The start of the new school year brings the beginning of the Youth Sports fall season, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 12.

Youth Sports are popular on Camp Pendleton, with between 2,800 and 3,100 child participants each year.

They are separated into three seasons. The spring season offers baseball and soccer. Winter sports include basketball and cheerleading. The fall season brings soccer, flag football and cheerleading as well.

All teams are co-ed and divided by age. The age brackets start at five years old and continue in approximately two-year increments until age 18. Details on age brackets vary by sport and the number of participants.

Sodexo Food Services recently partnered with Marine Corps Community Services to support Youth Sports programs across the Marine Corps. This includes 16 Marine Corps installations according to a Sodexo press release.

Despite sponsors, Youth Sports rely on volunteer coaches to make their program successful.

 “We can’t run our program without volunteer coaches,” said Richard Smith, manager, Youth Sports, Camp Pendleton. “We have about 500 per year.”

Camp Pendleton Youth Sports are in need of volunteers for the upcoming fall season. If interested, call (760) 725-4188. Background checks are ran for all volunteers.

Although Camp Pendleton sometimes participates in tournaments in the surrounding communities, all games and practices are on base.

Practices are usually two to three times each week and are no longer than 90 minutes.

To be eligible, one parent of the child must be a service member, Department of Defense civilian, MCCS employee or a veteran with 100 percent service-connected disability.

Youth Sport registration forms are available at www.pendleton.usmc.mil by clicking the Marine Corps Community Services link. Registration for the fall season ended July 31. Youth Sports has a waiting list for late registrations and children can be placed on a team if space is available.