Every month I post, mostly free form, what’s going on, what I hear and my opinion on some things regarding youth football. These opinions are my own and not representative of this organization as a whole.
“We live in strange times. We also live in strange places: each in a universe of our own. The people with whom we populate our universes are the shadows of whole other universes intersecting with our own.” – Douglas Adams
I hope all of you are safe, sane and healthy.
I am going to cover what I can for this months blog. Since these are unprecedented times there are a lot of things up in the air.
FLAG FOOTBALL
Currently, the earliest we could start Flag Football would be May 3rd. I think this is highly optimistic. I hold hope that we can start in June but that is fading as well.
That being said, we will wait and see. We aren’t canceling anything. We are not in a position to give refunds. Two thirds came in at a loss as it is. So we will be playing. When is the question.
One thing is I expect it to be a frantic pace but at the same time should be a lot of fun because we will finally be free.
We will play a 3 or 4 week condensed season. We will make the Championships really special, tournament style. We will have a Consolation Bowl for the teams not playing for the hardware. We will make a day of it that will make them all forget about the great isolation of 2020.
A lot of night games. It will be a great time.
We will be following the township’s lead. When the kids go back to school, we get back on the field.
TACKLE FOOTBALL
There will definitely be changes to the tackle season if this thing goes into June or beyond.
Everything is on the table at this point. Season as normal. Delayed full season. Abbreviated season. Honestly, who knows.
That being said, we are going to start registering players soon. We are going to offer 2019 rates for a period of time and then the price will fall in the $180 – $200 range.
As a reminder, this includes the uniform ($100 for two game jerseys and one game pant, two socks) and all permit, registration and insurance fees.
As always, we will provide fundraising opportunities for you to offset up to 100% of your registration fee.
Also, you will be asked to pay a $40 volunteer fee. You volunteer, you get your $40 back. We will have plenty of coin toss and concession dates available.
Finally, remember that we no longer include helmet and shoulder pads and we will not be selling any. The cost is around $120 per player and the equipment generally lasts 3 to 5 years. Helmets should be black/black. We will help you choose the right stuff if you need assistance.
We have some shoulder pads left that we will give to players that need them, first come first serve. We will also hopefully have some discounts from local vendors available.
We will be ready whenever it is time. With 3 2019 NESAC Championships to defend, we will prepare our players to play tough, competitive football. We have been doing it for 20 years and we just keep getting better at it. A great combination of old school and new blood puts in a unique position to team your player to play this game from all aspects. The Wardog Way.
WARDOGS BOXING GYM
As you you can imagine, nothing going on right now with Wardogs Boxing. Coach Bill Kane is out in the yard punching trees with all of his pent up energy.
Once we return to normal, I suggest everyone in the Wardog Family gets up there and check out what they are doing. I know my heavy bag is all of the medication and therapy I need.
Bill was my partner in Wardogs Boxing Club for 3 years before a near death experience caused me to have to sell. There was unfinished business.
He is now continuing on what we were building and taking it even further. They have already had several standing room only amateur shows and the kids classes are almost at a waiting list. It truly has been a tremendous turnaround.
Look for increased synergy between what we do at the fields and what happens at the gym. Discounted memberships, the forthcoming Wardogs Dungeon and the soon to be Wardogs After School Center.
By the way, we are looking for a few coaches for a soon to come Wardogs Wrestling Team. Yes, that is correct.
NEWS & NOTES
We will have increased concession opportunities throughout the year once the park gets going. This will allow us to generate a large amount of revenue and really improve on some of our areas of need. Ask how you can help.
We are looking to get out in the community more. Volunteer days, parades, community events. If you know of things coming, let me or Stephanie Tokarski know.
2020 Sponsorship opportunities will be posted shortly. There will be ways for those who sell to get discounted registration and free swag. A great way to support the program.
We are using Spond as our organizational communications platform. We will continue to post on Facebook and this site, but if you want on the Spond train, email me at wardogsuyfl@gmail.com.
We will get through this. We are strong. We are Wardogs. #WD4L
