The injury bug has latched on to the national sports news cycle like Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David making a tackle.
Word of class-action lawsuits being filed against the NFL by its former players opened some eyes in 2013 and 2014, thanks to plenty of head-scratching, gut-wrenching details about sketchy medical practices coming to light. With hundreds of millions — really, closer to single billions — of dollars on the table, people have begun to take notice of football’s long-term physical and mental effects.
As a result, many people are pulling their children from football in fear of their children getting hurt. That includes parents in Plant City. The area’s youth football program participation rates have taken a hit.
Perhaps the injuries are, in fact, the largest reason why this happened.
Or, perhaps the reason for the decline this year is because of scheduling conflicts. In the case of the Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference, many families take vacations right around the time when sign-ups begin in the summer. If the kids aren’t around, they can’t be signed up for the team.
Or it could come down to money problems. Unlike sports such as basketball and soccer, football does not come cheap. The cost of equipment and traveling can take a toll on one’s wallet, and adding extra costs for big tournaments like the United Youth Football League National Championships only boost the cost.
It’s jarring for many to see America’s favorite game, whose professional entity is profitable enough that it might as well have a license to print its own money, take such a hit where it may affect long-term plans the most. That’s especially true for a state like Florida, where the game holds a status somewhere in between “obsession” and “religion.”
How hard did this issue hit Plant City? It could have been worse, but it could have been much better.
THE BIGGEST HITS
Before the TCYFCC began its fall season, Plant City residents got a sad surprise when the Antioch Redskins announced that the program could not field any 11-on-11 teams for the remainder of 2014.
According to then-program president Mike Wilkinson, who spoke with the Plant City Times & Observer in August, it was the product of two years of declining participation numbers and a lack of interest in the sport.
“They’re at that age group when most of them want to play baseball,” Wilkinson said.
Even though the program couldn’t field any teams, there were still some costs to keep up with. Charitably, several TCYFCC teams joined forces to hold some of their games at the Antioch field and donate all money raised from concession sales to the Redskins program. The Wesley Chapel Cowboys, Plant City Dolphins, Lakeland Gators and Brandon Cowboys each hosted one game at Antioch this season.
“Hopefully it helped them get people to sign up for next year,” longtime Dolphins president Buddy Bennett said. “Hopefully, they’re able to field teams.”
Another program that took a big hit was that of the Turkey Creek Trojans, though they were fortunate enough to not have to call off any team’s season.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t come close, however. No team was affected more than the varsity program, which played out the 2014 season with a roster of just 12 players. Head coach Casey McClain, who has coached in the Trojans’ program for several years, said that he’s seen the decline play out right in front of his eyes over the years he’s been around.
“Over the years, it started out from 30 and just dwindled down and dwindled down,” McClain said in October.
With 12 kids on the roster, the varsity team managed to win its conference championship, the Superbowl and advance to the Game Day of Champions at Raymond James Stadium in December. Although some of the players are sticking around, others plan on jumping to the high school ranks. And, if there aren’t enough kids for McClain to coach a team, he’ll have to find new work.
““That’s going to eventually work me out of a job, unfortunately,” McClain said. “I only have experience with youth football. I would love to go to the next level and follow some of these kids, and continue to build them up.”
As gloomy as things looked for these squads in 2014, not all programs took a big hit. In fact, there is hope that everything could work itself out with time.
CONSISTENCY WITH THE DOLPHINS
The Plant City Dolphins did not have any major losses to report. The program has been fairly steady for the past several years, and that didn’t change in 2014. According to Dolphins publicity director Ericka Winslow, the program only lost a grand total of six football players in 2014.
“We’ve been pretty steady,” Bennett said. “A lot of teams have been struggling with their numbers, and we’re pretty fortunate that our numbers have stayed up. People are still coming out.”
If one could speculate about the reasons parents are pulling kids out of the programs, what about the reasons for parents leaving their kids in the programs? Bennett believes that parents are drawn to athletic programs that display internal consistency throughout the years.
“I think a lot of it goes back to our program itself and our coaches,” Bennett said. “Not having a lot of turnover in coaching. We’ve got some (coaches) who have been here for 10, 12 years. I think people see that we’ve had a lot of the same coaches out there for years, and if a coach wants to be there for long, that’s the sign of a good program.”
Of course, that’s not to fault any of the other organizations. Turkey Creek has traditionally fielded an all-around strong program, and Antioch’s program didn’t survive for the previous 50 years by doing nothing. But, with plenty of coaching and board member changes happening to nearly every team in almost every year, it’s easy for Bennett to see why parents would be attracted to a program whose employees are sticking around.
WHAT’S NEXT?
To keep kids involved in the game, the Dolphins and Redskins have turned to 8-on-8 football. Whether it’s with the Florida Spring Youth Football League or the arena-based Southern Youth Arena Football League, the smaller game allows coaches to keep doing their thing and players to remain in good football shape for whatever could happen next.
These leagues, which tend to have shorter seasons than TCYFCC, help to keep kids busy in the springtime and to draw them back in come summertime when the 11-on-11 action is ready to get going. It may not be the game most coaches are used to, but if 8-on-8 leagues are keeping kids in the game, then the coaches and programs are happy.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
SPRING FOOTBALL SIGN-UPS
Sign-ups for spring football have recently begun, and it’s not too late to get your child on a roster.
For the Plant City Dolphins, FSYFL registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. The cost to play is $175.00. For more information, contact Buddy Bennett at (813) 478-3693.
For the Antioch Redskins, SYAFL registration can be completed on the Redskins’ website, www.antiochredskins.org. The cost for football players is $145 per child, and the cost for cheerleading is $155 per child.