Alec Azim

I started playing baseball with the YMCA in Ardmore, Oklahoma, at the age of 4. This was the first organized sport I had played, and I knew I belonged on the diamond and at the YMCA.

As a young boy who loved sports, the YMCA provided a place for me to play at an affordable cost. Baseball was my release from the stress and frustration of having separated parents at such a delicate age. It allowed me to make friends, find a purpose and shine in the spotlight at times.

Outside of organized sports (flag football, basketball, baseball), I came to the YMCA daily to swim and, as I got older, start lifting weights. I even had my first baseball pitching lesson through the YMCA. 

The YMCA played a huge role in developing me into the individual I am today. Without the YMCA, I would have definitely been the kid who would have gotten into trouble every day and would have made it difficult on my mom to raise me. Instead, I was able to take my circumstances and make something of it by going to the YMCA and learning how to carry myself with respect and integrity. 

The most valuable time I had as a teen at the YMCA, was when I got to play "noon ball" with the adults. This is where they helped me develop those characteristics.

Even though the YMCA played a critical role in my life, I never expected myself to come back as a staff member, let alone in a leadership role. In 2023, I needed a new job. As someone who was newly married, I knew I needed to find a place to learn, grow and connect – not only to provide for my wife, but to be a better individual. I was officiating a high school basketball game with John Wiemers, Andover YMCA sports director, and he had shared that his coordinator was leaving, and I mentioned that I was looking for a new job. The rest is history, I guess. 

In February 2024, I became the sports coordinator at the Andover YMCA. Later, I was become sports director at the North YMCA.

While I have been successful as a director with the "Xs and Os," being the sports director means much more than that. My goal is to bring in as many kids as possible to not only teach them how to play sports, but more importantly to teach them how to be a better person. 

I share many of my stories and experiences to impact the lives of our sports participants and young members who enter our building every day. As I tell our coaches, "Do not focus on the sport itself, but focus on the life of the participant."