MY Club Steps Up to Keep Mountain Youth Sports Going
Mountain Area Youth Athletics brings local programs under one organization, with basketball registration now open for kindergarten through eighth grade.
Baseball diamonds, football fields and cheer sidelines have long brought mountain families together. When the organizations behind several local youth programs faced uncertain futures, MY Club stepped in to help keep children playing.
Mountain Area Youth Organization, known publicly as MY Club, has announced the launch of Mountain Area Youth Athletics, or MAYA, to coordinate its growing sports programs.
According to the organization, Sierra Mountain Little League and Yosemite Youth Football & Cheer approached MY Club separately after financial and operational challenges made it difficult to continue independently. Together, the affected baseball, softball, football and cheer programs serve more than 500 local youth, MY Club said.
“When we sat down with these organizations and understood that these programs were facing the possibility of closing, we knew we had to find a way to help,” said Jennifer Simmons, executive director of Mountain Area Youth Organization. “Our purpose has always been to create as many positive opportunities for kids as possible. The thought of hundreds of local children losing baseball, softball, football, and cheer was something we couldn’t ignore.”
The MAYA announcement gives those efforts a dedicated organizational structure. Some transitions are already underway: MY Club is continuing Yosemite Badgers Youth Football and Cheer for the 2026 season, with practices having begun in July. Football and cheer retain the familiar Yosemite Badgers name.
MY Club’s announcement also states that Sierra Mountain Little League retired at the end of its 2025 season, with local baseball and softball opportunities now available through MY Club Athletics.
For the nonprofit, maintaining those programs involves considerably more than putting teams on a schedule. Facilities, equipment, insurance, staffing, registration and volunteer coordination all require ongoing resources.
“This is a big responsibility,” Simmons said. “It means additional facilities, equipment, insurance, staffing, volunteers, fundraising, registration, scheduling, and countless hours behind the scenes. But when the alternative was watching opportunities for our mountain youth potentially disappear, we decided to figure it out. And we did.”
The expansion builds on an organization whose roots go back to 1999, when community members worked to create a safe place for mountain-area children after school.
Today, MY Club offers afterschool and summer care, academic support, enrichment and teen activities across Eastern Madera County. According to the organization, its programs have reached more than 1,500 young people annually in recent years.
The new athletics structure is intended to help coordinate and grow sports opportunities while preserving the community connections surrounding existing teams.
“These programs belong to the kids and families of our mountain communities,” Simmons said. “There are generations of families who have played on these fields, coached these teams and volunteered for these leagues. We aren’t trying to replace that history. We want to protect it and build upon it.”
MY Club is seeking coaches, volunteers, sponsors and community partners to help sustain the programs. It also says fundraising is underway to help families lower uniform costs. Its monthly giving campaign, MY Club. MY Pledge., supports equipment, program expenses and assistance intended to make participation more accessible.
Families looking for an upcoming opportunity can now register for MAYA’s youth basketball league, open to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Practices begin the week of November 16, 2026, with games starting January 9, 2027.
According to the league flyer, registration costs $45 through September 30, followed by a $55 late-registration rate through October 25. Registration closes October 26. Sports scholarships are available, and families can contact the organization for details.
Current sports offerings and registration information are available through MY Club Athletics. Questions about basketball, scholarships, other athletic programs or ways to help can be directed to athletics@mtareayouth.org or (559) 760-6648.