George Hildebrand’s youth football coordinator is concerned about the future of the sport in the community.
Clifton Bennett, a former East Alexander Middle School and Alexander Central High School assistant coach, says one year after not fielding a GH mighty mite (9-10 year olds) or midget (11-12) football team, the threat remains they might not have the two teams in the fall of 2011 either.
He desperately hopes things can change for one of the original seven members of the county league.
“As long as people remember, there’s been sports here. Other sports out here are staying afloat, but football’s dying,” Bennett said. “You never want to turn a kid away, and I’m afraid that’s what we’re doing. That can result in more kids getting into trouble instead of channeling energy in a positive way.”
Last fall, only around six mighty-mite age players signed up to play football, both Bennett and Burke County Recreation Department athletic director Treg McGee agreed.
“You’ve got to play with 11,” McGee said. “And through the course of the year, you’re probably going to lose some with injuries or other things. So at least 17 or 18 is a good number to start with.”
Those kids that still wanted to play after the news GH wouldn’t field a midget team, or even a mighty mite team for “possibly the first time ever,” according to McGee, were given the option to play at either Hildebran or Ray Childers, which is close to 25 minutes away.
“Some of them would have probably loved to have played at Mull,” McGee said, “but that feeds Liberty (Middle), which is a different school district.”
Bennett feels like he understands, and wants to help cure, the reasons for lack of participation.
“In my two years here, I’ve heard two answers from parents about why their kids don’t play,” Bennett said. “It’s either they don’t want to play for a particular coach or they’re tired of losing.”
The first of those two reasons was - at least in part - fueled from an incident last fall when a former volunteer coach appeared to push his own son to the ground while someone videoed during what Bennett and his wife Cheri, a GH native, said was outside a team practice setting.
The tape of the incident was later sent to WCNC Channel 36 in Charlotte and aired on a TV broadcast.
“He was driven, and wanted his son to succeed,” Bennett said. “It didn’t take a whole lot and the reputation for football here was dragged through the mud. ... It took all year to air out.”
“Some inaccurate information was given to the reporter, too,” Cheri added. “We want to move on and get volunteers that have a heart for children.”
As for the losing?
“It’s not for lack of talented athletes,” Bennett said. “At the same time, you don’t want every parent to think their kid’s a superstar. We just want to get them out here, put forth effort and let the coaches mold them as players. Steer them towards a middle school program.”
“They had good teams at one point about six, seven years ago,” McGee noted.
This year, depending on the number of teams GH is able to field, Bennett and Danny Carswell plan on coaching as a unit.
“Part of that’s so no one complains about favoritism,” Bennett said. “It’s a group effort, group decision-making. No lack of attention for any one of the players.”
The time is now if change is to happen.
The youth football camp ($10 registration) at George Hildebrand Elementary School is Aug. 1, 2 and 4 from 6-7:30 p.m., and the county’s roster deadline is Aug. 12. The season starts Sept. 10.
“As a mother of five young boys (ranging from 2 to 10 years old), I am concerned about what may happen to this program in our community,” Cheri said.
“If there’s not a program for either age level this year,” Bennett added, “it may be a couple years before it comes back. Interest could dwindle down to nothing.”
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