Gary Edmondson
03-31-2011, 11:38 AM
SHAMOKIN - Plans have been finalized for a cooperative agreement between the Shamokin-Coal Township and Shikellamy youth football leagues, starting with the 2011 season.
Officers of the leagues met and finalized plans for the merger Wednesday at the I.B.E.W. Hall in Shamokin.
The leagues will continue to be separate entities with their own officers and by-laws, but will play games against each other both at Kemp Memorial Stadium and at Shikellamy. Four teams will compete from each league in both A and B divisions.
Joe Haddock, president of the Shamokin-Coal Township League, said there were several reasons the leagues looked into a merger, first and foremost of which was to focus on the developmental aspects of the sport as opposed to competing for championships. Haddock said the Shamokin league has been experiencing declining participation, and one way to ensure enough games and competition was by looking into a merger agreement. The leagues had a full day of scrimmages last year at Kemp Memorial Stadium which went off well, and officers from the leagues decided then to have talks about consolidating.
"We've decided to do without all the emphasis on winning (a league championship)," Haddock said. "We're going to have good, competitive games, but we don't want to lose kids in junior high school because of too much emphasis on winning. Shamokin had problems this year at the junior high level fielding teams."
As such, there will be no more Nanny Miller Bowl, which has been the championship game of the Shamokin-Coal Township League for many years.
Haddock said the four Shamokin-Coal Township teams - the Tigers, Bears, Wildcats and Cardinals - will continue to play for now, although that could change in the future. He said those four teams are all in good shape with B Division (8-10 year-olds) players but some are having trouble filling out A Division (11-12) rosters.
For A Division players, there is only one major difference from past years. There is no weight limit per se, but there is a weight limit of 140 pounds for any player who carries the football or plays in the backfield. The thinking on that is twofold, according to Larry Wary, vice-president and former president of the Shikellamy league, who is also a candidate for county commissioner.
"We don't want to exclude heavier players from playing, because that's what happens sometimes with a weight limit," Wary said. "But we also don't want a superstar player just carrying the football all the time and running over smaller kids."
Wary said he and Shikellamy President Mike Stepp were initially concerned about their not being a weight limit of any kind, but the more they thought about it and went over their team rosters, they decided it wouldn't be a problem and that it would, in fact, ensure that bigger, slower kids might play.
"One of the things that's concerned me watching Shikellamy (High School) football over the years is that there weren't enough good linemen being developed, and I think it's because some kids weren't playing when they were younger because they were too big, and then they just went on to other things," Wary said.
Gerald Bogetti, another longtime Shamokin-Coal Township League officer, said letting bigger kids play on the line should not be a concern.
"If you talk to doctors, most of them will tell you that kids really don't start developing muscle mass until they're 13," Bogetti said. "The younger, heavier kids are still carrying baby fat and are likely slower. It's a good thing for those kids to play."
One of the things Haddock liked about the Shikellamy league was that the league openly taught the system used by Shikellamy High School's team.
"This year's (District 4 AAA championship) Shikellamy team is the first group of seniors who went through the system," Wary said. "We think it's paying off."
"Coach Foor (Shamokin Area head coach Dan Foor) has opened his playbook to us and we're going to have our coaches use that terminology and systems," Haddock said.
The emphasis on player development will have its biggest impact on the B Division games. They will be played under two types of clocks. Each period starts with a regular six-minute clock, after which the younger players are substituted and play under a 10-minute running clock.
"One of the things that impressed us about the Shikellamy league was what they call special time, which is that 10-minute running clock," Haddock said. "That way, every kid who dresses gets to play no matter their ability, and they start to really learn the game on the field."
An attempt was made to include the Selinsgrove league, which has played against Shikellamy in the past, in the merger, but league officials there declined.
"We're going to see how this goes, and maybe they'll want to get in in the future," Wary said.
"One of the other things we like about joining is that we get to play other teams," Haddock said. "We're not just playing other teams from our town anymore. The more you go out and play other teams, the better you'll get."
