My child had a great experience playing Y basketball - I'm sure he'll play again in the future!

Coach Rick was great with the kids!

Coaches were amazing, the Y allowing games to be fun and allowing cheering is much different than previous seasons and created such a fun environment.

We thought coach Marty was great, very inclusive, great communication, super nice! Perhaps more elaborate questions on player skill during registration to more fine tune where to put players would be beneficial to all. My son felt that half of his team were very fresh to basketball and it was unfair to him and the other half of the team to carry a lot of the responsibility of the success of the team.

About 1/3 of our practices were canceled because the YMCA did not make sure the gyms were avalible through the local schools. It seems there should be more thoughtful planning. There are so few practices, having them canceled because of school conflicts of the location should be preventable. Also, sharing gym space with another team is not conducive to learning, it doesn’t work.

We had a great coach and refs were friendly and helpful

I was disappointed in how scheduling was handled. We had a shared gym that was crowded and no place to sit besides outside of the gym. There were two occasions where practice was cancelled last minute because of shared gym scheduling issues.

Then practices went to one day a week because of the gym schedule. Shouldn’t this be figured out Ahead of time? Of course things happen but it just seemed sloppy.

There were times when the middle schoolers would come in to prep for their practice and would hit volleyballs back and forth, these would regularly almost hit others and almost hit my 8 month old in his head. It’s annoying that the coaches didn’t ask them to not do that, or whomever is responsible for them.

Some parents are also not friendly or flat out rude, so I was disappointed in that - but that’s not a Y issue. I think there should be more encouragement for parents to engage somehow since their kids are becoming friends.

Lastly. The photos were haphazardly scheduled before a game and my child could not attend due to another thing we had going on. This upset her immensely. Please consider scheduling photos ahead of time during a practice instead of before a game.

My child had fun which is all that matters, but improvements to logistics are majorly needed.

Great coach and assistant coach! Reliable and consistent

Very inclusive

I think the Y is a great place to start learning skills without being super competitive. Best for grade school kids I think!

YMCA volleyball has become much less

For the most part it’s fantastic but I have noticed the last few times we’ve played basketball we get to practice to find out the gym is unavailable and the coach knew nothing about it. The last season we missed 3 practices due to gym issues, and now this season practice 2 was cancelled due to the gym being unavailable. It’s a bummer when we pay for the kiddos to play, but then numerous practices are cancelled. For that reason it makes me think twice to recommend or come back.

Does not feel inclusive doe neuro divergent kids.

Every single season played has been such a positive experience for my child.

KIds had fun and learned skills

The YMCA basketball offers kids a fun way to learn this team sport. Kids learn teamwork, skills, and are competitive in a healthy way. The communication from the YMCA and the referees are terrific. Games are on time. This is such a wonderful experience for everyone! Thank you, YMCA!

We have done YMCA volleyball for like 4 or 5 years it has been a great entry point for me competitive levels

We enjoyed playing with our coach and team, though we didn't know why we had to play one team twice when they were still two teams we didn't face.

The officiating was atrocious. Blatant fouls were rarely called. Kids were able to dribble out of bounds. I understand Y youth sports is a developmental league but how are the kids going to learn the basic rules of basketball when simple fouls and out of bounds isn’t called?

Love all the Y offers! Great place for kids to be exposed to sports and build confidence and for families to find connection

We enjoyed our volleyball experience very much. I was a coach and loved having facilities to practice twice a week. I saw a great deal of improvement in the athletes by the end of the season. My son did basketball, and it was VERY basic. He is 8 years old, and has played at higher levels in other leagues, so the experience for him was a bit of a bummer. There was just such a wide range of ability levels, it would almost be good if you were able to select the level of play for the season. I wish that they would have called things like traveling, double dribbling and fouls. Also, at his age, I think stealing should be allowed if they separated the league into basic and intermediate. I just felt like my son actually went backwards and not enforcing certain rules created bad habits for him.

We had a positive experience with youth sports basketball this session. The coaches were supportive and positive and we enjoyed the vibe of the teams each of my kids were on.

I like how the communication from both the YMCA and coaches has been timely and informative. Also, the refs and coaches have been wonderful. They ensure equal playing time for all kids and keep the learning of the sport fun and safe. Signing my child up for this sport experience has been everything that as a parent, I had hoped it would be. Thank you South Sound YMCA-Youth Sports!

