Fifth-and sixth-graders learn basics
By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Many local kids have grown up watching professional football, hoping one day to be on the same level as the Brett Favres and LeRoy Butlers. And until a few years ago, those kids had to wait until junior high or middle school to put on the pads and hit the playing field.
Now with the four-year-old Youth Area Football League, fifth and sixth graders can don shoulder pads and helmets too.
The league, formed in 1996, has grown to 165 players on 10 different teams. There are two divisions based on size - Lightweight for kids 97 to 98 pounds and under, and Heavyweight for kids up to 165 pounds. Six teams comprise the lightweight division: Lions, Oddfellows, Police, Sheriff and Ford Chiropractic. The heavyweight division grew to four teams this year, as Rettler and Associates joined The Store, Furniture and Appliance Mart and Copps.
While Stevens Point Area Senior High football coach Jerry Fitzgerald helped found the league to develop players at an younger age, don't expect these youngsters to be running complex offensive or defensive schemes. League President Beth Keough says the purpose of the league is to teach them the fundamentals of the game of football.
"Our number one priority is the instruction of the kids. We just want to teach them the basics," Keough said.
That philosophy is evident by the league's schedule. Practices began in mid-August this year and the first 10 hours of each team's practice consisted of no-contact basic drills and conditioning.
After that, teams get ready in full-pads for an end-of-the-month scrimmage and a six-game season. During the scrimmage and first two games, coaches are allowed on the field to guide the players and the referees explain any penalties.
The league definitely doesn't have a shortage of coaches to teach kids how to block, run, catch, cover and tackle. There are 53 volunteer parents who help the 10 teams and all have gone through a two-hour medical clinic sponsored by Rice Medical Center's Sports Medicine and a coaching and referee clinic.
Through the six-game schedule the teams practice two or three times a week and the season ends Sept. 24 when the league plays during halftime of SPASH's night game at Goerke Field.
"It's neat to see the kids improve from the first practice to the last," Keough said. "It's amazing how much those kids lean in such a short amount of time."
The impact of the league on the SPASH and other area high school programs won't be felt for another year or two, but Keough says the junior high coaches and athletic directors can tell who has played and who hasn't.
"The best thing is the feedback we get from the junior high coaches. They say our kids are more disciplined versus kids that are first time players," she said.