Improving Lives Through Soccer!
Indiana Soccer’s purpose statement is lived out daily by the association’s staff and countless numbers of our member clubs’ players, coaches, administrators, referees, and volunteers.
Over the last year, Indiana Soccer has looked to expand the reach of our impact by forming an Outreach Taskforce that includes members of the organization’s staff and Board of Directors as well as community members yearning to make a difference in their areas.
One of those difference-makers on the task force is Yanic McDowell, who serves as the Youth Sports and Community Engagement Coordinator for South Bend Community Schools Corporation. Through his work, McDowell has proved vital as the local “champion” for Indiana Soccer’s implementation of the successful Futsal for All program, which delivers training and equipment to Physical Education teachers in K-12 classrooms in every corner of the state. The program’s goal is to put a ball in front of each and every one of Indiana’s approximately 1.1 million school children, which started a handful of years ago with South Bend Schools serving as one of the program’s initial pilot districts. Due to these efforts, McDowell was recently recognized by the Play Like a Champion Today Educational Series. The national not-for-profit outfit based out of the University of Notre Dame named McDowell this year’s recipient of the Jim Power A Team for Every Child Award at the group’s annual conference in June, named in honor of the impactful member of the organization’s leadership team who passed away earlier this summer.
“Since his initial involvement with our Futsal for All school initiative in 2021, Yanic McDowell has been a shining example of how impactful one individual’s efforts can be in their community and beyond,” said Justin Becht, Director of Outreach/Director of Futsal for Indiana Soccer. “His approach to being a true partner offering valuable insights has been instrumental to the success of a program that has reached over 275,000 students across the state, including the incredible community of students and teachers he is so dedicated to serving every day inside the South Bend Community School Corporation.”
McDowell played an integral role in South Bend Schools’ hosting of a grassroots certification course in June led by Indiana Soccer Director of Education Steve Franklin and Indiana Olympic Development Program (ODP) Director Todd Sheely that focused on players aged 11-15. More than two dozen teachers and coaches attended the class, which provided an important springboard into developing best coaching practices and inspiring kids to play.
In addition, McDowell’s partnership with Indiana Soccer’s Outreach Department continued in early August, when he joined a dedicated group of teachers from South Bend School to learn and provide feedback for the next step in Futsal for All’s growth. Thanks to the integral guidance of Indiana Soccer’s TOPSoccer liaison and another member of the Outreach Taskforce, Mary Schalliol, that group took the first steps towards incorporating adaptive equipment and best practices for teaching students with physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities into future Futsal for All training session.
“Yanic is an amazing partner in Indiana Soccer’s Futsal for All initiative,” said Alan Brown, a member of both the Indiana Soccer Association’s Board of Directors and Outreach Taskforce. “His energy and commitment to Michiana’s kids and to bringing futsal and soccer to them is an inspiration to us all, and we are fortunate to work with him as part of the Indiana Soccer family.”
“On behalf of Indiana Soccer, we sincerely thank Play Like a Champion for bestowing this honor on a friend and colleague who embodies the spirit of service so exemplified by Jim Power,” concluded Becht.
Continue below to read Play Like a Champion Today’s press release announcing the honor.
Play Like a Champion Today Educational Series Celebrates a Local South Bend Hero: Coach and Athletic Leader Yanic McDowell of the South Bend Community School Corporation
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (August 11, 2025) – The Play Like a Champion Today Educational Series recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their annual Sports Leadership Conference. Held each June since the inaugural event in 2006 at the University of Notre Dame, this national summit attracts youth and high school sport leaders from across the country. The aim of the conference is three-fold: to educate, to connect and to inspire. Sport leaders arrive at the conference to learn the latest research in sport psychology, motivational development, sport science and the spirituality of sport. Intentional space is created so attendees connect with one another to collaborate and grow in kinship as sport leaders. The result is an inspiring experience that empowers leaders to serve children through sport in their home communities more effectively.
At this year’s conference, Play Like a Champion honored Mr. Yanic McDowell, Youth Sports and Community Engagement Coordinator for the South Bend Community School Corporation. McDowell received the Jim Power A Team for Every Child award. This honor is in loving memory of Jim Power who led Play Like a Champion’s efforts to expand sport opportunities for all youth regardless of their athletic ability or family’s income, particularly in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. The award was given on the final morning of the conference following a session that featured a number of local youth on a student-athlete panel sharing about the power of sport to transform their lives. It was impactful to honor McDowell in front of his own athletes.
McDowell has decades of experience as a caring coach and exceptional administrator. In just the first year of his current position, he removed barriers for 3000 children providing them the opportunity to play sports at their home schools through 100 new sports programs. He places an emphasis on creating a caring community of administrators, coaches, officials and parents through trauma-informed positive youth development training. McDowell demonstrates the path forward for nurturing and sustaining the “A Team for Every Child” initiative in our home city of South Bend. Congratulations to Yanic McDowell, a hometown hero so rightfully celebrated for his service to our local youth.
For more information on Play Like a Champion Today, contact Kristin Sheehan (574.329.0266) or Kristin.sheehan@playlikeachampion.org.
