Debate rages about youth football
ALEX BOERNER
alex.boerner@scripps.com
Marcini Thomas, 12, amember of the Stuart Hornets youth football team,
is told where to go by assistant coach Joel Chartley, left, during
drills on Wednesday.
ALEX BOERNER
alex.boerner@scripps.com
Jamaul O'Bryant, an assistant coach with the Stuart Hornets football
team, tells 8-year-old player Trenton Mason how to get off the line and
improve his blocking during practice Wednesday in Stuart. The experience
the players gain helps them make the transition later to high school.
Many states — including Texas — have junior high school football
programs, whereas traditional powers like Florida and California typically
do not.
Instead, Treasure Coast youngsters can play through the Indian River
County Parks and Recreation program, Pop Warner football, in the FedEx
Orange Bowl League or with the Port St. Lucie Athletic Association. More
than 2,500 kids from age 7-15 on the Treasure Coast play youth football,
according to statistics from those leagues.
"It's been a big part (of my development) because it teaches you the
basics of football," Fort Pierce Central senior Chris Clendenin said of his
youth football experience.
Those youth league options have made middle school football an irrelevant
question, St. Lucie County athletic director Jay Stewart said.
"We would not want to duplicate something that is already being offered,"
Stewart said. "There's not a demonstrated need for that in the district."
Martin County assistant superintendent Hank Salzler said the idea has not
come up in his 12 years in the position and if it did, money would be a
concern.
"Our resources are stretched thin enough," Salzler said.
But high schools could benefit from having a more cohesive middle school
program, Port St. Lucie football coach Doug Kerr said. Fundamentals can be
lost upon age groups without proper coaching -- volunteers make up the
majority of coaching staffs for youth football. That means extra time is
needed to train players once they show up on a high school roster.
"It takes a good month to get these kids on the same page," Kerr said.
Another issue is that different leagues have different rules.
Few teams on the Treasure Coast have unlimited weight divisions, and some
leagues cap weights at about 170 pounds for the 15-year olds -- leaving some
players with nowhere to play.
Treasure Coast Pop Warner Football Conference director Rick Williams is
first to admit, "there are big kids out there that need to be playing
somewhere."
Once they have been forced out, it's hard to get them back on the field,
Fort Pierce Central coach Chris Hutchings said.
"Our biggest difficulty is getting those (bigger) kids to come out and
play football," Hutchings said. "You've got to scour the hallways to find
big guys to play."
Even when those players do report, getting them accustomed to the rigors
of high school football is difficult, South Fork coach Dennis Lavelle said.
"When a big kid first comes out, it's a shock to them," Lavelle said.
"They're starting from scratch."
Bigger players are sometimes restricted from playing certain positions in
youth leagues. Kerr said that these kids -- who could become a talented
running back -- are at a disadvantage because they have only played on the
offensive or defensive line.
The rules are there to prevent injuries, officials say.
But in the end, coaches agree that youth football is better than no
football.
"I feel like it's a good thing that they do have some football,"
Hutchings said, noting he can clearly see which players have competed at the
youth level compared to those who have not.
"The difference is night and day."
The players notice it, too.
"Without it, I probably wouldn't have started off high school playing
varsity," Fort Pierce Central senior wide receiver Kendale McDaniel said.
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