Coach Kelsey and Coach Flavia for the Grades 2-3 Volleyball were the best! Thank you for making this sport available!

Positive and encouraging environment to develop skills and teamwork

We had a great coach! It was my son’s first year playing basketball and he learned so much. Even with all the errors my son made, coach continued to work with him and build his confidence. We can’t wait to return in Fall.

Make the seasons longer - my daughter’s team was just starting to gel together and then the season ended!

The referees! It's really hard for the kids to learn what is correct or not because all refs are different. Some refs call everything they should. And some refs call absolutely nothing.

There’s no seating for basketball games at the Y. I can’t understand this. Also on the first day of games, there was one referee in particular (woman with brown hair) who was pretty intolerant of the kids and didn’t seem to know or care that these kids are 7/8 years old and many haven’t played before. The coach we had genuinely did not spend any time teaching the new players HOW to handle a basketball. Somehow my kid is worse at ball handling now than when she started playing. He genuinely only focused on his star players. It’s not high school or college. It was really disappointing.

Keep the team together if possible at least for a year

I like the frequency of practices in volleyball. It made my daughters excited, a very good sport activity that they looked forward to during the week. Plus the games on Saturdays even made them more excited.

My husband has been coaching basketball for over 15 years. We realize other parent volunteer coaches are not as experienced & that’s totally fine. However it’s frustrating that the YMCA basketball referees do not understand the basic rules of basketball such as out of bounds/inbounding the ball, jump balls, teaching the kids correctly (such as no hugging, pushing, slapping on defense), and calling the rules that the YMCA sent the coaches prior to the season beginning (such as no not stealing off the dribble at 2/3 level & no backcourt press). We taught our kids to abide by those rules yet they were not consistently called so while we followed the rules, others did not, which was very frustrating for our players. We will likely take our team to the Tumwater league next year instead of YMCA. Thank you for listening.

I feel like it expensive and the kids aren’t really learning the sport. They are just playing which is ok. But to pay so much for them to play is a bit disappointing.

My kids are young for their grade (7 in Grade 2) and played the first half of the year on a K-1 (ages 5-7, per the website) team. They loved their team and it was absolutely age- and experience-appropriate for them. In the spring we were informed we would need to move to 2-3. Megan assured us that there would be no scorekeeping and players would wear wristbands, as in K-1. I understand that the Y needed to make space for more K-1 players, but it was, as expected, a rough experience. The coach was not particularly interested in working with less experienced players. I don't know if we were intentionally misled about the scorekeeping and wristbands, but they are definitely used in level 2-3. What had been a great experience in the fall effectively ended my kids' interest in basketball. It's disappointing that the Y chose to enforce rules in such an arbitrary way (it was ok for us to play K-1/5-7 in the fall?). It seems like valuing enrollment numbers over putting kids where they will actually thrive and building community.

Great coach and experience for my daughter's first volleyball and Y experience.

This was our first experience with the Youth Sports programs and my two girls enjoyed the k-1 grade volleyball so much we signed up for the next session. The coach was super engaging and even got parents involved. We can not wait to continue participating in the sports programs.

The emphasis on team play for all skill levels has been really great for my kid who is just dipping his toes into organized sports. The short sessions make sport sampling easy and accessible.

It’s a great spot for kids to learn and grow through athletics. Thank you for providing this opportunity to the kids. I would suggest for basketball that improvements are made in the 2nd/3rd grade league on some of the basic fundamentals for rules. It’s not with the intent to punish anyone but to help them learn the rules and skills. Officials should stop play a little more often for traveling and double dribbling to explain to the kids they can’t do that in basketball. If that happens early in the year, the kids will develop a stronger foundation for the game. The intent with calling that isn’t to take the ball away from them, but to teach them. If it’s not enforced in a game, it develops bad habits for future growth. There has also been a significant amount of physical contact that are fouls. While at this age there could be a constant foul called, officials should ensure they are calling some to prevent bad habits from forming on defense and for player safety. Thanks for another great season.

We have been very happy with the volleyball programs our girls have been enrolled in. My only complaint is that space in the gyms for the 4th/5th grade level teams is too tight. Spectators end up on the court. As a member of the Y with daughters that are interested in open gym, it would be helpful to locate these games at a local school, allowing more open gym availability and a better space for the game where spectators aren’t in the way.

