County Getting Involved in Youth Football

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Riddler

Member
Front page article in the Enterprise today. The online version is not posted yet and I don't have it in front of me but the gist of the article is that there will be three leagues this year. Next year the County will run youth football as a club system which is what is done in Calvert and Charles Counties. There will be geographic boundaries assigned that divide the County into three regions and kids will play for the club assigned to the region they live in. The County will do weigh-ins, background checks and provide officials.

Without knowing any details it sounds like a good plan that will allow the kids of St Mary's County to play one another.

The article doesn't state where the regions will be or which "clubs" will be assigned to what region. It also doesn't say if SMYFL is involved with this.

It does clearly say that Arthur Shepherd is not on the Board of Pigskins although he is still listed as being a Board member on their website as of this morning. (Edit to note Mr. Shepherd is no longer listed as a Board member for Pigskins).

There is a County Park and Rec Board meeting on Monday the 3rd of August where youth football will be on the agenda.
 
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R

Roundabout

New Member
Riddler said:
Front page article in the Enterprise today. The online version is not posted yet and I don't have it in front of me but the gist of the article is that there will be three leagues this year. Next year the County will run youth football as a club system which is what is done in Calvert and Charles Counties. There will be geographic boundaries assigned that divide the County into three regions and kids will play for the club assigned to the region they live in. The County will do weigh-ins, background checks and provide officials.

Without knowing any details it sounds like a good plan that will allow the kids of St Mary's County to play one another.

The article doesn't state where the regions will be or which "clubs" will be assigned to what region. It also doesn't say if SMYFL is involved with this.

It does clearly say that Arthur Shepherd is not on the Board of Pigskins although he is still listed as being a Board member on their website as of this morning.

There is a County Park and Rec Board meeting on Monday the 3rd of August where youth football will be on the agenda.
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I have been involved with County sports programs before and all but 1 was a mess (football, soccer, and baseball)!! Bad/old equipment, improper fitting, bad coaches and poor league management, no resolution to problems (who are you going to call) the county is only interested in the money - and it was in their budget to have a "Football Representative" that we paid for through taxes. The one that was run pretty good, was county sanctioned - they covered the coach permits/certifications and fields, and the league paid them for this - they did not manage the league.

How is soccer, baseball, and other sports in the county run? Does the county run these or is this the first one? I was on the county's site and did not see any criteria or rules for this. From what I read in the Enterprise and in the County Time last week, Pigskins and South County are fighting each other and now the County is trying to work this out for them. The county seems to be getting involved with the management of these leagues and if Mr. Shepherd is a County employee (I don't him or if this is true - where is he listed on their web-site?), why is he listed on Pigskins site and arguing for a county run program? Pigskins in debt! Why would the people in St. Mary's County want to see this happen (and spend their tax money on this bailout) after all that has been written about shady business actions?

This is beyond me! Bad decisions leading to more bad decisions. Any help is appreciated.

Trying to find out the differences between Charles and Calvert - how are they run?
 
2Bullies73

2Bullies73

New Member
Roundabout said:
This is beyond me! Bad decisions leading to more bad decisions. Any help is appreciated.

Trying to find out the differences between Charles and Calvert - how are they run?
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Calvert is run very well, as the Raiders have played with them for the past 3 years... they have all the separate clubs that play under Calvert Cty Parks & Rec. Each club is run separately (registrations & all), however the County runs the schedules & everything. It works really well, it takes out all the mess that Pigskin had going on... and it is what has made the Raiders work so well. Basically most of Pigskins problem were 1) Officials 2) Schedules 3) Equiptment Fitting 4) Opening Day Disasters

With the Calvert league, all of these problems are taken care of... the officials are not related to the coaches/players... they are not local... therefore they do not choose which team they want to win and how they will call the game... they are not perfect... but its much better than having the other coaches brother as your official!!! The schedule is done by the County, and it is impartial and given to you before the season starts!!! Equiptment fitting is done by each club separately, and with the Raiders, its scheduled all at once, before with Pigskin it was random... whoever they called first, one year we were called and told to be there in an hour... no warning... then to get the kids who didn't make it would have to wait until whenever... sometimes it would be more than a week that some teams would have equiptment to practice and others wouldn't... and lastly Opening Day... that was a disaster from start to finish... you would sit in the heat all day long... for nothing... for them to read the teams name, coaches & players then hear them be told to sit down and shut up... it took hours... for nothing!!! With the Calvert teams, they usually have a homecoming weekend... and do all the celebrating and have fun things going on at the fields... not be tortured and then asked to play a game afterwards...

