Suburban Optimist Youth Group (SOCYG)

Check Youth Group Calendar

Formation of the Youth Group:  The founders of SOC wanted to create a youth organization to provide an athletic, cultural and social environment for the children of Asian ancestry. Thus, the South East Youth Organization (SEYO) was created. SEYO began the first year with five boy's baseball teams from ages 8 to 12. The first SOC Youth Group was started soon after as a coalition of SOC families solely focused on participation in SEYO activities and through the early years the two groups drifted apart from one another.

In recent years the board members from both the Youth Group and SOC have worked on bridging together the two groups. Their efforts have been very successful and now you can see a great deal of synergy with the combined focus of the groups.

Who we are: Suburban Optimist Club Youth Group of Buena Park (SOCYG)  is comprised of members dedicated to helping boys and girls develop physically, and socially, through sports and athletics.  We promote and support activities and sports programs to encourage and facilitate the development of good character, citizenship and sportsmanship.  Membership in our organization means that it is not only the individual child who joins our organization, but we also stress family involvement, fellowship, and community service.  Each child is a winner in our eyes and we believe, every child regardless of their skill level, should have the opportunity to participate in various organized sports programs.  This year we have around 15 junior basketball teams and we are always looking for new boys and girls to join our group. The kids develop through stages starting with the "Little Stars" ages 4 to 6; this group works on basketball FUN-da-mentals, next our "Pee Wee's" ages 7 to 9 this age group begins to compete with other youth groups in the SEYO sports league, our seasoned "Midgets" ages 10 to 11,  the "Juniors" ages 12 to 14 and finally our oldest and most experienced group the "Seniors" which are our high school youths.  Our Little League baseball program is established and runs in the summer months.

Our Mission Statement: The Suburban Optimist Club Youth Group (SOCYG) of Buena Park’s mission is to provide the structure and leadership in support of youth oriented sports and athletics programs for families in Southern California and to provide the environment where each participant can build character, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Suburban Optimist Club Youth Group
P.O. Box 5272
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745-0272

SOCYG BOARD 2009-20010
President:  Ray Okazaki
Vice President:  Mark Uyehara
Treasurer:  Pat Ohara
Secretary:  Scott Iwamoto
Directors:  Darryl Kawasaki, Dara Lark, Dave Higashi, Gary Fukushima
SEYO Reps:  Dave Higashi, Ray Okazaki,  Harry Gunther (Alt)
Advisors:  Norm Nishizu, Gene Murakami, Paul Jay Fukushima

What we do:

Annual Year End Banquet: In order to celebrate another successful sports season and to raise funds for our sports programs, SOCYG holds an Annual Year End Banquet.  In order to provide funds to cover the costs associated with supporting youth basketball and baseball teams, we hold a fundraising raffle with fantastic prizes.  Fun, prizes and good food are in order for the night of our Banquet. 

Annual Tri-Star Competition: The SOCYG Tri-Star Basketball competition is an annual event for both girls and boys and is held every winter.  SOCYG sponsors this event each year and every year we have more and more participants.  Tri-Star is a competition that consists of three separate events:  Passing, dribbling, and shooting.  Winners in each age bracket are eligible to participate in local, regional and State finals.  

SOC Annual Pancake Breakfast: The Suburban Optimist Club (SOC), our parent organization, holds an annual Pancake Breakfast usually in early Spring.  SOCYG members participate by selling tickets and helping out  with the serving of the over 2,000 meals in the early morning. 

SOC Picnic: Come and get your Hawaiian Shaved Ice on a warm summer afternoon. This is our annual summer get together.  Festivities include BBQ lunch, games, a giant romper, music, and a Raffle.