YOUTH : YORBA LINDA : Preschoolers Learn to Be Good Sports

How do you introduce the finer points of soccer, T-ball and basketball to 3- and 4-year-old children? With an emphasis on fun, said Clare McKenna, youth sports director for the Placentia-Yorba Linda YMCA.

“I always tell my coaches to entertain their team, have some fun and, hopefully, the kids will learn something about the game,” McKenna said.

Monday through Thursday, in the afternoon, McKenna can be found at Fairmont Elementary School. At the beginning and end of each 45-minute session, she gathers all the budding athletes for a pep talk and a review of what they have learned.

“What’s this?” McKenna asks, hoisting a red aluminum bat.

“It’s a bat!” the children yell.

“That’s right,” McKenna responds. “Do we ever throw the bat?”

“Nooooo,” comes the answer, accompanied by serious looks and head shaking.

Organizing a sports program for 200 preschool children might strike some as an exercise in frustration, and McKenna was skeptical when the program was introduced at the YMCA three years ago.

“I thought it would never work, that the kids were too young,” she said. “It is amazing, though. You do see an improvement in their skills. It’s not a great improvement, but it’s there.”

Her fears that she wouldn’t be able to hold their attention were unfounded as well.

“When I say something, like tell them to bring their jackets next time, they always do it,” she said. “It boggles my mind how seriously they take this.”

McKenna is convinced that the children are learning something of value in the program, such as basic skills, sharing, team spirit and the rudiments of sportsmanship.

As she roams the fields, McKenna stops frequently to encourage a player or chat with parents. High-fives are an essential part of the program, and McKenna seldom lets an opportunity pass to give one herself or encourage players, parents and coaches to high-five each other.

McKenna, who will graduate next month from Cal State Fullerton, said that the program is as much fun for her as it is for the children.

“You can’t go out there in a bad mood; those kids don’t deserve that,” she said. “But even when I’m in a bad mood, a kid will usually say something or do something funny, and the mood is gone.”

After she graduates, McKenna plans to take some time off to travel, but come October, and the beginning of soccer season, she’ll once again put on her whistle.

“I’ll do this as long as they let me,” McKenna said. “I hope there will always be a place at the Y for me.”