If St Mary's could arrange something like that it would be great... but honestly, does St Mary's have the fields to do that? All the Calvert teams have their own fields and they are mostly maintained pretty well... we have Lettie Dent & Dorsey, and Lancaster park... which has the worst fields... I know the County has been working to try to improve the fields, but in the 7 years we have played on them... they have never gotten any better... possibly just worse!

I do think that Football has become quite a mess in this County, we were with Pigskin, and now we are Raiders, and I like the Raiders... I think Chris & his family have done an awesome job... I honestly wish the Raiders would stay as they are and not change anything!! I like playing in Calvert... I like the teams... I am incredibly confused by everything that is going on, the rumors that come and go... and everything that is flying about... I think with the season about to start hopefully things will settle down... and hopefully by next year everything will be settled and less confusing... but I am looking forward to a great season this year !! If the County can do something like what Calvert has... that would be great !!!!! But honestly I still would like to stay with the Raiders...
 
R

Riddler

Member
Here's the article:

Youth football programs getting help from county

More oversight may be coming in 2010 season

Wednesday, July 22, 2009


The purchase of one youth football program by another has surged forward, with guidance from St. Mary's officials who also are working to ensure that fields will be available for a third organization's games.

A meeting last Friday between representatives of the Pax River Raiders organization and its recently acquired St. Mary's Pigskin program dealt with post-contract issues at the county's Leonard Hall conference room.

"As of Friday, they were working through all of that, to work out any differences, for the benefit of the children," according to Arthur Shepherd, the recreation division manager with the county's department of recreation and parks.

Shepherd said he is not on the board of any of the volunteer youth sports leagues, but that the county agreed to attend meetings of the Raiders and Pigskin members to assist their transition.

"The department sets guidelines for the use of county fields. We don't sit on a particular board and be part of a voting bloc," Shepherd said. "I attended that [meeting] to provide information."

Don Kemp, Pigskin's corporate president, did not attend the meeting but said this week that the issues in carrying out the contract had less to do with equipment and more with retaining a sufficient number of registered players, when there are three organizations that families can choose from. The contract remains intact, Kemp said, but Pigskin and the Raiders will each offer football programs, with help from the county.

"They decided just to put everything back the way it was. The Pigskins would have a regular season like they always have," Kemp said. "The county has agreed to step up and be part of the management. The county is part of the management."

The county department has taken on the additional task of ensuring it also has fields available to the new Southern Maryland Youth Football League, Shepherd said, and the department has proposed taking on a larger role in youth football beginning next year.

Following similar arrangements already in place in Charles and Calvert counties, Shepherd said St. Mary's would provide fields, background checks, weigh-in events, training for coaches, scheduling, game officials and guidelines with input from the volunteers. The organizations would recruit their volunteers, register players, place them on teams, purchase equipment, collect fees and pay franchise fees for the county's costs. The county would be divided into three or more geographic areas, each having a club managed by a youth football league and volunteers.

"We're letting them know where we're headed," Shepherd said. "This year, we're just hoping for the best, to get all children [a place] to play football."


Youth football programs getting help from county
 
Y

yeti

New Member
SMYFL ..............

Has the County Government ever asked for your input on how they should interface with the leagues?

The article in the paper said Recn Parks (Arthur Shepherd) was working on a policy with the leagues since that input was critical. I didnt hear any mention of it at the board meeting other than SMYFL has no idea what the county is trying to do?

Seems like a bunch of BS the county is going to try and jam down your throat without any input.
 
SMYFL

SMYFL

New Member
The county did recently say they wanted to step in due to the problems associated with a contract or personal dispute between the other organizations, which has nothing to do with SMYFL. Recreation and Parks has never asked SMYFL for input or recommendations for the announced policy change but we look forward to the discussion once recreation and parks is ready.
 
