The Real Reason why CYO Sports are Effective

We recently hosted the annual Diocesan CYO track and field Championship meet at one of our high schools. We had sixteen parishes (often connected to a school) participate and hundreds of students were able to compete.

Beyond the volume of participants, one could look to various moments in the meet which stood out as significant. There was patriotism with the playing of the national anthem. There was the victory lap by the winning school and parish. There were moments when the crowd cheered on a close race. There was applause when a last place participant crossed the finish line.

For me, the most significant part of the event was the prayer at the very start of the day. As silence filled the air, we prayed. We paused to remember that God is very much interested in our interests. Our passion for sports (on this particular day) is fertile ground for God to work in and through us.

This is the reason why something like CYO sports is so valuable: it reminds students that our Catholic faith can and should be integrated into every aspect of our lives. This could be said of our academics and artistic endeavors as well.

Pope Saint Paul VI famously said, " “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” Our CYO coaches, many of whom are parent volunteers, really are witnesses to our kids. They hold them to a high standard, invite them to sacrifice for the greater good and celebrate with them when they succeed. 

CYO in this regard achieves a "double win": connecting kids with role models of faith AND reminding students that God desires to be a part of all that is good about adolescence.