendar Your guide to area events, registrations, games and tournaments If you would like your listing to appear here, email Ruthi Elliott at frisco@youthsportstoday com

Directory❑ Celina Youth Sports, www celina-tx gov

❑ Frisco Amateur Summer Swim Team, www swimfasst info, 214-335-8081

❑ Frisco Baseball/Softball Assoc., www fbsa org, 214-537-3272

❑ Frisco Football League, www friscofootballleague com

❑ Frisco Ice Hockey, www friscoice hockey net

❑ Frisco Lacrosse Association, www friscolacrosse com, 214-407-9373

❑ Frisco Soccer Association, www friscosoccer org, 972-712-4625

❑ Frisco YMCA, www ymcadallas org/locations/frisco/sports, 214-297-9622

❑ Lonestar Volleyball, www lonestarvolleyball net, 214-334-3105

❑ McKinney Base-ball Association, www mbatx org

❑ McKinney Football, www mckinneysports connection org

❑ McKinney Lacrosse, www mckinneylacrosse com

❑ McKinney Soccer Association, www mckinneysoccer org, 972-569-6808

Baseball

Softball

❑ Frisco Baseball/Softball AssociationSpring registration, ends Jan 13

❑ The Colony Youth Baseball Association Spring registration, ends Jan 31

❑ McKinney Sports Spring registration, ends Feb 15

❑ Prosper Youth Sports Association Spring Registration, now open

❑ Allen Sports AssociationSpring Registration, now open

❑ McKinney Little LeagueSpring Registration, begins Feb 19

❑ Plano Baseball AssociationSpring Registration, now open

❑ Plano Sports Authority Spring Registration, closes April 13

❑ Frisco Baseball & Softball Association Spring Registration, ends Jan 19

❑ Prosper Youth Sports Association Spring Registration, ends Jan 26

❑ The Colony Softball Association Spring Registration, now open

❑ Allen Sports AssociationSpring Registration, now open

❑ McKinney Sports Spring Registration, now open

Lacrosse❑ Frisco Lacrosse Association Spring Registration, ends Jan 6

❑ Lacrosse Allen Sports Association Girls Spring Registration, ends Jan 20

❑ Lacrosse McKinney Lacrosse Spring Registration, ends Jan 6

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❑ McKinney Softball Association, www mckinneygsa com, 214-622-1668

❑ McKinney Volleyball, www mckinneysports connection org

❑ McKinney YMCA, www ymcadallas org/locations/ mckinney, 972 529 2559

❑ Plano Baseball Association, www planobaseball org, 972-517-5800

Plano Sports Authority, www psaplano org, 972 208 KIDS (5437)

❑ Plano YMCA, www ymcadallas org/locations/ russell_creek_ymca, 214 705 9459

❑ Plano Youth Soccer, www pysa org, 972-422-7972 ext 302

❑ Prosper Youth Sports Association, www prospertx-sports org

❑ The Colony Youth Football Association, www tcyfa com

❑ The Colony Youth Soccer Association, www tcysa net, 972 370 3091

❑ Upwards Sports - FUMC Allen, www fumcallen org/ recreation php, 972-727-8261

games, tournaments, events, campsDirectory

Basketball❑ Plano Sports AuthoritySpring Registration, ends Feb 29

Cheerleading❑ Plano YMCA Spring registration, ages 5-12, began Dec 8

❑ McKinney Sports Spring registration, begins January 2013

Flag football❑ McKinney Sports Spring Registration, begins January

❑ Allen Sports Association Spring Registration, begins January

Running ❑ New Years Double - New Year’s Day race, Tuesday, Jan 1, 8 am Celebration Park, Allen, Active com

❑ Fight Back 5K - benefiting American Cancer Society Relay For Life of McKinney, Saturday, Jan 5, 9 am, McKinney, Active com

❑ The Resolution Run, Saturday, Jan 19, 8 am, McKinney, Active com

Soccer ❑ The Colony Soccer Allen Sports Association Spring Registration, ends Jan 6

❑ McKinney Sports Spring Registration, ends Jan 21

❑ Allen Sports Association Spring Registration, ends Jan 30

❑ Plano Sports Authority Spring Registration, ends Jan 18

❑ Plano Youth Soccer AssociationSpring Registration, ends Jan 11 Swimming❑ FASST Stroke Clinics at Frisco ISD Natatorium on Mondays & Wednesdays thru May 2013

