As with many of you, my spring weekends will be spent watching young people from around our community coming together on soccer and baseball fields. While the element of competition is always there, the most important goals for those involved is that these children are learning how to improve their skills on the field, working together as a team, and modeling good sportsmanship to their opponents. Sometimes, like last spring when the U10 girls’ St. Michael’s Mustangs and SYO Stingers met up on the field, those friendly competitions turn into reunions of children (and their parents) who have gone to preschool together or swim as teammates with the Sharonville Sharks. It’s during events like these that we can truly feel and appreciate the interconnectedness of our entire city community.

While the City has a role in facilitating these types of activities, mostly through providing the facilities for these activities to take place, it is another vital non-profit organization that truly does all the work. The Sharonville Youth Organization (SYO) has been in existence for more than half-a-century. SYO is a group of dedicated volunteers who arrange the sign up for children in youth sports, provide the equipment to play, recruit and prepare coaches, seek out sponsors for team uniforms, and a multitude of other duties. It was indeed a pleasure a short while ago to recognize these volunteers with a “good neighbor award” for their selflessness and dedication to the youth of Sharonville.