By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
While many people are eagerly anticipating the end of the current school year, local youth football organizers Dennis Whitmore and Kurt Kelson are already looking forward to the fall when youth football will begin once again. With that goal in view, the local youth football program will be holding a fundraiser dinner on June 10, 2017, at 6pm, in the Fine Arts building at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
At that event, they will also be raffling off a brand new Smith and Wesson M&P Sport II 223. The dinner will consist of deep pit pulled pork with all the sides. Tickets will be $10/person; $20/couple; or $45/family, with raffle tickets priced at $10/each. Tickets for the raffle or for the event can be purchased by calling Dennis Whitmore at (702) 682-8073.
The fundraiser this year arises out of a special need for the program this year. Youth football must supply all new safety equipment for participating youth.
For the past ten years, local youth in grades 3-8 have traveled weekly to St. George during football season to participate in the Southern Utah/Nevada Youth Football League (SUNYFL). The St. George league provided all the equipment the youth needed.
This year, however, local leaders have chosen to participate in Nevada Youth Sports (NYS) league in Las Vegas. This decision came because they felt that it would be a better fit for valley teams and of benefit to the youth in the program, according to Whitmore.
But NYS does not provide the equipment for the players. So local leaders have been left scrambling to raise the anticipated $17,000 needed for the equipment.
Several generous local donors have already come forward. But there is still a shortfall in the funds, which will be used to purchase helmets, shoulder pads, pants, and jerseys. The equipment will be kept by the league and reused each year in an effort to keep costs to the players as low as possible.
Whitmore explained that there are several advantages to participating in the NYS league. First off, it is closer and in the same time zone, which makes travel easier.
More importantly, the teams are set up in a way that gives coaches more flexibility in offering youth a positive experience. Unlike SUNYFL, players in the NYS play according to age instead of grade. They also have a weighted league and an unweighted league, which Whitmore says gives coaches the flexibility to put teams in the place that would benefit them the most.
Also, the NYS opens registration to youth in 2nd grade, which is a year earlier than SUNYFL. Whitmore says that the local league has never offered a team for 2nd graders before because they were at a disadvantage when paired with 3rd and 4th graders, which is often what has happened. But now because they will be playing by age, that disadvantage will not be an issue.
Leaders have already held several meetings with parents discussing the changes. But it is not too late to sign youth up. In fact, registration is ongoing through July 31.
But Whitmore says there is definitely an advantage to signing up sooner rather than later. “We would like to get everyone signed up as soon as possible because we would like to get the equipment ordered,” he said. “This year we will be ordering it to size and we will be meeting on June 2 to measure everyone for their equipment.”
Since the local group is buying new equipment, there won’t be a lot of extra on hand to fit kids that sign up late, Whitmore added. “So the sooner they sign up, the better,” he said. “We want to order equipment that will fit each player appropriately.”
Registration can be done online at moapavalleyyouthfootball.com. In addition to providing registration information, the website also explains the changes and gives parents more information. The registration fee of $190 covers the games, playing fields, and officials for the year.
If any former football players or armchair quarterbacks have ever had dreams of being an actual coach, the league is still looking for volunteers to help coach the younger teams.
Volunteers are also needed to help with the fundraising dinner, specifically with setup and takedown. Anyone willing to help can contact Whitmore.
Games this year will be begin on September 9 and teams are guaranteed nine games, with 3 or 4 of them being played at home in Moapa Valley.
Practices will be held 4-5 times a week prior to the first day of school. After the school year begins, the practice schedule will be reduced to about 3 times a week.
“We are really excited for the changes this year and to be part of Nevada Youth Sports,” Whitmore said. “We feel that it will be a good fit for the youth football program of Moapa Valley. We are thankful for the support of this great community and invite everyone to come out to our upcoming dinner. It should be good food for a good cause.”
