A full circle moment at the Y

Qwinton Wilder was active in many youth sports as a kid at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA. Flag football, T-Ball and basketball were just a few of the team sports he played at the Y.

Those same youth programs Wilder used to enjoy are now led by him as the Sports Director at the Y.

As he grew to his teen years his love for the Y and participation level remained. He spent his teen years honing his basketball skills in the gym and building strength with the weight training equipment at the Y. 

“If I wasn’t home I was down at the Y,” he said.

That dedication led him to realize his dream of being a collegiate basketball player at Simpson College, where he received his degree in sports administration this past spring.

Wilder started in his role at the Marshalltown Y in late April and when he interviewed for the job he noticed the family atmosphere at the Y among the staff and members.

Wilder has hit the ground running with youth programs while also helping to add to the positive culture known to exist at the Y. 

“It’s a snowball effect,” Wilder said of his knack for spreading positivity at the Y. “Smiles are contagious.”

Wilder said he wants more youth to participate in Y sports like he did and to reach them at a younger age to grow their love of sports and set them up for success at the high school level.

Back to his history with the Y; one cool occurrence happened recently that sparked a “full circle” moment for him. Recently, Y Building Supervisor and longtime friend Caleb Jones was looking through old files at the Y and found Wilder’s certificate for participating in flag football as a youngster in 2007.

“It was really cool to see,” Wilder said.