Soccer and heat to kick diabetes

There are two words of the day for the Youth Soccer Camp provided by the NB3 Foundation and hosted by Inter Tribal Sports: "hot" and "hot."  The weather was a balmy 94 degrees, and our youth, running around the big green of the Viejas Recreation Center, collectively burned thousands of calories by the end of the day.  Native children from around the Southern California region, including our own urban youth from SDAIHYC, participated in the camp.  The NB3 Foundation has hosted soccer camps around the nation, with the goals of promoting "physical fitness, cultural identity, leadership development, and obesity prevention."  The t-shirts given to the youth carry the important message "Make it your goal to kick diabetes."  We will continue to provide physical fitness opportunities here at SDAIHYC to make sure that goal is constantly met by our youth members.  For pictures of the event, please visit our Photobucket album.

Powwow by the Sea 2011

Youth members, staff and families had a great time at Powwow by the Sea this weekend! Here, Youth & Family Services Coordinator Christopher Scott takes a break from grass dancing to pose with members in picturesque Imperial Beach. Our very own Cheyenne, Powwow by the Sea Princess 2010, gave up her crown :(, but the event was fun nonetheless. Check out pictures here.

Summer means dinner in the Park!

Last Wednesday, we closed down the Youth Center for a few hours to enjoy a nice healthy(-ish) dinner at Balboa Park. Parents joined staff and youth members for a delightful afternoon under the San Diego sun, and the time came too soon to go back indoors. With warmer days and longer hours, we're going to be outside a lot more; feel free to come join us while you're off school! More pictures here!

OB skate park pics!

We made our way to the Robb Field Skate Park in Ocean Beach for the second time this month, and some of the pics from this trip are in our Photobucket album here.  Yes, I used the "sports" setting on the camera.  My camera is just not that awesome...

First trip to the skate park!

We finally made it to the Washington Street Skate Park!  Check out pictures at here.  My apologies for the blurriness of some of the pictures; I'm still working on my skateboard photography skills.

"Native Youth Honoring Our Elders" a momentous occasion!

Thank you to all who attended our conference/celebration, "Native Youth Honoring Our Elders: A Celebration of Wellness, A Recognition of Vickie Gambala's 33 Years of Service" this past Saturday.  The event drew ~450 participants on May14th, which was proclaimed "Vickie Gambala Day" by the City of San Diego.  Visit our Photobucket account here for pictures of the event.  We also have a Youtube video featuring the event here.  With so many activities and people, the day went by too fast!  We are truly honored and grateful to Vickie for all of her dedication and the tremendous work she has done for San Diego's American Indian and Alaska Native communities.  Happy retirement, Vickie!

"Native Youth Honoring Our Elders: A Celebration of Wellness" in just over a week!

Join us on Saturday, May 14th at Admiral Baker Field for our annual youth conference.  This year's event, "Native Youth Honoring Our Elders: A Celebration of Wellness, A Recognition of Vickie Gambala's 33 Years of Service" will take place from 9AM-4PM.  The celebration will include sports activities, martial arts/self-defense, arts & crafts, food, and most importantly, appreciation of Vickie Gambala's work in San Diego's Native American community.  Hope to see you, your family, and your friends there...remember, the event is FREE!

SDSU Sports Tour

Our partnership with SDSU has allowed us to visit the campus various times over the past two years. We have been to Men’s and Women’s basketball games, a tour of the KPBS building, concert by the music department, a dinner & school tour and softball & baseball games. We would like to thank our sponsor Dr. Aaron Bruce and the Office of the President! On Friday April 15^th 2011 our Youth Center visited the athletic facilities & Alumni Center. We took a tour of the new Alumni center inspiring the youth to graduate and become a part of the SDSU Alumni Association. We toured the Aztec Athletic Center looking at the weight room, football offices and trophy room. We even got a chance to talk with Head Football coach Rocky Long!!! We toured the aquaplex and got a glimpse of the college life! We were able to watch a few matches at the Aztec Tennis Center before the main event. Some of us went to the softball game against BYU and the baseball game against TCU. We had a great time and everyone in attendance will one day become an Aztec!

April showers bring photo battles...

Last Friday, we chanced the on/off San Diego weather and went for a walk around Balboa Park in two teams for a photo battle.  Each team had an hour to take as many quality pictures as possible, which would then be judged back at the Youth Center.  Congratulations to Kellen's team, whose team took the winning picture at left.  Each team took a plethora of pictures, but due to space, only 18 pictures from each team are posted in the 2011 April Photo Battle album here (the album has two sub-folders for Daniel's and Kellen's teams).  As you'll see, each team took very different aesthetic approaches.  Can one really "win" in creative artistic expressions?  Honestly...anyways, have fun browsing, and you be the judge of which picture was the best!