Sports Editor
You may not know Jim Cosper, youth sports and fitness director for Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, but to the many military-affiliated parents and children from ages five to 15 on base, his tireless work hasn?t gone unnoticed.
Cosper, along with 10 dedicated workers on staff at youth sports, are the goto people if you want to get your kids involved in athletics at JBPHH.
For 2013, Cosper said he envisions a year of encouraging more kids to get off the couch and into more healthy activities.
?I want to see the program grow, but I want the children to have fun first and foremost,? said Cosper in outlining the mission of youth sports. ?I want it to be fun, safe and I want them to develop in each sport. I know a lot of kids enjoy playing video games, so I would really like to see children enjoy doing outdoor activities.?
In exercising his passion to introduce children into sports, Cosper, since his arrival in July, has not only managed to seamlessly continue the program?s many venues, but has also lent a hand into adding to youth sport?s ever growing list of activities.
Recently, the formerly Bloch Arena Annex has been renamed Youth Fitness Center and offers gymnastics and fitness classes, every Monday to Saturday, through Hawaii Academy.
In addition, MWR Youth Sports will also introduce a bowling league for kids that will be held during the spring session.
Currently, youth sports will back in action starting on Jan. 12 with basketball and baseball for ages five to 15, and Pee Wee soccer for ages three to five.
In basketball alone, youth sports signed up 350 children that will be broken up and assigned to 36 teams.
?We?re doing the basics: baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, football and track and field,? he pointed out. ?If you go down the list, it?s a lot. And lifeguarding is one of the newer ones that we have on the calendar.?
With so much to offer, Cosper noted that youth sports is not one-man operation, but is a collective effort that includes himself, office workers and volunteer men and women from JBPHH.
?I couldn?t do it without the staff that we have here,? he stated. ?The people are amazing. To be at the field on Saturdays, nights, weekends, it?s tough. And especially here at the desk, there is a huge demand for the phone calls and registering people.?
Cosper also said that since his arrival at youth sports, he has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of parents that are willing to volunteer and help out, despite the busy schedules that come with life in the armed forces.
?I?ve dealt with volunteers before and I thought we would struggle,? he said. ?It?s tough to get people to commit, but with Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, we have had a huge supply to meet our demands of volunteer coaches and team moms. The community, overall, has been a great experience.?
An admitted jack-of-all-sports, expert of none, Cosper said that he is having an absolutely great time as youth sports and fitness director.
He reminds families on base to stop by and visit the office at Bloch Arena anytime if they want to enroll their kids or have any questions about youth sports and its mission.
?Getting the families to know about us and letting them know that we?re an outlet for them,? he said. ?If they want to get their children involved, please come and check us out. We can inform you in the office. We have greatlifehawaii.com if you want to check us out on our website. Check out our gymnastics facility and let?s make 2013 a year of growth.?
Source: http://www.hookelenews.com/youth-sports-program-in-good-hands-at-jbphh/
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