New flag football program starting for youth in central Aroostook
Aroostook Huskies Football and SAD 1 have announced that they’ve partnered to start a flag football program for youth in grades 1-6 in central Aroostook County.
The new program kicks off with a series of meetings to introduce the program and identify parent leaders. While SAD 1 seeks to determine if there is sufficient interest in football to consider a high school football team, Aroostook Huskies is looking to build on its current program.
Multiple meetings (all from 7-8:30 p.m.) have been set up for the convenience of the community. Attending one meeting is sufficient and the schedule is as follows: Monday, April 18 at Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center; Tuesday, April 19 at NMCC (Peter Hunt Multi-Media Room); Monday, April 25 at Caribou Inn and Convention Center; and Tuesday, April 26 at Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center.
Once parent leaders are identified at the April meetings, they will be trained in May and player recruiting will start. The actual season will run during June and July.
Taylor DeFelice, one of the organizers of this venture, said that flag football was the obvious direction to go in bringing the game of football to this age group.
“All the research and data strongly support the conclusion that tackle football is probably an unsafe game for kids under the age of 13,” DeFelice said. “While I strongly believe in football and the values it teaches, I don’t think we want to risk the well-being of our young people.
“Flag football provides all the education, action and fun without the risks of excessive contact. There’s plenty of time for tackle football when they’re older and the science says it’s safer. personally am really looking forward to getting out on the field with the kids,” he added.
These initial meetings will provide information, get some sense of the level of interest in the sport, identify parent leaders and plan instructional clinics. Those unable to attend any of these meetings but still interested in getting involved should go to the Huskies’ website at http://www.aroostookfootball.org and click on the “Contact Us” link on the home page. This will open up an email link that can be used to send a message to the program.
