NEW: New Castle Youth Football Association makes its case to the Rec Commission on Thurs. July 15

After 55 years, taking Rec Football private

Monday, July 12, 2010
by Christine Yeres

This coming Thursday, July 15, the New Castle Youth Football Association (NCYFA) will go before the Recreation Commission to receive approval as the sanctioned organizing body for youth football in the Town of New Castle.

Jim Nottingham, former Executive Director of the Nassau County Sports Commission who was signed by the San Francisco 49ers after graduating from Yale in 1973 and has coached high school and recreational sports, is the newly elected President of the NCYFA. “Our ability to run football in New Castle,” said Nottingham, “has been a proven commodity for over 55 years and there is no good reason to deny us the right to continue to operate our franchise for the benefit of the boys and girls who choose to play football.  We are optimistic that out commission approval is forthcoming as we have moved to satisfy the various requirements and because the community at large has been highly supportive of our effort to formalize our operations.”

The newly-formed NCYFA Board is composed of thirteen members.  It has five parents of players currently in the program, a parent of one future player, six parents of former players and one non-parent, Pete Zimmerman, who has been an integral part of the program for over twenty years.  It was Zimmerman’s dismissal from the program this spring that caused the football community to look into ways to reorganize itself on the model of the other parent-run sports in town.

”The expertise, experience and knowledge we have on this board,” said Nottingham, “is unparalleled for a town sports board.  Our plan is to pick up where we left off and improve every aspect of the program.”  He continued, “the sports commission meeting this coming Thursday on July 15th will be a historic meeting, since we expect that this parent-run program that ran without a piece of paper for over a half century will become one that is duly codified, formalized and sanctioned.” 

The board of New Castle Youth Football Association

:

James Nottingham President
Karen Berkey Treasurer
Claudio Phillips Secretary
Betsy Phillips Registrar
Dan Papes VP Communications
Peter Zimmerman VP Coaching & Equipment
William Hriskonich VP Fields & Referees
Rob Bowen At-Large
Rich Glotzer At-Large
Phil Green At-Large
Richard Petrosa At-Large
Billy Schur At-Large
Burke St. John At-Large
______________________

From NCNOW.org‘s archives, see: Parents do the homework to take youth football program private, June 25, 2010.

For more background—all letters to the editor and articles on this subject—click HERE.