Has anyone seen Clairton yet this year?

[Crimson's Ghost]

The 5th and 6th grade football I played was 8 man. Teaches the fundamentals of football, but gets you a few extra kids on the sidelines and makes it easier to practice with only having to need 16 instead of 22.

[Crimson's Ghost]

The 5th and 6th grade football I played was 8 man. Teaches the fundamentals of football, but gets you a few extra kids on the sidelines and makes it easier to practice with only having to need 16 instead of 22.

[knowitall]

We need to reinvent youth sports because what we are doing now isn't working.

[Hardknocks]

I do not think it needs reinvented. I think we need to talk about it differently. We need to show our youth that its not the just the skilled players that score the touchdown that wins the game it is a team effort. Everybody on the team plays a part. Some people talk about being on the 2nd team as a bad thing demeaning their contribution to the team. I believe this is the biggest reason for drop off. My son has a kid on his team who is not great athlete and does not play much. I asked why he was a captain. He told me Dom has the biggest heart on the team he never misses practice or complains and always works hard. I was blown away how much respect he was given by the coaches and players. That kid is the heart of the team and inspires other kids to work hard. Kids need to be praised for their efforts.We need to let them know their contributions are appreciated. If kids feel they are appreciated they will stick around.

[nsmoore2]

Hardknocks, you should be so proud of your son as well as his team. I know a lot of parents and their children would have said something like the coach is an idiot, or they feel bad for him. That is awesome, not sure what team your son is on, but I am now a fan.

As for changing the midget programs, we all came through these exact programs. Yes, different coaches but we learned what the game was like and started to grow with it through the years until varsity. We became football players, some better than others. For those that quit, maybe they realized they did not like the contact. That player would have quit later in life too. Until the enrollment increase, participation will be the same. And the reason that they brought Freshman up to play, was more for JV than Varsity. There were never enough kids to play JV games. That was hurting development more that what was happening at the midget level. The first year this happened which was two years ago I believe, I went to the first JV game and pretty much realized I am watching the same kids on both sides of the field that I saw in Junior High the year before when ninth grade still played Junior High. I dont see this being a big deal.

[knowitall]

No, we didn't all come up through those exact same programs. Some of us didn't have midget programs at all. Others were too big to play once the first midget programs began.

If you look at the numbers of several local midget programs you have to be concerned for the future of the sport.

[nsmoore2]

I agree more as stated before, the influence of other sports adding an athlete that dedicates themselves to a single sport. Plus to be honest parents are so protective these days it is ridiculous. I was coaching 9 and 10 year olds, a lineman stood straight up and just watched. Now this is week six, and the play was him pulling. We ran it every week, so I told him that is effort was pathetic. Next I know I have his mother up my **** and I know have to apologize to her son. They wanted me fired from a volunteer position. I would blame a lot of this on parents and kids being more lazy than in the past.

[knowitall]

Why is there a week six for nine and ten year olds?

Week six was the last week when I was in junior high.

[Hardknocks]

There are problems in the midget programs the weight limits. My son is 10 and has to play with 11-12 year olds. He only has 5 lbs to gain before he is a midget 13-14. He can hang right know but I would not allow him to move up if he gained more weight. He is not ready for that. When I was in 9th grade had to play varsity because of weight. I was not ready for that and almost quit playing. Glad I didn't might not have went to college. The other two problems money and crazy parents.

[NeutralGuy]

Tonight Jeannette will hold Clairton to a season low point total
Clairton 62 Jeannette 6