Community notebook: Grant money helps Wy’East football program

Thanks to a $1,000 grant from USA Football, the football team at Wy’East Middle School was able to replace some worn out equipment.

According to coach Tom Neri, the money was used to replace worn out shoulder pads and blocking pads that had lost their cushioning. The new equipment arrived in August, and has allowed the team to practice 11 on 11, something it was not able to do last season according to Neri.

Initial participation in the program increased 25 percent over 2015 according to Neri.

The grant was part of a USA Football program to help keep football safe and to boost participation in the sport. Neri said the grant allowed Wy’East to replace badly worn equipment without impacting the athletics budget at the Vancouver middle school.

Summer Slam soccer

A record 202 youth soccer teams from around the region took part in the Summer Slam Tournament, which was played Aug. 26-28.

Hosted by Vancouver’s Washington Timbers, the tournament is a kickoff event entering the fall youth soccer season. Matches were played at the Harmony Sports Complex, Doc Harris Stadium in Camas and at Delta Park in north Portland.

A list of local teams that won their division championship is in the Community Sports Scoreboard. Some age divisions had enough teams for multiple divisions. In those, the Gold Division was for the most competitive teams.

CCYF season starts

Clark County Youth Football kicked off its 34th season on Saturday with games around the county. Scores from those games are in the Community Sports Scoreboard.

COMMUNITY SPORTS NEWS is published each Tuesday. Submit items by email to paul.danzer@columbian.com or call 360-735-4521.