Nonprofit helps keep the ball rolling for young athletes
Jeff Dixon’s passion has always been sports and kids, though he showed little promise of becoming a professional athlete at a young age.
Growing up in Sunnyvale, Dixon was “the kid who got picked last in every sport” at recess, but he didn’t care. Today, he plays pick-up games of full-contact basketball at age 52.
“I can’t jump, but I try,” he said.
The man who never went out for organized sports as a child is today president of the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance, a nonprofit group that acts as the center of operations for five youth leagues and several athletic programs. The MHYSA, which Dixon revived in 2008 after it went dormant two years earlier, helps coordinate scheduling, marketing and common practices, as listed in its mission statement. One of the alliance’s most noted services is its website, www.mhysa.org, which includes an events calendar powered by Google and links to a dozen different sports programs.
“For me, the work is as rewarding as it gets,” said Dixon, a former marketing consultant who has been a contributor to the local community since moving to Morgan Hill in 2002. “I’ve worked with kids for years, and I love sports. It’s win-win.”
Dixon’s athletic background comprises every sport that MHYSA endorses. Those include football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, martial arts, tennis, aquatics, gymnastics and youth and adult flag football. The alliance currently is organizing a skate and BMX club that will announce its board members in early May.
The group’s mission is to make each sport more accessible.
“I think there’s great potential to serve all youth sports, and I believe in Jeff and his group’s vision of keeping sports available for all kids,” said Jim Green, who is in his 11th year as director of the South County Basketball Academy. “If leagues can pull their resources together, we have the opportunity to help each other and fairly encourage kids to try all sports, as they should.”
Although scheduling is the alliance’s most prominent service, MHYSA is becoming a philanthropic resource in the community. Fourteen local students were recently awarded financial aid for winning the Sports in Life Essay Contest, which the alliance held through a partnership with Kirk’s Kids, a foundation headed by former San Francisco 49ers linebacker (1996-99) and current Morgan Hill Raiders assistant coach Randy Kirk. Those monies will fund the students’ participation in an MHYSA-member league of their choice (winners are listed at the end of this story).
Raiders president Rich Phillips, an MHYSA advocate, was thrilled when he heard that six of the essay winners play Pop Warner football.
“My program subsists on registration fees and fundraisers. That’s the only way that we can pay our field-use fees, insurance and other bills for kids to play,” said Phillips, who has been involved with Pop Warner football in Morgan Hill for 22 years. “Costs have increased about 5,000 percent since I’ve been here. I envision the ability for all local nonprofit sports to discus common goals and develop a scholarship that will help all leagues reach out to those kids and their families. Right now, everyone is losing their jobs.”
Phillips has encouraged the Morgan Hill City Council to partake in fundraising efforts.
“I cannot stress strongly enough that I want everyone on board with this,” he said. “We’re all in a tough time right now, but kids need to be involved in sports. They provide a productive and safe environment to teach them ideals like sportsmanship, fair play and discipline.”
Proceeds raised thus far by the alliance have been encouraging, given the state of the economy.
“A lot of kids can’t play sports simply because their families can’t afford it. We’re trying our best to change that,” MHYSA treasurer Rui Azevedo said. “We’ve been able to raise funds at a time when the economy isn’t doing so well. That says a lot about how important sports and kids are to the community.”
League officials and alliance board members — Dixon, Azevedo and vice president Dave Payne — are currently organizing a fundraiser similar to the large Sports Grand Prix that MHYSA held in September at Sobrato High School. The July edition will take place in the Outdoor Sports Center and feature a classic car and motorcycle show, live music, food vendors, silent auction, bounce houses, inflatable sumo wrestling and possibly an adult flag football or softball tournament.
“There could be lots of other stuff going on with it, too. We’re trying to make it as big as possible,” Dixon said. “It was a lot of fun last year, and we’re hoping it’ll be even better this time.”
Sports in Life Essay Contest winners: Andrea Rodriguez, Savannah Arnbrister, Mariah Bainbridge, Pedro Sanchez, Dylan Carrubba, Martha Judith Caldwell, Katie Schmitzer, Andrew Liu, Ian Dorrance, Emerson Neet, Miles Batley, Sukhpreet Pabla, Celia Moreno, Tim Ponomarenko.
