West Side Boosters

from page 1 put an even deeper strain on the club’s coffers. Most programs are for grades K-8 but some cater to older youth as well. The Boosters never turn anyone away due to lack of money. As a result, about 40% of its current participants aren’t paying registration fees. Those fees are covered through fundraising. He also noted that registration numbers haven’t waned one bit since the pandemic. In fact, volleyball registrations have increased 30% since 2022.

“We put a lot into the kids and have high expectations of them,” said Cruz. “What I constantly say is that it’s not just coaching, we’re giving kids life lessons…. We try to keep kids off the streets and try to make sure kids graduate high school, go to college and break the cycle of all this trauma that keeps going on.”

Some of the Boosters’ teams have built a formidable reputation in the eyes of their opponents in recent years. In November, the eighth-grade football team won its ninth consecutive league championship – a state record. As members of the North Suburban League, they have consistently beat out teams in Andover, Stillwater and Brooklyn Park to maintain that streak. The seventh- and eighth-grade flag football team has also had success on the field. In January 2018, 2019 and 2020, they won a tournament hosted by the Minnesota Vikings. As a prize, the team received an allexpense-paid trip to the Pro Bowl each year. The youth were able to watch the game, meet NFL players and –perhaps the most thrilling part – play in a flag football tournament. Cruz said the event hasn’t been held for two years because of the pandemic, but he expects it to