Activities❑ Frisco’s Christmas in the Square, ends Jan 6

Volleyball❑ Prosper Youth Sports Association Spring Registration, opens mid-December

❑ Allen Sports Association Spring Registration, opens January

❑ McKinney Sports begins January 2013

❑ Lonestar Volleyball Club Winter Registration, ends Jan 5

❑ Lonestar Volleyball Club Spring Registration now open

❑ Plano Sports Authority Spring Registration, ends Feb 17

❑ The ColonySpring Registration January 2013

A Team to Watch The Hurricanes

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“Come Join Our Family”www.friscohonda.com

1601 North Dallas Parkway, Frisco, TX 75034 ~ 972.731.3000

We are deviating from our regular format on “Team to Watch” this month after receiv-ing the following letter from the coach of this month’s team The Hurricanes in McKinney.

The Hurricanes are a boys under 12 recreational soccer team that play in the McKin-ney Soccer Association (MSA).

The team was formed in September of 2005 and is one of two original boys teams formed that year for this age group. The team has changed faces over the years with many boys having played and then moved on leaving my son, Reese, as the only one from the original 6 boys who started the team.

We (all the parents, because I am a parent first and coach second) are incredibly proud of their first place finish this year with seven wins and a single tie during the regular sea-son. This outstanding finish has earned them a trip to the NTSSA Tournament of Cham-pions Dec 1 & 2.

Things have not always been this good and I can still remember going an entire year without winning a single game. We aren’t supposed to keep score on games when the boys are that young but who are we kidding?

We send them to school and of course they know how to count! Back then the kids would tell me when we lost the game and by the exact number of goals. As the coach I would try to explain that they were getting better and the

other team just got lucky. On one particular night I

remember driving home with Reese after another one of those games where the other team “just got lucky”, and he said: “Papa, we need a new coach!” Wow, it’s tough to take that kind of honesty from your own kid! I could just imagine what the parents and his other team mates must have been thinking back then.

Like the other tough things in life we stuck to it and the boys continued to work hard. Some boys left, new ones joined, and some even came back to our team. And you know what, we started win-ning and when the Hurricanes moved up into the Under 9 (U9) bracket we officially started keeping score (I guess all those previous losses really didn’t count) and by then we had a 50% win ratio.

Things kept improving and over the last 2 years we placed 2nd twice and 3rd twice in the regular season. We even played a couple of tourna-ments finishing no less than third in points. Which brings us to our most recent season, with an undefeated run of 7 wins and 1 tie. A great record for an outstanding group of boys!

Finishing first is nice but what makes me so incredibly proud of these young men is their respect for each other. They congratulate and comple-ment each other when things are going good or someone does a nice move, and encour-age each other when things don’t go so well.

I have never heard them blame each other for a goal that was scored against us; they just stand up straight and try to get it back.

These boys work hard throughout the game, never giving up. I can remember these boys fighting to the very end and scoring in the last minute of the game to pull off a win or tie on 4 separate instances.

In addition to their winning attitude on the field I am truly proud of this talented group who demonstrate their win-ning attitude where it really counts, in school.

n All the boys on the team have either an A or B average

n Half the team is either on the Honor Roll or in the Gifted and Talented program

Some more “team stats”:n Almost all the boys have

siblings who are playing or used to play soccer

n Half the team plays at least one other sport

n Average time on the team is 3-1/2 years with half of the team playing together for almost 5 years.

Closing note to parentsLike many volunteer coaches

I “got volunteered.” I found myself stepping into

the role of coach just so my child would have a chance to play.

To anyone out there that thinks they have no time, who have high pressure jobs, strange hours or incredibly long work days, and think they are too busy to coach, I can say that there is nothing more important than spending time with your kids and everything else just works itself out.

Back row from L to R: - Nitish P., Trevor L., Brandon R., Chris P., Kaleb B., Marco G., Reese S., Jose E. Front row from L to R: - Tiesan P., Joshua P., Peyton R., Isaiah S., Daniel K., Christian P.

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Aidan Gilchrist breaking boards with his back kick at NTA Taekwondo in Frisco.

Frisco High School Quarterback Jake Battaglia hands the ball off to #30 Matt Nollman. Frisco wins 42-7 against Samuell High School in the playoffs.

