I was surprised when I got an email from the Antioch Redskins, notifying me about their big change.
After the TCYFCC helped them overcome a lost 2014 season — brought about by low numbers — and did everything in its power to get the teams on the field in 2015, I figured the league wasn’t going to see them leave anytime soon.
I was wrong. Antioch is now affiliated with Pop Warner.
I didn’t know too much about Pop Warner before heading up to the Antioch park last week, but I knew Benji and Emily Sikes well enough to know that, if they were going to switch affiliations, they’d have a good reason to do so. Sure enough, I left the interview believing that this was probably the best move they could have made.
I’m told that the Redskins have no ill will toward TCYFCC and vice versa. Rather, the move was made purely because it gives Antioch kids a better chance to play football.
The TCYFCC is a good organization. Any problems I’ve had with TCYFCC events come from other teams (specifically, its rowdier fans).
But it’s not without its flaws, just like any sports league out there.
In my mind, one of the biggest reasons — if not the biggest reason — Antioch made the switch is because of that lost 2014 season.
The TCYFCC rules mandate that teams must have a specific number of players on its roster to play football, and any failure to meet that requirement will result in ineligibility. The league does not allow players of similar age and/or weight, rostered on another team, to move around to fill those vacant roster spots. The only exception comes when the teams play in out-of-conference games, such as the UYFL tournament, where weight class and age requirements can be different.
For teams like the Plant City Dolphins that operate in higher-traffic areas, that’s not really a problem. I’ve never heard about that team having trouble filling rosters and, since they’re based in the heart of Plant City, I don’t think they’ll have to deal with that for a long time.
But, as we saw in 2014, that rule isn’t kind to teams like Antioch. A town with one stoplight isn’t going to have anywhere near the population of greater Plant City, so there’s always a chance that kids who want to play organized sports will have to travel. Antioch has long tried to give that experience to families without making them travel much.
Pop Warner will allow the team to move players from roster to roster, provided that they meet age and weight requirements, to make sure that the kids don’t have to go through another 2014 season and miss out on the football experience.
For Antioch, that’s huge.
Perhaps the TCYFCC should consider adopting a similar rule. I’m certain that Antioch would have stuck around if the league did have anything like that, as the Sikeses did tell me that their decision to leave was a difficult one to make. There would obviously have to be measures taken to ensure that teams without roster deficiency problems aren’t moving kids around left and right, game after game, just to get any kind of advantage. But, if Pop Warner can make it work, then it’s certainly not impossible for TCYFCC to implement.
I’m not calling for the Trojans, Patriots, Dolphins and other teams to join Antioch and take a mass exodus to Pop Warner. But, knowing that Antioch isn’t the only team in the league that’s had roster-related concerns over the years, it might be wise for the TCYFCC to make like the Redskins and consider a change.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.