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yeti

New Member
SMYFL said:
The county did recently say they wanted to step in due to the problems associated with a contract or personal dispute between the other organizations, which has nothing to do with SMYFL. Recreation and Parks has never asked SMYFL for input or recommendations for the announced policy change but we look forward to the discussion once recreation and parks is ready.
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Did anyone else watch the Recreation and Parks meeting on Monday night about the county taking over youth football?

I only saw the first part where the county was making the pitch about breaking SMYFL into smaller groups and making the Raiders play in St. Marys. I had to leave before Pat or Paul stepped up since I had to get to the first day of practice. Does anyone know if you can view it online?

What kind of knuckle heads schedule a meeting about football on the first day of football practice!!!
 
smilin

smilin

BOXER NATION
2Bullies73 said:
Calvert is run very well, as the Raiders have played with them for the past 3 years... they have all the separate clubs that play under Calvert Cty Parks & Rec. Each club is run separately (registrations & all), however the County runs the schedules & everything. It works really well, it takes out all the mess that Pigskin had going on... and it is what has made the Raiders work so well. Basically most of Pigskins problem were 1) Officials 2) Schedules 3) Equiptment Fitting 4) Opening Day Disasters

Who was personally in charge of the problems? Why didn't they get rid of them? That's right I forgot. Could it be the same one who has now screwed up the contract with the Raiders?
What a mess, no wonder the county is stepping in. They sat back and watched as Chris and the Raiders played and proved that a good league could be efficiently run under the Calvert County Club system. It works, now Pigskin wants the county to save their butts, Unbelievable after all the rants, derision and plain BS that was written on here.
Good luck...
:killingme
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Y

yeti

New Member
smilin said:
Calvert is run very well, as the Raiders have played with them for the past 3 years... they have all the separate clubs that play under Calvert Cty Parks & Rec. Each club is run separately (registrations & all), however the County runs the schedules & everything. It works really well, it takes out all the mess that Pigskin had going on... and it is what has made the Raiders work so well. Basically most of Pigskins problem were 1) Officials 2) Schedules 3) Equiptment Fitting 4) Opening Day Disasters

Who was personally in charge of the problems? Why didn't they get rid of them? That's right I forgot. Could it be the same one who has now screwed up the contract with the Raiders?
What a mess, no wonder the county is stepping in. They sat back and watched as Chris and the Raiders played and proved that a good league could be efficiently run under the Calvert County Club system. It works, now Pigskin wants the county to save their butts, Unbelievable after all the rants, derision and plain BS that was written on here.
Good luck...
:killingme
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Screwed up the contract? There was only one name on the contract??

All I wanted to know is if anyone knows where I can finish watching the rest of the broadcast.
 
Zguy28

Zguy28

New Member
smilin said:
Who was personally in charge of the problems? Why didn't they get rid of them? That's right I forgot. Could it be the same one who has now screwed up the contract with the Raiders?
What a mess, no wonder the county is stepping in. They sat back and watched as Chris and the Raiders played and proved that a good league could be efficiently run under the Calvert County Club system. It works, now Pigskin wants the county to save their butts, Unbelievable after all the rants, derision and plain BS that was written on here.
Good luck...
:killingme
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I seem to recall recently a town hall meeting where Chris outlined his grand plan as the new President of Pigskins and his plan to run it for the county over here with the same Pigskins staff working for him. Yeah, I know, folks want to pretend it never happened.:howdy:

Just let us do our thing, and enjoy.
 
R

Roundabout

New Member
I talked with a couple of coaches that I have recently met and their opinion is that Calvert is "relatively good". What they said was that what made this league successful was Pigskins. They went over there because of the extremely bad environment that Pigskins had.

The good is that it was more friendly and there was a schedule. The bad is that it too regulated. You are told exactly where and when to practice; they were given 20 yards on a field to practice; they could not practice before 6 and the County called the coach if the practice ran 5 minutes past 8; they have a running game clock - I think they called it "production football" - a game every hour independent of penalties, injuries, or anything else that may happen in the game - one mentioned a 4th quarter that last 3 plays.