In lieu of a league championship game, the officers are looking into the possibility of a possible postseason all-star game between the leagues.
Officers of the leagues met and finalized plans for the merger Wednesday at the I.B.E.W. Hall in Shamokin.
The leagues will continue to be separate entities with their own officers and by-laws, but will play games against each other both at Kemp Memorial Stadium and at Shikellamy. Four teams will compete from each league in both A and B divisions.
Joe Haddock, president of the Shamokin-Coal Township League, said there were several reasons the leagues looked into a merger, first and foremost of which was to focus on the developmental aspects of the sport as opposed to competing for championships. Haddock said the Shamokin league has been experiencing declining participation, and one way to ensure enough games and competition was by looking into a merger agreement. The leagues had a full day of scrimmages last year at Kemp Memorial Stadium which went off well, and officers from the leagues decided then to have talks about consolidating.
"We've decided to do without all the emphasis on winning (a league championship)," Haddock said. "We're going to have good, competitive games, but we don't want to lose kids in junior high school because of too much emphasis on winning. Shamokin had problems this year at the junior high level fielding teams."
As such, there will be no more Nanny Miller Bowl, which has been the championship game of the Shamokin-Coal Township League for many years.
Haddock said the four Shamokin-Coal Township teams - the Tigers, Bears, Wildcats and Cardinals - will continue to play for now, although that could change in the future. He said those four teams are all in good shape with B Division (8-10 year-olds) players but some are having trouble filling out A Division (11-12) rosters.
For A Division players, there is only one major difference from past years. There is no weight limit per se, but there is a weight limit of 140 pounds for any player who carries the football or plays in the backfield. The thinking on that is twofold, according to Larry Wary, vice-president and former president of the Shikellamy league, who is also a candidate for county commissioner.
"We don't want to exclude heavier players from playing, because that's what happens sometimes with a weight limit," Wary said. "But we also don't want a superstar player just carrying the football all the time and running over smaller kids."
Wary said he and Shikellamy President Mike Stepp were initially concerned about their not being a weight limit of any kind, but the more they thought about it and went over their team rosters, they decided it wouldn't be a problem and that it would, in fact, ensure that bigger, slower kids might play.
"One of the things that's concerned me watching Shikellamy (High School) football over the years is that there weren't enough good linemen being developed, and I think it's because some kids weren't playing when they were younger because they were too big, and then they just went on to other things," Wary said.
Gerald Bogetti, another longtime Shamokin-Coal Township League officer, said letting bigger kids play on the line should not be a concern.
"If you talk to doctors, most of them will tell you that kids really don't start developing muscle mass until they're 13," Bogetti said. "The younger, heavier kids are still carrying baby fat and are likely slower. It's a good thing for those kids to play."
One of the things Haddock liked about the Shikellamy league was that the league openly taught the system used by Shikellamy High School's team.
"This year's (District 4 AAA championship) Shikellamy team is the first group of seniors who went through the system," Wary said. "We think it's paying off."
"Coach Foor (Shamokin Area head coach Dan Foor) has opened his playbook to us and we're going to have our coaches use that terminology and systems," Haddock said.
The emphasis on player development will have its biggest impact on the B Division games. They will be played under two types of clocks. Each period starts with a regular six-minute clock, after which the younger players are substituted and play under a 10-minute running clock.
"One of the things that impressed us about the Shikellamy league was what they call special time, which is that 10-minute running clock," Haddock said. "That way, every kid who dresses gets to play no matter their ability, and they start to really learn the game on the field."
An attempt was made to include the Selinsgrove league, which has played against Shikellamy in the past, in the merger, but league officials there declined.
"We're going to see how this goes, and maybe they'll want to get in in the future," Wary said.
"One of the other things we like about joining is that we get to play other teams," Haddock said. "We're not just playing other teams from our town anymore. The more you go out and play other teams, the better you'll get."
In lieu of a league championship game, the officers are looking into the possibility of a possible postseason all-star game between the leagues.