Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

Everything about Middletown's peewee football organization has changed, including its name. Jeremy Brewer, president of Middletown Youth Football Inc., formerly known as the Middletown Pee Wee Football Club, said big changes were necessary to resuscitate a once-proud program that has been in decline in recent years.

The number of kids involved in peewee football has dropped considerably, Brewer said. Last year, there were an estimated 125 kids in the program, a number Brewer said he hopes to double this year.

A whole new ballgame

Among the biggest changes: Games will no longer be played at Smith Park, where they've been held since the league's inception. Instead, games will now be played at Douglass Park in the city's 2nd Ward.

Brewer said, thanks to a $48,000 grant from the Middletown chapter of the Greater Cincinnati United Way and a $5,000 donation from the Middletown Community Foundation, the park would get new football fields and a concession stand. He said moving to Douglass Park makes sense.

"A lot of our kids come from that neighborhood and it will make it a lot more convenient for participants of the program and their families," Brewer said.

Gone also are the days of one business-sponsored team playing another business-sponsored team. Brewer said each team will be called "the Middies" and instead of playing one another, they will play other youth teams from around the Cincinnati area.

Brewer said Middletown Youth Football has joined with the Butler County Youth Football League, which will enable kids to play against teams from Hamilton, West Chester Twp., Finneytown and other communities.

"We are trying to get our kids used to playing against kids they would be playing when they reach high school," Brewer said. "With the city league, they would only be playing against people who one day are going to be their teammates."

Building team spirit

"We want to get these kids working together as a team and build that sense of school spirit and pride in their team from the moment they first step on the field," Brewer said.

Teams will no longer be divided by ages, but rather by grades, Brewer said. Kindergarten and first-graders will be on one team, while second- through sixth-graders will each have their own individual teams, he said.

If a lot of kids register for the league at each grade level, Brewer said, it's possible that they might split into two teams — one purple, the other white.

How to sign up

Other program enhancements include improved record keeping and an upgraded Web site, www.middletown

youthfootball.org, Brewer said. The Web site will feature a forum where parents and players can ask questions and a link where they can register to play in the league. An e-mail newsletter will also be sent out once a month to participants, Brewer said.

"We're going to invest more time in keeping the site current," Brewer said. "Most people use the Internet on a regular basis now, and we believe it is the quickest and easiest way to get a large amount of information out to a diverse group of people."

Still, Middletown Youth Football is using conventional means of communication such as fliers in the schools and around town to get the word out about registration times. The league will be registering players through June 1, though that deadline could get moved back to June 6 to coincide with the grand opening of the new splash pads at Douglass, Brewer said.

Brewer said its critical for parents to get their kids signed up before the deadline because this year they are trying to get every child's name put on the back of their uniform jersey. In order to make sure the uniforms arrive on time, officials must adhere to the deadline.

In addition to signing up online, program officials will be registering youth at the main entrance of the Towne Mall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday in April.

Brewer said the organization is still looking for sponsors, donations and volunteers.

"We would like to get a scoreboard installed before this season, and long term, we want to set up one field with lights," Brewer said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2584 or kaldridge@coxohio.com.

What do you think of the new league?

Vote for this story!