Sunday, September 29, 2024
One of the best ways for young students to grow their athletic skills is through participation in a youth sports program.
President of Gatesville’s Youth Tackle Football program, Kent Ford, shares how the league helps prepare kids to play varsity sports in junior high, high school, and beyond.
“Just helping them to learn how to tackle, because when you get to seventh grade, you really don't have a lot of time,” Ford said. “The coaches have maybe three weeks with them to get everybody together to see who can tackle, see who can block, see who can catch, see who can throw. But if they’ve already been in a little league, then they already know how to do all of those things, so they're pretty much ahead of the other kids.”
Gatesville’s youth league includes three divisions of tackle football and one division of flag football. The divisions are split by ages 12-and-under, 10-and-under, and 8-and-under for tackle football, and 6-and-under for flag football.
Ford, who also coaches the 12U team, shares how youth football leagues help students learn important aspects of the sport before they play in junior high, such as the calisthenics players do before a game and how to properly tackle.
“We try to teach them because we know what they're going to do in seventh grade,” Ford said. “And then the right ways to tackle. The wrong ways to tackle. Keep your head up, because if you keep your head down, you can break your neck. So, just the basic fundamentals, especially with football being a sport that is more physical. The main thing is being physical in the right way.”
Although flag football is non-contact, the sport gives students the foundational skills that allows them to move into a tackle football team.
“We let them play flag first – get the basics, the fundamentals – and then at 8 years old they can move up,” Ford said.
Gatesville’s youth league originally started about 15 years ago, but the current program has just entered its second year. This year, the program also introduced cheerleading teams for 4-year-old to 12-year-old students. Ford said they have about 16 cheerleaders this year.
“They come cheer for us at the games,” Ford said. “I think (the coach) sometimes splits them up, we have one cheer for the 8U team game, one cheer for 10U game, and one cheer for the12U game.”
The league plays nine other teams this season, which include McGregor, Salado, Rosebud-Lott, Academy, Moody, Chilton, and Hewitt. All of Gatesville’s youth football practices and home games take place at the fields in McKamie Stadium.
Even though the program focuses on football, Ford emphasizes the importance of exposing kids to different kinds of sports.
“I tell parents: don't just focus on one sport, because you might want (your kids) to be a baseball star, but they might not be a baseball star,” Ford said. “They can play football and very well get a scholarship in football, get a scholarship in basketball, or get a scholarship in track – you never know.”
According to statistics on Project Play, regular sports activity provides children with several health, social, and emotional benefits, from improving cognitive abilities and mental health to helping build muscles and bones.
“I think at a young age, a lot of parents think ‘my kids are going to get hurt or their bones are not developed,’ but I've been doing this for 15 years, and we've only had one kid get hurt,” Ford said.
Although injuries are rare in youth football, Ford said EMS teams attend the games in case someone gets hurt.
Ford adds that he enjoys getting to watch the former students he coached as kids grow up to play football or other sports on varsity teams. Gatesville ISD athletes in junior high and high school also volunteer to help coach the youth football teams.
“I love it, just seeing them, especially those that excel and even go to not just play football, but go on to do other things,” he said.
More than anything, he appreciates the opportunity to help young athletes learn how to work together and be a part of a team.
“I love the joy of trying to, basically, help young boys become young men,” Ford said.
Gatesville’s Youth Tackle Football program plays under the Small Town Youth Football League, where Ford serves as a board member. The season starts every year in August, and they hold the playoffs and championship games in November before Thanksgiving. The playoffs will take place on Nov. 9, in Gatesville this year.
Ford adds that he is grateful to the program’s board members who assist at every practice and game. “We are always looking for other board members, especially with people who are coming on and maybe have a six-year kid,” he said.
The cost for youth tackle football is $150 per player, and includes a helmet, shoulder pads, and a game uniform. The fee to play flag football is $80 per player. The cost for cheerleading is $180 and includes a uniform.
To learn more about Gatesville’s youth sports, visit https://www.gatesvilletacklefb.org/
