"The objective of Homedale Youth Sports, Inc. is to implant firmly in the children of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, respect for authority, and to encourage each child to maximize their full potential in the skills necessary for each sporting program, so that they may be well adjusted, stronger, and happier children and will grow to be good, decent, healthy, and trustworthy citizens." --HYS Mission Statement Homedale Youth Sports, Inc. (HYS) is a charitable organization founded in Homedale, Idaho in January of 2008. Due to our classification as a 501(c)3 charity, contributions to HYS are tax deductible. In the fall of 2007, a small group of parents met to discuss the possibility of creating an independent organization to improve the quality of youth athletic programs in Homedale. Riding the success of a 2007 flag football league, these parents wanted to extend that accomplishment into the baseball and softball programs. HYS approached the city of Homedale with a proposal to take over the baseball and softball programs from the city, and listed the following objectives for their newly-formed group: • Develop a non profit organization that can successfully accomplish the mission statement in a fiscally responsible manner. • Development of sustainable leadership, Board of Directors, coaches, volunteers, and officials for youth sports. • To have and stress a universal code of conduct for players, parents, coaches and leadership. • Provide all children the same opportunity to participate and learn an activity, regardless of financial situation. • Continuity between what is taught as part of Homedale Youth Sports programs and what is taught in the interscholastic programs they support. • Creation of a positive environment that is as enjoyable as it is instructive. • Promote good stewardship of the facilities utilized. • Serve as a liaison between the community and the city of Homedale to keep communication fluid, seeking what is best for the community and youth sports. The city of Homedale agreed with the proposal and has since worked closely with HYS to serve the Homedale community. Enabled by an exclusive lease with the city, HYS has served as a steward of the Sundance Park complex in Homedale, helping to fund numerous improvements to that facility including: a new playground, a renovated storage building, thousands of dollars of diamond dust for the five infields, a 1000 square foot tent canopy, numerous new picnic tables, new dugouts on all five fields, and new sprinkler systems for all five infields. In the year 2009, Homedale Youth Sports sponsored 29 sports teams and 320 young athletes. Generous contributions from the community allowed us to offer full scholarships to 13 kids and also helped to keep our players' fees down to manageable levels. The strength of HYS comes from the support of our greater Homedale community, and we hope to use that support to continue to strengthen and broaden all of our youth programs. For additional information visit www.homedaleyouthsports.com