Mission

YALD is a non-profit organization that focuses on Youth Leadership Development for Junior H.S. through college age students.

Activities

YFFL (YALD Flag Football League) focuses on influencing the moral development of junior high school through college aged students. One of our initiatives is using flag football as a vehicle to speak to these young minds. This program was created to provide positive guidance for the youth of the Washington Heights community to motivate them to reach their greatest potential.

We strongly believe that YALD's main philosophy will serve as a foundation to plant the seed in the minds of our students, so they can grow into active and mature contributors of positive change in our community. In addition, we create awareness of the importance of education and community service, and topics such as health, sex, drugs and any other hardship that might come their way.

Our Leadership DNA encodes the genetic traits all great leaders are born with into the development and functioning of all of YALD’s students. These leadership traits are composed of the following Elements: Understanding Change, Relationship Building, Impact Purpose, Communication, Collaboration, Integrity, Consequences, Perseverance, Empathy, Motivation, and Self-Regulation. The 21-week program focuses on one of the core elements each week. With the elements building upon each other, visible and measureable changes can be seen in the students. The coaches fill out a weekly Bio Sheet which keeps track of each relating to the core elements. Coaches ask a few questions before each game, all answers relating to a core element. We also evaluate the students' performance during the game. At the end of games coaches sit down with their students and discuss what core elements they experienced during the game. At the end of the season the student that has embraced the core elements the most receives the highly coveted leadership award.

Eligibility