Pioneer league working with Tidwell on reorganization
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The newly structured league, which will be known as the Warren County Junior Football League (JFL), is being organized with the goal of familiarizing the county’s young football players with the basic fundamentals they will need as they progress through their athletic careers.
“What we hope to do is work with these kids through their whole career, and teach them the things when they’re young that they’ll be using all the way to the high school level,” Tidwell said. “From the offensive and defensive systems we use, all the way to the terminology we use when calling a play, we want kids to become familiar with it early, and have that knowledge when they reach the middle school and high school levels.”
Tidwell, who will act as a consultant to the board of officers during his tenure at WCHS, has been meeting with the Pioneer Youth League’s administration recently, and together they have outlined the goals and proposed structure of the JFL.
Under the new structure, a board of officers will be formed consisting of a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Ray Robinson, who headed the Pioneer Youth league last year, will serve as the JFL’s initial president, and be responsible for filling the other three positions. The officers will then appoint a seven-member board of directors, with responsibilities ranging from equipment manager and concessions to fundraising and registration managers.
“I’m really excited about it,” Robinson said. “For the first time, I think we’re all pointing in the same direction, and that’s the direction of laying the foundation of Warren County football at the youth league level, then letting it carry over to the middle school and high school levels.”
The league hopes to offer competition in four different age groups. Five- and 6-year-olds will play flag football, while tackle divisions will be offered in 7-8 year-old, 9-10 year-old, and 11-12 year-old divisions.
The league hopes to field a minimum of six teams in each age group, with each team having between 15-20 players. If all six teams field 20 players, additional squads will be formed.
JFL games will all be on Saturdays, and will all be played inside Warren County. League teams will not travel to play non-league opponents, and the JFL will not sponsor an all-star team for traveling or competitive purposes. The league’s stance is that the first traveling experience for football players in Warren County will be at the middle school level.
“Winning, at this level, is not what we’re about,” Robinson said. “We’re about teaching, and giving self-confidence to these young men.”
The two youngest age groups will play their games at Bobby Ray Elementary, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. each Saturday. Flag football games will be played on 45-yard fields, with two games going on at the same time. All tackle games will be played on a 100-yard field.
The two oldest age groups will play their games at Nunley Stadium, beginning at 5 p.m. and concluding each Saturday by 9 p.m.
Potential JFL coaches will be required to attend an annual coaching school each June, and will be given a JFL playbook each year. Additionally, players may attend a free three-day summer camp each year to learn fundamentals and plays for the upcoming season. Coaches from all levels of Warren County football will serve as instructors at this clinic.
The suggested fee for JFL players will be $35, with additional players from the same family paying $25. Those fees will support the league in a variety of ways, with an emphasis on providing the safest equipment possible for players.
Practice will be on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays only, as Wednesdays are kept open for church obligations and Fridays are varsity game days.
For more information on the JFL, contact Tidwell at 668-5905 or Robinson at 939-3515.