Every Child Plays!     Every Child Learns!     Every Child Is A Winner!

What is Upward?

Upward is a national children’s sports program, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, designed to give children and their families a positive sports experience by partnering with local churches to introduce children to Jesus Christ by creating opportunities to serve through sports, including Upward Basketball, Upward Cheerleading, and Upward Flag Football. This season more than 800,000 people will be a part of the Upward experience across the United States. Approximately 570,000 K5 through sixth grade children will participate. Potentially over 300,000 volunteers will staff Upward programs in over 2,000 partnering churches of different denominations.

Why is Upward Important?
A USA TODAY survey found that “seven in ten children would not care if no one kept score at their games. Four in ten wished their parents did not come to their games. Too many kids secretly hate playing organized sports because of the pressure to win or the rejection they feel when they make a mistake.”* The purpose of Upward is to recognize the winner in every child by offering a non-competitive, non-threatening environment where every participant gets equal playing time.  Every child will receive an award following each game to recognize a positive contribution he or she made that day. All children who participate will also receive a special award at the end of the season during an awards ceremony. Upward is committed to doing whatever it takes to recognize that “Every Child Is A Winner.”

How does Upward Operate?
Upward strives to provide the very best, organized, and detailed administrative tools, services, materials and support to its ministry partners. This mindset has helped Upward grow from one church to over 2,000 across the country in just twelve years. Each partnering church has attended an Upward Leadership Training Conference to learn the leadership techniques and special rules necessary to conduct an Upward league in their community.

What Parents say they Want

Parents desire to see their children have fun and be successful in every arena they may participate.  Sports are a great way for children to learn about teamwork, respect for authority, discipline and sportsmanship, while having fun, improving skills, developing friendships, and much more.The sad part is all those things are being lost in today’s sporting society. With an Upward sport, these key essentials are included to create the best sporting experience for every child that participates. Each Upward Sport is designed to reveal the winner in every child. Studies show that 73% of kids quit playing sports by the  age 13 because it is no longer fun, and that is just not acceptable. 

 

 

The OPC Upward Flag Football and Cheerleading program begins with sign-ups on February 24th and 25th. Practice begins on March 10, with the first game on March 19.  The season ends with an awards ceremony on May 15.

For more information, contact Tiffany Goggans at 407-656-4452 or tiffany@oaklandpres.org.

For information about the international Upward organization, visit www.upward.org