Each game it seemed that the rules were different. No consistency. Some refs called things while some didn't at all. Some coaches were allowed to sub in and out without stopping the game or just running on the court to stop the game. Just didn't have an even flow to the game all around that it confused some players what was acceptable and what wasn't.

Great coaches and atmosphere for kids! Helpful and friendly staff

The coaches were incredible! Very knowledgeable and kind. The environment was geared towards learning and having fun!

The cost is reasonable and the practices and games are close by.

I have coached with the YMCA in the past. My child’s coach played favorites, used foul language, yelled at referees and would yell at the kids on the team during the game. During every game throughout the season he made it more about winning than the kids learning and he sat kids on the bench and didn’t distribute playing time equally. His wife also was observed swearing multiple times, and yelling at opposing coaches. I asked to have my child moved to a different team after the first game due to all of this and was specifically told by Sergio Garcia that “ We ask that you allow us the opportunity to stay with your current assigned team while we aim to address your concerns. We will follow up with the outcome of the conversation.” Mr. Garcia, nor anyone with the YMCA EVER followed up with me, the behavior also continued. Our coach sent out the “behaviors and expectations” on February 28th… my complaint to the YMCA was filed on January 25th. That is COMPLETELY unacceptable. I know after speaking to several other parents, and also my own family (8-10 of us that attend every game) that the YMCA is most definitely not what we grew up with, and that it is probably best to move our kids to different leagues not in the YMCA system, to get treated more fairly and to be respected by the organization and have them follow through. The only reason my score is not lower is because my child built a few relationships with some of the girls in spite of having the worst coach I have ever witnessed in youth sports and zero support from the YMCA to make things right. Extremely disappointed that you would continue to allow my child or any child to be subjected to this type of behavior with zero repercussions or follow through and it seems clear I am not the only one feeling this way, as there were only three teams in the girls league this season. If, and that is a big if, we decided to come back to YMCA sports it would only be so I can coach with some of my friends, so we can create a positive and teaching environment to grow the kids, their abilities, and the game they are playing.

The coordination and the overall experience is amazing. I love mission of learning how to play basketball and that this is a none competitive, league.

Just do everything you can to make it easy for coaches to volunteer. I've found that the coach really makes or breaks a YMCA sports team.

We've been involved with y sports with our kids for 10 years. Always had a great experience. Great coaches and affordable. Thank you SS YMCA

This season went very well!

Pretty well organized. Inclusive. Appropriately focused on teamwork, the sport, without excessive pressure to perform!

This was my first year volunteering to coach with the Y and likely my last. From the get-go, I have not felt supported by the Y administration. At the "coach training" session I had a hard time hearing the recommendations by the Evergreen Coach and when I brought this up I was told to "get used to it" (by the Sports Director, herself) since it was loud in the gym due to allowing others to play during our training session. What is the point of providing training if we can't hear? My first 2 practice sessions ended up getting double booked at the gym we used so I had to scramble to figure out what to do at the last minute. No apologies from the Y, just an expectation that I figure out the plan. This created an adversarial relationship with the parents and my first attempt at coaching which made it incredibly frustrating for me. I have tried my best to keep my focus on the kids, which is what it should be about and is truly where I get the most satisfaction. The last game I played however, solidified my concerns regarding a lack of accountability with the Y. We played coach Yahne's team last game and I was appalled at her behavior and the fact she was wearing a YMCA staff shirt at one point exemplifying this behavior. I'm all about getting excited for the kids, and yelling in that excitement, trust me. Coach Yahne was in a different camp of excitement, and instead showed an aggressive side to both teams throughout the game. At one point, she crossed the court to the other baseline, where my team was supposed to take out the ball, yelling at everyone including my team. This caused none of my players to feel comfortable to approach the ball to pass it in. Several rules were enforced differently than all other games I played, which I found odd. I also witnessed her physically moving (picking up and lifting) one of her players on the sideline who was simply sitting too close to the court. If I was that players' parent I would have been furious and there is no way I'd tolerate that from a coach. This was all happening in the presence of the Sports Director, who I was told to "get used to it', hence why I found no point in speaking up, just tolerating it. If this is the culture the Y wants to set, it doesn't work for my values so I don't find it likely I will return to volunteer or to enroll my children in sports through it.