Fun And Games At NYA For NMS Students

By Eliza Hallabeck

Several Newtown Middle School students arrived at the Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) on Tuesday, October 6, ready for a game known to the group as “soccer basketball.”

Last month, a new after school program for Newtown Middle School students began transporting students to Newtown Youth Academy, where program overseers Kyle Lyddy and Christina Wolf facilitate games and lunch for the group.

Ms Wolf said the program is flexible, and allows students to participate for one day or every day the program is available, Monday through Thursday, in one of two rounds, from 2:30 until 4 or 3:30 to 5 pm. If students are involved in the first time slot of the program, they are picked up after school from the middle school and transported by bus for the short ride over to NYA, which is on the Fairfield Hills campus.

“I just love working with kids,” Ms Wolf said, “and just being active. Having them be active after school is such a great plus, instead of going home playing video games and watching TV. Here we open them up to a different variety of games. We play basketball soccer, capture the flag, football, tennis, tag games. We just try to mix it up to let the kids have fun.”

Ms Wolf said if the students have a lot of homework, they are allowed to work on it during the program. Mr Lyddy and Ms Wolf can each offer help if needed.

As a volleyball was kicked back and forth across a basketball court, with a net set up in the middle, Ms Wolf explained “soccer basketball,” or “soccer tennis” as some of the students call it, is a game created in the program. Students form two teams, and kick the volleyball back and forth across the net to score on the other team.

“I originally came up with some of the rules,” said Ms Wolf, “and then as we continued to play the students were like, ‘Alright let’s add this rule into the game … Let’s add this and say you can’t use your hands to make it harder.’ Before we were using more tennis rules, where the ball is only allowed to bounce once on your side of the court, but we found that to be not as fun as to let it bounce as many times as you can just to get it over.”

Ms Wolf, who graduated Newtown High School in 2005, said she asks the students who their teachers are and discusses school with the students.

“The first week we were like, ‘Ask your teacher if they remember us,’ and most of them said yes, their teachers remembered us,” said Ms Wolf. “It was kind of funny to have that interaction with them.”

Mr Lyddy, who also graduated from NHS in 2005, said the program kicked off in September and has been growing “slowly but surely.”

“We are just looking to have fun,” said Mr Lyddy, “And we listen to all these kids. When they come in we say, ‘What do you want to do today?’ And they get soccer, tennis, or whatever they want to play. We try to listen to everyone.”

Bocce is another game Mr Lyddy said the students enjoy playing on an outdoor bocce court.

Mr Lyddy recently graduated from the University of Connecticut and is looking to pursue a job in the field of sports. Working at NYA, he said, is a great environment.

Ms Wolf recently graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in physical education and health. In addition to working for NYA with the after school program, she is a substitute teacher in New Haven.

There is a $29 one- time registration fee, and then sessions are $15 for the earlier offering and $25 for the 3:30 to 5 time slot. Students are also served lunch every day as part of the fee.

Registration is still open for the after school program. Additional information is available at NewtownYouthAcademy.org, or by calling 304-1826.

Seventh grade student Robby Schreiber heard about the program from his mother, and has been attending the program since it began last month.

“I think it is really fun,” Robby said, “because we get to do all sorts of activities, and they are all sports.”