Gallup Youth Soccer League Christian Isaacson

Gallup Youth Soccer League

(GYSL)

By Christian Isaacson

One morning about a year ago, while stepping foot on a pitch, soccer field, at the New Mexico Soccer Tournament Complex in Bernalillo, I became overwhelmed by a deep nostalgia. The Thunderbirds, Gallup Soccer League’s U13 boys travel team, were warming up for the first game of the year. My son, filled with nervous energy as we drove past many of the complex’s 22 pitches, sprinted out to join the rest of the team. The frigid February, Bernalillo breeze bit at my clothes, and I took in the view of the complex with the Sandia Mountains as a backdrop. The raw beauty of the setting, the apparent frivolity and passion of the parents, players, friends, and fans on the adjacent pitches, and the conversation with another of the team’s coaches about the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses filled me with gladness. The community of that complex that morning was something that I had experienced in my formative years and my son was here, to experience many of the same.

I, inevitably, associate soccer with family and community. In 1989, my father Lynn Isaacson, plus George Kozeliski, Cathy Downer, Rudy Radosevich, among others, brought the Gallup Youth Soccer League (GYSL) to life. As Lynn recalls, “We brought 12 sponsors on at $500 each in under an hour and a half. It seemed to indicate that Gallup was ready for soccer.” Although I was too young to play for the inaugural season, I came to be immersed in a culture of growth and learning. The young league relied upon volunteers for coaching and organization, and sponsors for equipment and supplies. While playing in GYSL, I was coached by my mother, my dentist, my godfather, my father, several of my friends’ parents, and others. When we were old enough, several of my peers and I became certified as referees, earning a few dollars per game refereed. We learned from adult referees who served as mentors. Soccer is truly a game for all children. The nature of the game allows children with less experience and/or less talent to play alongside their peers and potentially make gamechanging plays. Soccer, and my experiences with GYSL, taught me valuable life lessons: teamwork, communication, respect, commitment, leadership, perseverance, and a habit of lifelong learning.

As my son progresses through age groups and develops as a player, I am relieved to see that, while there have been changes, much of what taught me to love soccer and the community of Gallup remains the same. I still see volunteers putting in hours upon hours of work to make a difference in a young player’s life. At a recent GYSL board meeting, I read the following from our league handbook:

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE GALLUP SOCCER LEAGUE:

1. To promote the health, happiness, and development of youth through regular, organized physical activity. 2. To encourage maximum participation and enjoyment of the game of soccer by all girls and boys who wish to play the game. 3. To promote soccer as a recreational game. 4. To promote the ideal attitude of players towards others, to encourage the skill demonstrated by both teams, to learn by watching others, and to promote the enjoyment of playing the game. 5. To always encourage skill and its application in team play. 6. To encourage team members to be better players. 7. To be constructive in criticism. 8. To stress quality of teamplay as one of the primary goals. 9. To acknowledge the concept, that it is more important to inspire confidence in players than to win. 10. To stress to parents that it is more important to ask their children “Did you have fun?” or “Did you learn anything?” than to ask, “Did you win?”…

coaches, age group directors, and referees. Referees are still paid and are not limited to young boys and girls. We do not need licensed, professional coaches. We do not need coaches who have played the game. We do not need coaches who are parents (we have board members with no children active in the league). I am grateful and proud to be a part of this organization. The volunteer coaches and league organizers consistently have the best interest of the youth at heart and work diligently to provide the best experience for the players. The organization is constantly looking to improve and adapt to meet its goals.

May it continue to serve the community by providing a healthy, fun outlet for its youth. IHEARTMEDIA IS A LEADING GLOBAL MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY, SPECIALIZING IN RADIO, DIGITAL, OUTDOOR, MOBILE, SOCIAL, LIVE EVENTS, AND ON-DEMAND ENTERTAINMENT.