3/8 Blog

Sorry for the inconvenience, but the next SOAR Blog will be posted on Tuesday, March 15th.

3/1 Blog

WINTER 2011 YOUTH BASKETBALL SEASON COMES TO AN END

The 2011 Winter Youth Basketball Season is now over.  Our playoff weekend definitely did not disappoint.  There were double overtime games, Cinderella stories, upsets, games decided at the free-throw line, teachable moments, inspirational and emotional moments, and much more.  The playoffs were not void of excitement.

Congratulations to our Winter 2011 Youth Basketball League Champions:

Freshmen Boys Division:  Lakers
Freshmen Girls Division:  Dream
Sophomore Boys Division:  Heat
Sophomore Girls Division:  Sky
Junior Boys Division:  Celtics
Junior/Senior Girls Division:  Liberty
Senior Boys Division:  Lakers

*Reminder :: Rookies Division will finish up this weekend (March 5).

Special thanks to…

- Our coaches for the commitment of your time and effort this season.  Thank you for your hard work.
- Our Team Moms for coordinating team parties, snack schedules, line-up cards, cheer sheets, etc.  Thank you for helping our coaches.
- Our Winter Season families for supporting your children by getting them to practices/games and by cheering them on from the stands.
- Our referees for extending the ministry on to the court.  Thank you for helping this season be a success.
- Mike Zubel and Greg Hughes for being such a vital part of our refereeing ministry, especially this season to our Senior Divisions.
- Covenant Day School for allowing us to use their High School Gym.  Without that, this season would not have been possible.
- First Baptist Of Matthews for allowing us to use their gym for our playoff tournament.  Without that, the playoffs would not have been possible.

Your commitment and support means a lot to me.  I truly appreciate it.  Thank you.

YOUTH SPORTS :: SPRING SEASON

There is still time to register for our Spring Sports.

Click here for Spring Season details and registration information.

We need coaches!  Volunteering to coach at SOAR is a very important decision.  Our coaches are the lifeblood of our ministry.  If you’re interested in coaching, click here to read the coaching requirements.

If you have more questions, contact Jason Miller.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Men’s Basketball League

Spring 2011

Starts March 14

www.hoopsleague.org

LIGHT IT UP 3V3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

 

If you haven’t registered for our women’s 3v3 basketball tournament, don’t wait! Click here for the tournament details and registration info.  You can register a team of at least three players, and at most four, or you can register without a team (‘free agent’).  If you register without a team, we’ll either form a team from all the ‘free agents’ or we’ll place you with a team.  Either way, you’ll get to play!

2/22 Blog

YOUTH BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS

On Friday and Saturday, Feb 25/26, all teams in our youth basketball league will enter into a single elimination playoff tournament.  The brackets are out!  The schedules are posted!  Each team has one last practice before competing for a chance to become the Division Champs.

Will this tournament be filled with Cinderella stories or will #1 and #2 get the chance to prove why they should be called the Division Champs?  Only time will tell but we can be sure of at least one thing…the tournament weekend will prove to be fast-paced and exciting.  With 31 games played in a span of 17 hours, there will not be a lack of energy in the three gyms we’ll be using.

YOUTH SPORTS :: SPRING SEASON

There is still time to register for our Spring Sports.

Click here for Spring Season details and registration information.

We need coaches!  Volunteering to coach at SOAR is a very important decision.  Our coaches are the lifeblood of our ministry.  If you’re interested in coaching, click here to read the coaching requirements.

If you have more questions, contact Jason Miller.

 

 

LIGHT IT UP 3V3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

If you haven’t registered for our women’s 3v3 basketball tournament, don’t wait! Click here for the tournament details and registration info.  You can register a team of at least three players, and at most four, or you can register without a team (‘free agent’).  If you register without a team, we’ll either form a team from all the ‘free agents’ or we’ll place you with a team.  Either way, you’ll get to play!

2/15 Blog

YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUE :: PLAYOFFS!

Click here to watch a short video clip.

