A local church is using sports in a big way to connect with youth in our community. Northside Baptist Church in Lexington has just kicked off the Upward Sports flag football season for 2019.

For the unfamiliar, flag football is a big deal in Lexington. Last year there were 4 leagues in the area.

However, the Upward Sports League in Lexington is a good bit different as it is a Christian Sports League for youth. And, it’s not just flag football.

Let’s start there. Many kids, boys and some girls love to play football. However, the elementery schools don’t offer it and there are limited spots on the middle school teams. That means there is a big void for kids looking for a place to play.

And play they do. An estimated 234 kids turned out this past Saturday for skills drills and to be placed on a team.

David Ford, the Minister to Children at Northside Baptist, told me that they would probably have 24 teams with 10-12 players each. The kids are divided into 4 divisions - kindergarten ages 4-5 and 1st through 6th grade. Games are played on Saturday mornings and they have 4 fields, so 8 teams can play simultaneously.

The flag football program is certainly a hit, but it is the smallest of 3 Upward programs. In 1996, the founder of Upward Sports, Caz McCaslin, had started a youth basketball program and wanted Northside to participate.

They did and later started a soccer program before adding flag football. Today, soccer is number 1 with 450-500 participants, followed by basketball with around 300 players. Plus, there are cheerleaders for those two sports.

Ford explained the parents want their kids to play sports in a wholesome environment. Northside Baptist offers that for the whole community.

They do things differently from some programs. For one, they start each game with the national anthem and call out the names of each child on the teams as they take the field. Furthermore, all coaches are church people who are positive, love kids and can motivate and inspire them.

There is a strict “no bad word” policy and the coaches police each other.

One more thing Northside does to assure a positive atmosphere is parents must sign a contract that states they believe in the “Circle of Affirmation” of the team.

Upward Sports was founded in 1995 in Spartanburg. The goal was then, and still is, to offer youngsters some sports skills as well as some values for life.

As the participants acquire skills for sports, they are also learning biblical values like, leadership, teamwork, integrity, respect and good sportsmanship. Those values are as important as willing games. Those characteristics will follow the throughout their lives.

There are 2,600 churches in 46 states and Canada who conduct the Upward Sports leagues. Upward provides the churches with everything they need to run their own leagues, including training, playbooks, apparel and online tools.

In addition to flag football, they offer soccer, basketball and cheerleading for football and basketball for grades K through 8th grade.

For more information on Upward Sports, contact Ford at Northside Baptist Church at (803) 520-5660.