Ben Cole runs the ball up the field for his Frisco High School football team in their playoff game against Samuell High School of Dallas.

NEW! Our Student Athlete of the Month feature is now sponsored by CiCi’s Pizza!

The student athletes pro-filed in each issue have been chosen for their outstand-ing positive attitude towards sports and academics, their dedication to their team, and the ability to maintain a healthy balance between school, sports, and their family life.

CiCi’s Pizza has joined us in recognizing these outstanding athletes and will award them with a free buffet at their participating locations once per month for an entire year!

In addition, the student athlete being spotlighted will have their photo with a bio of their accomplishments proudly displayed at each of

the participating restaurants all month long.

Please help us show appre-ciation for their support by visiting one of the locations listed on the Student Athlete of the Month article on page 11.

In addition, show up with some of your teammates in your team’s jersey and you will receive a “Buy One Get One Free” discount!

Cici’s Pizza To Recognize Outstanding Athletes

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It’s the start of a New Year!! Can you get this hockey player started off right so he makes

it to his goal?The New Year is a time for

resolutions or “Goals” for the year. Do you have a goal for

2013? Share it with us and win tickets to one of the Texas

Legend’s home games!

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A student works out during the Speed and Agility Training at the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney.

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The 2013 Winter Games of Texas will be the 8th year in a row for the larg-est on-going multi-sport event held in North Texas. Close to 4,000 youth and adult athletes, 15,000 spectators, and a host of coaches, referees, and volun-teers will participate with enthusiasm and passion.

The sports lineup has grown to 13 different activities including basket-ball, Miracle League Bowling, fencing, figure skating, flag football, gymnas-tics, ice hockey, martial arts, soccer, swimming, volleyball, table tennis and the newest addition – the 2013 Texas State Weightlifting Championship at

Let the Games Begin

Coming off the Olympic summer of 2012 means thou-sands of amateur athletes from across the state will be motivated to step up their game when they com-

pete in the Winter Games of Texas over the MLK Holiday weekend January 18-21, 2013 in Frisco.

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the Frisco Athletic Center. Robert Sirkis, Officer North

Texas LWC, says, “We’re excited to partner with the city of Frisco and TAAF to bring the Texas State Weightlifting Championships to the Winter State Games of Texas.”

Medal winners from basketball, figure skating, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, table tennis and the

state of Texas weightlifting event advance to the State Games of America taking place July 31-Au-gust 4, 2013 in Hershey-Harris-burg, PA.

Registration is now open to ath-letes, volunteers, and sponsors, visit the website www.taaf.com or call 1-877-GoFrisco (463-7472) for more information.

Winter Games of Texas ScheduleEVENT/DATE VENUEBasketballJanuary 19-20

Clark Middle School, 4600 Colby Drive, FriscoGriffin Middle School, 3703 Eldorado Pkwy, FriscoPioneer Heritage MS, 1649 High Shoals Dr, FriscoWester MS 12293 Shepherds Hill Ln, FriscoSat 8:00am-9:00pm; Sun 8:00am-5:00pm

Bowling (Ex-hibition: The Miracle League of Frisco)January 19

Main Event 9375 Dallas Parkway, FriscoSat 8:30am-10:00am

FencingJanuary 20

Dallas Fencers Club 9407 Midway Road, Dallas TX 75220(214) 629-5358Sat 11:00-3:00pm

Figure SkatingJanuary 20

The Ice at Stonebriar Centre2601 Preston Road, FriscoSun 8:00am-6:00pm

Flag FootballJanuary 19-20

Harold Bacchus Park13875 FM 720, FriscoSat 9:00am-6:00pm; Sun 9:00am-4:00pm

GymnasticsJanuary 19-20

ASI Gymnastics-Plano West 4051 Rosemeade Pkwy, DallasSat 8:00am-10:00pm; Sun 8:00am-6:00pm

Ice HockeyJanuary 19-21

Dr Pepper Arena 2601 Avenue of the Stars, FriscoSat 7:30am-10:30am; Mon 7:00pm-10:30pm--medal gamesDr Pepper Star Center-McKinney Craig RanchSat 7:30am-10:30am, 2:15pm-5:15pm; Sunday 8:30a-11:30pm, 4:45pm-7:30pm