On February 25 & 26, our youth basketball league will compete in our season ending playoff tournament.  The tournament schedule will be available this week on the SOAR website (www.soarsports.com), on the Winter Basketball page.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

On March 12, we’ll host the “Light It Up” 3v3 basketball tournament.  This tournament will be for women, ages 18 and up.  Get your team together now!  Don’t have a team?  That’s ok.  Register by yourself as a Free Agent.

Click here for tournament details and registration info.

MEN’S SPRING BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Our Spring Men’s League will begin in March and run through May.  You can register a team or register by yourself.  Some highlights of the league include:

Individual Stats
League Leader Stats
All-Star Weekend
Championship Rings
And More…

Go to www.hoopsleague.org for all the league details and registration information.

SUMMER CAMPS

SOAR Sports will have a Flag Football Camp and a Basketball Camp this summer.  Look for more camp details and registration info soon!

2/8 Blog

WOMEN’S 3V3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March Madness is right around the corner and what better way to be a part of the excitement than having a basketball tournament.  On March 12th, SOAR Sports will host a 3v3 basketball tournament for women ages 18 and up.  Whether you’re a baller or simply looking to have a little fun, this tournament is for you.

There are two ways to register for the tournament.  You can register a team or you can register as an individual, without a team.  Ideally, we would like you to register a team.  However, we absolutely accept individual (without a team) registrations.  If you register individually, without a team, you will go into our “Free Agent” pool.  We will then do our best to place the “Free Agents” on a registered team.  Often times, there are enough “Free Agents” to form a team so that is also an option.

For more information, and/or to register, click here.  Don’t wait…register now!

PLAYOFFS :: THINGS ARE HEATING UP!

You can always tell when it’s getting close to playoff time.  There’s a certain feeling in the air.  Coaches get a little more intense.  Players get a little more vocal.  Games get a little more heated.  Referees get a little more frustrated…haha (just kidding, well not really).  There’s just something about playoff time that brings out the best and, unfortunately sometimes, the worst in teams.  The challenge for coaches is how to control all of that.  The challenge for the league is how to control that in each coach.

Playoffs begin in three weekends (Feb 25/26)!  Click here to follow your team and the other teams in the division/league, by tracking each team’s standings.

STICKY & TICKLES TEACH KIDS HOW TO BE CLEAN

Sticky and Tickles continued to share with our 5 and 6-year-old division about how to follow Jesus and how that helps us fight against the devil.  This week, they taught the kids about what Jesus did to make us clean.

Click here to watch a video excerpt from Sticky & Tickles!

REMINDER :: SPRING 2011 YOUTH SPORTS SEASON REGISTRATION

If you have not already registered for our Spring Season, don’t wait.  Remember, our Spring Season includes the following sports:

Soccer:
- we start at 3 years old and go up to 18 years old

Baseball & Softball:
- we start at 5 years old (our t-ball division is coed) and go up to 18 years old

Volleyball:
- we start at 7 years old and go up to 18 years old

For more information and to register, click here to visit the Spring Season page on our website.

2/1 Blog

STICKY & TICKLES

You read in our last blog post about Sticky, Tickles, and their friend Sprinkles.  Well, Tickles made her  debut this past Saturday as she and Sticky spoke to the children about putting on the “Armor of God”.

Chris Claeys and Joy Martin have absolutely knocked it out of the park!  With the creation of Sticky and Tickles, they are able to convey the message of Jesus Christ to over 50 five and six-year olds each Saturday, in such a way that the children can remember and connect.

Great job Chris and Joy…and AWESOME JOB Sticky and Tickles!!!

 

PICTURE DAY

What would youth sports be without Picture Day!!!  Pictures for our youth basketball league are scheduled for this Friday (Feb 4) and Saturday (Feb 5).  Click here for the Picture Day details and schedules.

 

PLAYOFFS

On February 25 & 26, we will host our season ending Playoff Tournament.  This tournament will be for the boys’ and girls’ teams in our Freshmen through Senior divisions.  The playoff schedule is being finalized and once it’s ready for viewing, it will be posted to our website (www.soarsports.com).

