Catholic Youth Organization of Quincy: Healthy Activities and Important Lessons in Teamwork

When it comes to our children, few things promote healthy activities or learning about teamwork quite like sports. However, youth may not always have an opportunity to participate in athletics, especially from a young age. Meeting this need, the Quincy Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) was formed to “promote the physical, social, mental, emotional, cultural, and spiritual wellbeing primarily of the Catholic Youth of the Quincy community through the participation in sports and social activities.” So, what started in the 1920s as a way to offer sports activities to Quincy Catholic elementary students has blossomed into an organization that is still thriving today.

The program is run by a board of eight members with two members from each of the Quincy Catholic parishes. While the CYO has been on a break this spring and last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hoped that activities will begin again this coming fall. There is also a session offered each spring.

Girls’ volleyball is offered for third to eighthgrade students. Basketball is offered for boys and girls from first to eighth grade. Both will be held at Quincy University and have licensed officials, so students may learn the sport. Many of the coaches are parents of the players. Also, karate is offered for boys and girls from second to eighth grade in the St. Dominic School gymnasium.

Tom McLaughlin has been involved in CYO since he was a child — he started by playing baseball and basketball. Then, he got involved in coaching and was eventually trained as a referee through the Illinois High School Association.

“I’ve been a referee for almost 40 years,” he says. “I’ve enjoyed all of my time with this organization and working with sports.”

Tom says CYO offers a valuable opportunity for the participating youth to meet students from other Quincy schools. The parents can also meet parents from the other parishes.

“We want kids to play hard and have fun,” he says. “We want the parents to be good sports too.”

Each game starts with all the players praying the Our Father in a big circle.

“This gives them a little religious and Christian influence in the game,” Tom says.

As Tom notes, participation in CYO also helps youth prepare for competitive sports at the high school level.

“I got so much out of this program as a player and a coach,” he says. “I’ve seen the value of what we are doing. Elementary school students need structure and something to do.”

In the spring of 2020, there were about 250 boys and girls who completed the season before the COVID-19 restrictions were put into place.

“The kids grow a lot through this program and they seem to enjoy it,” Tom says.

Besides the four Quincy Catholic parishes, participating students also come from Quincy Christian School, St. James Lutheran Elementary, Holy Family Catholic Elementary, and several homeschool groups.

Tom also extends his gratitude to all of the coaches and coordinators who share their time and talents to help run the CYO program.

Any student is welcome to get involved in CYO — you don’t need to be Catholic to participate. And, in the future, the CYO board hopes to start other programs for students who are not as interested in athletics. In May of 2022, there will be a need for more board members. For more information on the Catholic Youth Organization, please visit cyoquincy.com or call 217-223-9321.