Martial ArtsJanuary 19

Hunt Middle School4900 Legendary Drive, FriscoSat 9:00am-6:00pm

Rock ClimbingJanuary 20

Canyons Rock Climbing 7164 Technology, FriscoSun 12:00pm-6:00pm

SoccerJanuary 18-20

Warren Sports Complex7599 Eldorado Pkwy, FriscoFri 5:00p-10:00p; Sat 8:00am-10:00pm; Sun 8:00pm-6:00pm

SwimmingJanuary 19

Frisco ISD Natatorium7411 First Street, FriscoSat 8:00am-5:00pm

Table TennisJanuary 19

Staley Middle School6927 Stadium Lane, FriscoSat 9:00am – 6:00pm

WeightliftingJanuary 18-20

Frisco Athletic Center5929 Nancy Jane Lane, FriscoFri 6p-9p, Sat 9a-6pm, Sun 9am-7pm

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The Positive Coaching Alliance awards Triple-Impact Competitor® scholarships to dozens of high school athletes in selected geographic regions each year.

Awards are based on essays by students explaining how they represent the ideal of

the Triple-Impact Competitor: Makes oneself better (Personal Mastery); makes teammates better (Leadership); and makes the sport bet-ter (Honoring the Game).

There were twenty finalists picked for the North Texas region, six of which were

from Collin County schools. Of those six athletes, three went on to the

top ten and were awarded the $2000 schol-arship.

Congratulations to these athletes for being an example on and off the field!

Scholarship Recipientsn Brandon Aubrey, Plano Senior High School

n Kyle Berger, Lovejoy High School

n Ashlyn Broussard, Rockwall High School

n Kaitlin Dorey, The Hockaday School

n Anthony Herrera, McKinney North High School

n Reghan Goldberg, Hillcrest High School

n Hailee Johnson, Heritage Christian Academy

n Hallie Larson, Poetry Community Christian School

n Kale Rowe, Wylie Prep

n Michael Sheffield, Samuell High School

Scholarship Finalistsn Anase Asom, The Hockaday School

n Julia DeVinney, Plano West HS

n Beau Ewton, Pilot Point HS

n Michelle Hagan, Ursuline Academy

n Bryce Holcomb, St Marks

n Shawn Johnson, McKinney Christian Academy

n Harley Liechty, Heritage Christian Academy

n Kaitlynn McAdams, McKinney Christian Academy

n I’Keem Smith, Roosevelt HS

n Catherine Walker, Heritage Christian Academy

Area Athletes Honored

Shawn Johnson, center, from McKinney Christian Academy with Cameron Campbell with PCA Houston and Scott Secules, president of the North Texas Chapter.

Anthony Herrera from McKinney North High School

Julia DeVinney from Plano West HS

Brandon Aubrey, Plano Senior High School

Kyle Berger from Lovejoy High School

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Marina Theriault works hard on the bars at Kurt Thomas Gymnastics in Frisco.

The Allen 2nd grade division champion players and coaches with their trophies after the championship game.

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WANTEDNominations for the Student Athlete of the Month and the

Coach’s Spotlight. If you know a coach that has a bit of magic or an athlete that’s a great role model, nominate them and give

them an opportunity to shine in our next issue! If you catch your athlete in action, we also accept submissions for photos

of games, tournaments, awards and accomplishments!

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Coach SpotlightEach month we spotlight a coach who is getting it right on and off the field. The favorite Coach Spotlight for 2012 will go into our Hall of Fame and will win a $100 gift card to buy equipment for their team. To nominate your favorite coach, go to the Youth Sports Today of Collin County Facebook page and vote, or email us at ruthi@youthsportstoday.com.

The FFL 8U Superbowl Champions, the Frisco Colts, celebrate after the game!

DECEMBERJason Barker, Frisco Football League

SEPTEMBERMack Bean,The Miracle League of Frisco

APRILMarc Cesare, Texas Twist Softball CoachFrisco, Tx

JUNEScott Robbins, Head Coach of The Old American Eagles Junior Golf Team, The Colony

NOVEMBERThomas Allen, EPT, Prosper Tx

OCTOBERTrent Emmons, FASST Swim Team, Frisco, Tx

MAYMartin Salinas,Panther Pack AthleticsPlano, Tx