Brandon Twp.’For the Brandon Varsity Junior Blackhawks the 2003 season ended a rather dismal 0-7.
Yet for local resident and football parent Rick Nichols the losing record was not from a lack of effort from the 15 varsity players, but the result of some unfair policies that shroud the program.
‘The biggest complaint is that we need some more kids for the Varsity Junior Blackhawks team from the Brandon Middle School,? said Nichols.
‘It’s just not fair to the team.?
Nichols and other parents are questioning a Brandon School policy that restricts students from playing on the Junior Blackhawks teams if they are attending the Brandon Middle School. Both teams field players 12 to 14 years old and many players come from the Brandon School District. The Junior Blackhawks are a non-school associated youth football team that competes in the Suburban Youth Football Conference (FYFC). Each player pays $150 each year to participate in the program and for a yearly fee, the Junior Blackhawks use the Brandon Football Field for their four home games.
The three divisions, Freshman (8-9 year olds), Junior Varsity (10-11 year olds) and Varsity (12-13 year olds) play consecutive games on the same day. The FYFC requires teams to have enough players in each division to compete.
The controversy for the Junior Blackhawks begins when players become eligible to play varsity at the same time they’re ready to play for Brandon Middle School.
‘It’s simply a number problem,? said Mark A. Mahaffy, Brandon School Board vice president and Brandon Athletic committee chairperson.
‘We have a middle school program which is designed as a feeder program for the high school (team) and because of the number of players in the area we just don’t have the number of kids to play both Junior Blackhawks and Middle School.?
‘There’s not enough to make two functional teams, somewhere there’s got to be a compromise,? added Mahaffy, who is currently a Junior Blackhawks coach and past League President for five years.
To meet FYFC requirements for three youth teams, often smaller players from the Junior Varsity Blackhawk team must move up to the Varsity where older, heavier players compete.
Nichols says his son Curtis, 10, a Blackhawk Varsity player and student at Brandon Intermediate School was out-weighed this season by opposing players by at least 40 pounds.
‘Consider 90 pound players going up against kids that weigh 160 pounds. It’s just no competition,? added Nichols.
Other teams in the FYFC have not implemented such regulations based on middle school status, says Nichols.
After four years with her son Nick in the FYFC followed by two years in the Brandon Middle School program, local parent Chris Fisher says, despite the controversy both programs have been outstanding for youth football.
‘Both the Junior Blackhawks and the Middle School team offer excellent programs, Nick came out with a positive experience,? said Fisher.
‘It would be in the best interest for the kids and the school to work out some avenue to have both teams. But who is going to decide where these kids are going is the difficult part. Whether it’s based on skill or preference, or parents, I hope the school and the Junior Blackhawks can work something out.?