They came back to St. Mary's under SMYFL because Government controlling youth sports is too restrictive in space and time and that the coaches would get fired if they had two calls for a late practice.

I have personally been is both type of leagues (County run and private organization run) and I think private is much, much better. The reason is that the Government is not about sports, they are about revenue first - please DO NOT be confused or mislead about this!! Additionally, and I don't have the history on this, but EVERYONE I talk with have wondered why, if the county is so interested in the "WELL BEING" of the kids, why they didn't step in with the thousands of complaints about Pigskins.

Just as a footnote - we are very happy with SMYFL. We have had two practices now, the equipment is nice, the environment is nice and all activities leading up to today have been nice. Everyone is looking forward to the season.
 
M

MtnGrlBytheBay

New Member
2Bullies73 said:
I do think that Football has become quite a mess in this County, we were with Pigskin, and now we are Raiders, and I like the Raiders... I think Chris & his family have done an awesome job... I honestly wish the Raiders would stay as they are and not change anything!! I like playing in Calvert... I like the teams... I am incredibly confused by everything that is going on, the rumors that come and go... and everything that is flying about... I think with the season about to start hopefully things will settle down... and hopefully by next year everything will be settled and less confusing... but I am looking forward to a great season this year !! If the County can do something like what Calvert has... that would be great !!!!! But honestly I still would like to stay with the Raiders...
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ME TOO!!! :yeahthat:
 
R

Riddler

Member
SMYFL said:
The county did recently say they wanted to step in due to the problems associated with a contract or personal dispute between the other organizations, which has nothing to do with SMYFL. Recreation and Parks has never asked SMYFL for input or recommendations for the announced policy change but we look forward to the discussion once recreation and parks is ready.
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Did anyone from SMYFL attend the Parks & Rec Board meeting on Monday? If so what was discussed?

The poll on the website is misleading. The County does not intend to "take over" youth football, they want to manage it as a club system like Calvert does. If you go to the websites of any of the Calvert teams you'll see they are all managed as individual clubs. The County assigns fields, makes the schedule and provides referees. The irony is some Raiders folks don't want the County involved when they are in a County run league. The whole point of the County getting involved is to get past the infighting of the separate leagues which has plagued youth football in St Mary's County for the past five years.

It's not about revenue as someone posted above. It's about letting the kids of St Mary's County play each other.
 
R

Riddler

Member
Zguy28 said:
St. Mary's Department of Recreation and Parks Weighs in on Youth Football - Southern Maryland News, Charles County, Calvert County and St. Mary's County News
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Thanks for posting this, I hadn't seen it.

I don't think it's accurate to say the Raiders are in "disarray" since they started practices on Monday. I was next to Lancaster on Monday and Tuesday for SMYFL practice and saw the Raiders practicing in pads so they have equipment.

I'm not surprised they didn't resolve anything yet.

Please let us know when the "mid-September" public meeting is when it gets announced.

It would be nice if the county took the $600K they have earmarked to remove the gas station at Great Mills and Chancellors and spent it on starting up the youth football league and improving fields.
 
Y

yeti

New Member
I think they should bring Don back to "manage" the County League since he is the senior league in the county.

On the meeting tape, Arthur and Phil said they could handle adding the management of the leagues with the existing staff.

This means several things:
1) That there should be no added user fees or operating budget requirements to manage the league. Zero burden on the taxpayer!!
2) The existing staff at R&P is way underloaded if they have time to manage one of the most complex sports without any additional staff.
3) Someone has no idea what is involved in managing such a program.
 
H

hollywood33

New Member
yeti said:
I think they should bring Don back to "manage" the County League since he is the senior league in the county.

On the meeting tape, Arthur and Phil said they could handle adding the management of the leagues with the existing staff.

This means several things:
1) That there should be no added user fees or operating budget requirements to manage the league. Zero burden on the taxpayer!!
2) The existing staff at R&P is way underloaded if they have time to manage one of the most complex sports without any additional staff.
3) Someone has no idea what is involved in managing such a program.
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You had me on the Braves Jerseys, You LOST me on Don to "manage".

I'm sure SMYFL will stay non-profit and private if that's the case.
 
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