Rec Commission promises prompt answer on new parent-run youth football program

July 16, 2010
by Christine Yeres

Last night the New Castle Recreation Commission members heard New Castle Youth Football Association president James Nottingham make the case for changing the youth football program officially into a parent run organization rather than a rec department run program.  “It’s not a new football program, but a codified version of the old, parent-run program,” Nottingham told commission members.

Nottingham assured commission members that, like other parent-run sports organizations in New Castle, NCYFA would provide scholarship funds to kids unable to afford the roughly $100 fee for the season. He also informed commission members that the rec department’s new part-time hire, Joe Streany, has been included in the NCYFA budget for the coming season. Streany will have the opportunity to get used to the community and get to know the parents and the organization, both as a coach and as a coordinator with the rec department, Nottingham said.

Commission Chairman John Re asked whether the NCYFA would, as other town sports do, run background checks on coaches. Nottingham assured him that NCYFA intended to do background checks.  Commission member Stu Berg asked how Nottingham meant to make sure parent coaches are trained.  “Bill Tribou [Greeley’s varsity football coach] will help set up a clinic for the coaches,” explained Nottingham, “and American Youth Football has a new program, run by a former coach of mine from Yale and funded partly by the National Football League, that acts as an umbrella organization to provide access to insurance, training and funding for coaches, but will allow us to have our own rules.”  New Castle rec football is one of the few football organizations that play only its own member teams, no inter-town matches.

Some commissioners responded positively to Nottingham’s arguments

To Re’s question of why NCYFA members felt the need to go private, Nottingham responded, “The football community at large felt that the program was slipping out of their control and preferred to make the program officially parent-run, as it has been in fact for 55 years.”  Commission member Gus Laramendi noted that he saw one benefit in allowing the program to go private: “As reviewers we can ask tougher questions than we can ask of ourselves, like what programs did you go through with the coaches?  There’s a benefit to being the reviewer rather than the do-er.” 

Karen Berkey, one NCYFA’s new board members, added that the NCYFA could “tie all the parts of the town’s football program together,” from rec football through varsity, for example, getting players at different levels to attend one another’s games, and have the middle school modified football players attend varsity football dinners and walk-throughs before games. “That hasn’t been done. We can bring that energy level to the program.”  Larramendi responded, “When you’re empowered, you will do more.  I’m in favor of doing this.  As things are, there’s nothing to stop you, but when you are in charge you will pay more attention.  I love the idea of tying the two programs together.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Chairman John Re assured NCYFA members that the commission realized that the NCYFA would need time to organize themselves for the coming season, and promised make a decision within several days’ time after discussing the proposal privately. 

“I felt that our presentation was very strong,” said Nottingham on his way out of the meeting. “We’ve agreed to make the changes suggested by the commission and I’m disappointed that they didn’t vote tonight so we could proceed at full speed with the program.  However, our plan is to continue to prepare for the fall season because we know we represent the best future for youth football in New Castle.”