 

REMINDER :: SPRING 2011 YOUTH SPORTS SEASON REGISTRATION

If you have not already registered for our Spring Season, don’t wait.  Remember, our Spring Season includes the following sports:

Soccer:
- we start at 3 years old and go up to 18 years old

Baseball & Softball:
- we start at 5 years old (our t-ball division is coed) and go up to 18 years old

Volleyball:
- we start at 7 years old and go up to 18 years old

For more information and to register, click here to visit the Spring Season page on our website.

1/25 Blog

STICKY, TICKLES, & SPRINKLES

This past Saturday, Sticky and Sprinkles made their debut without Tickles.  Sticky and Tickles are the main characters, while Sprinkles is their friend who they brought in to help in the absence of Tickles.

These crazy characters are a fun-loving way to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to our 5 & 6-year-old division of our youth basketball league.  Each week, Sticky and Tickles will show up at the clinic to talk with the kids about how Jesus loves them and about what it means to follow Him.  Their funny clothes, along with their excitement for Jesus, are sure to make Sticky and Tickles a big hit!

SPRING 2011 YOUTH SPORTS SEASON

If you have not already registered for our Spring Season, don’t wait.  Registration has been open for a week already!  Our Early Registration period ends on January 31, so if you want to save a couple bucks, register now.

Remember, our Spring Season includes the following sports:

Soccer:
- we start at 3 years old and go up to 18 years old

Baseball & Softball:
- we start at 5 years old (our t-ball division is coed) and go up to 18 years old

Volleyball:
- we start at 7 years old and go up to 18 years old

For more information and to register, click here to visit the Spring Season page on our website.

CAN SPORTS REALLY CHANGE SOMEONE

Sports is simply competing hard, right?  Sports is simply playing, right?  Sports is about playing to win, right?  Sports can’t really “change” someone’s life…or can it?

Inmate Football

In the fall of 2008, there was an unusual high school football game played in Grapevine, Texas.  The game was between Grapevine Faith Academy and the Gainesville State School.  Faith is a Christian school and Gainesville State School is located within a maximum security correction facility.

Gainesville State School has 14 players. They play every game on the road. Their record was 0-8. They’ve only scored twice. Their 14 players are teenagers who have been convicted of crimes ranging from drugs to assault to robbery. Most had families who had disowned them.  They wore outdated, used shoulder pads and helmets. Faith Academy was 7-2. They had 70 players, 11 coaches, and the latest equipment.

Chris Hogan, the head coach at Faith Academy, knew the Gainesville team would have no fans and it would be no contest, so he thought, “What if half of our fans and half of our cheerleaders, for one night only, cheered for the other team?”  He sent out an email to the faithful asking them to do just that. “Here’s the message I want you to send,” Hogan wrote. “You’re just as valuable as any other person on the planet.”

Some folks were confused and thought he was nuts. One player said, “Coach, why are we doing this?” Hogan said, “Imagine you don’t have a home life, no one to love you, no one pulling for you. Imagine that everyone pretty much had given up on you. Now, imagine what it would feel like and mean to you for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.”

The idea took root. On the night of the game, imagine the surprise of those 14 players when they took the field and there was a banner the cheerleaders had made for them to crash through. The visitors’ stands were full. The cheerleaders were leading cheers for them. The fans were calling them by their names. Isaiah, the quarterback-middle linebacker said, “I never in my life thought I would hear parents cheering to tackle and hit their kid. Most of the time, when we come out, people are afraid of us. You can see it in their eyes, but these people are yelling for us. They knew our names.”

Faith won the game, and after the game the teams gathered at the 50-yard line to pray. That’s when Isaiah, the teenage convict-quarterback surprised everybody and asked if he could pray and he prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what just happened so I don’t know how or who to say thank you to, but I never knew there were so many people in the world who cared about us.” On the way back to the bus, under guard, each one of the players was handed a burger, fries, a coke, candy, a Bible, and an encouraging letter from the players from Faith Academy.

-Dr. Tim Thompson

Click here to watch the video!