Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have made changes to our payment system. In order to facilitate refunds when needed and cut down on administrative processing, we now accept debit, credit and PayPal payments only. In the last year, this system has worked well and we're grateful to our BSA families for helping us make this adjustment.

However, since we use PayPal as our online processing system, we often get questions from registrants asking whether or not a PayPal account is required. The good news is - it's not! 

Nonetheless, we understand that this process can sometimes be confusing - especially for those who do not already have a PayPal account or do not wish to create one. 

Therefore, we've put together this tip sheet to help you with making your payment. If you run into any issues, please don't hesitate to contact us. 

The BSA Fall Soccer program is now open for registration. We are currently forming teams for players ages 4-14. Please click on the links below to learn more and to register your children. Training starts September 12. Got questions? Contact BSA Managing Director, Jodi Harris.

U6  U8   U10   U13   U15

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THE PITCH!

The BSA is pleased to be welcoming new members to our team!

SOCCER

BSA Soccer Director, Jamie Martino, has been generously supporting the BSA as both Soccer Director and Board President since December 2020. With Spring Soccer season now underway, Jamie is working with our new Soccer Director Roeland Heitz who will be taking over the role in the coming months.

Roeland was born and raised in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has a double BA degree from the University of Amsterdam and Dortmund (Germany) and an MBA from University of Bradford (UK). He has worked in various commercial roles at different American Fast Moving Consumer Goods firms like Coca-Cola, Wrigley’s, Mars. The last 10 years he has spent across Europe as an expat for (French) Danone, which brought him, his wife and 3 sons to Munich, Vienna, Paris and, since 2020, Brussels.

Soccer (although he prefers to say football) forms a big part of his life. He has played soccer since childhood and now loves coaching and enjoys thinking about how to improve soccer skills and make training more fun for youth players. Roeland is very excited to be involved in the BSA soccer program and continue BSA’s journey to continuously improve our soccer program for the young players in the international community in Brussels.

BASEBALL

After 6 years in Brussels, BSA Baseball Director Scott Albrecht will be returning this summer to the United States with his family. The entire BSA community will miss Scott and his family. Over the coming months Scott will be working with incoming Baseball Director Sandy Grant and supporting her in continuing the legacy he leaves for the BSA's baseball program.

Sandy originally arrived in Belgium as a student from University of Ottawa to learn French and finish her degree. One year turned into two … and now 25 years later with her husband and two daughters she is living the local expat life in Lasne while working full-time in the IT world. In her free time, Sandy gives Pilates and Yoga classes out of her home studio, volunteers as a Brownie leader with Girl Guiding UK, plays fast-pitch softball with the Brussels Kangaroos, and umpires a game here and there.

Sandy says, “I love to laugh; I love to try new things; I don’t mind failing - it’s just another word for learning. I want to be a good role model for my kids and husband and most of all, I want to inspire kids to do this for their kids one day.” We are so happy to have her joining the BSA team!

JOIN OUR TEAM!

Are you interested in joining the BSA team? We would love to have you! Being a part of the BSA is an incredibly rewarding, fun and community-centered experience. We are currently looking for the following positions to start immediately in preparation for the upcoming school year - Basketball Director and Lacrosse Director. Our Board of Directors will also be looking to fill the Finance Director role beginning in August. Read more about our team here and email BSA Managing Director, Jodi Harris, if you're interested in learning more about these or other volunteer opportunities. 

The BSA is happy to announce that Spring Soccer registration is now open for our Co-Ed U19 program. Spring Soccer for U6, U8, U10 and U13 will open in late March. To learn more about the U19 program and to register, go here.

We are thrilled to announce that we are opening registration today for our U13 BSA Co-Ed Baseball Clinic in partnership with the Brussels Baseball Association. All program details and registration information is available here. We look forward to seeing you there!

Winter Soccer is here!

The BSA is pleased to announce that we will continue this winter with soccer at Centre Sportif de la Forêt de Soignes. We are offering 4 programs - U6, U8, U10 and U13. Training begins January 17 and goes through March 21.

PROGRAM DETAILS

The winter soccer program includes 8 training sessions which will focus on fun, fitness and fundamentals. BSA soccer is open to children of all abilities - we welcome players who are completely new to soccer and those with more experience! While we will not be playing against other teams this season, players will have an opportunity to scrimmage against the other BSA team in their age bracket. 

 For further information about BSA Soccer please go to the Soccer page.

LOCATION INFORMATION

This winter season all trainings will be held on the fields at Centre Sportif de la Forêt de Soignes in Oudergem. Location information is available here.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

As we transition into a new year, the Brussels Sports Association is proud to say that, despite the tremendous uncertainty of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, we are still here! However, like many not-for-profits around the world, this situation has been a strain on our organization. We’ve been able to “keep the lights on,” but we are also facing a substantial financial shortfall as we go into 2021. 

For this reason, BSA is asking our supporters, alumni and parents of athletes for help to ensure our organization can survive the loss of 400 registrations this year.

Even with the challenges we have faced in 2020, we were still able to deliver high quality sports programming to 260 children in Brussels.  Our leadership team and sports program directors have worked tirelessly to come up with creative ideas to provide a safe, accessible sporting environment for your kids.  Hours of extra work ensured that:

• All guidelines for Covid-19 were reviewed regularly and programs were adjusted to ensure that safety measures were followed during training and competition.

• Volunteer coaches received support to deploy modified practice drills to ensure Covid safety.

• Sports seasons were adjusted to improve access and reduce financial burden to families in case of cancellation due to government regulations. 

• Additional volunteers were secured to help with logistics of social distancing and safe pick-up for children in after school programs.

• New fields were secured for soccer and lacrosse programs when previous venues were unavailable.  

What kind of shortfall is BSA facing?  Sport registration revenue was down 70% from the same period in 2019 due to the cancellation of our spring season and shortened fall seasons.  BSA is a not for profit organization that works hard to keep expenses as low as possible, but we have fixed expenses (administrative, legal and insurance fees) that we must cover even if seasons are cancelled.      

Please help us by pledging to “replace a registration” that was lost in 2020.  

1 player:   125 euro

4 players:  500 euro

8 players:  1000 euro

Any donation will help us on our way to our fundraising goal of €50,000. 

We look forward to a fantastic 2021 with you all!

Click on the box below to make your donation before the end of the year!

Are you a Lacrosse person? Are you looking to get involved in fun and rewarding volunteer work? Do you love the idea of introducing this unique sport to kids who may have never played before or supporting dedicated and experienced lacrosse players in keeping up their skills while here in Belgium?

The Brussels Sports Association would love for you to join our team!

The BSA is sad to be saying goodbye to our dedicated Lacrosse Program Director, John Bernards, who will be relocating with his family back to the United States in December.

To learn more, check out the Lacrosse Director position description. Email Managing Director, Jodi Harris, or outgoing Lacrosse Director, John Bernards to set up a time to talk more. 

Check out John's video on why being the BSA Lacrosse Director is awesome!

Are you an attorney licensed in Belgium? Do you know a firm that's just the right size to support an organization like the BSA? We want to hear from you! 

As a small, primarily volunteer-run organization, the BSA relies heavily on the support of our community members. From our coaches to our volunteer board and program directors, the BSA knows our community members are key to our ability to provide quality sports programming to the international community in Brussels.

Moreover, the BSA leadership team is committed to creating a strong administrative foundation for our organization. Part of that process is regularly reviewing our obligations with the Belgian government. This year, that means updating our Articles of Association. 

Please email office@bsasports.org to let us know if you're ready to help or have a referral.