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Date: 8/17/2022
WARE – Ware Youth Football is looking for players from second to eighth grade for their junior program.
Ware Youth Football is part of the Suburban Amateur Football League (SAFL) which contains teams from Belchertown, Palmer, South Hadley, Southbridge, Quabbin, Quaboag and Warren. Although they have the minimum number of participants to qualify to have a team this year, Josh Kusnierz, board member for Ware Youth Football and head coach for the junior program, said they still need more players for all divisions, Pee Wee (grades 2-4), Junior (grades 5-6) and Senior (grades 7-8). The junior division has the least amount of children signed up.
“We are at the very bare minimum of the ability to function a proper team for a whole year,” Kusnierz replied. “Since COVID-19 has occurred, the SAFL have had to mix match teams, so they’re still fair and good competition. That’s why our rosters have to be in very soon in order for the league to start developing the teams’ schedule.”
Ideally, Kusnierz is looking for a team of 30 members, but has 15. He told Reminder Publishing it took a lot of effort to try to find a few more children to get the minimum because the SAFL will not allow them to play a football game if they didn’t have a minimum of 15 children on the roster. Because the program met the minimum roster requirement, they now can add more children to the team if necessary.
So far, this year’s season has involved practices four days a week, Monday through Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at Grenville Park. During the school year, they do three days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Kusnierz said a lot of times his team will have a fourth day where it’s a classroom instructional practice.
“The children are taught how to tackle safely and how to make a safe tackle when they’re approaching a runner with a ball,” Kusnierz responded. “All of that training comes in during our practices. It gives the ability for us to come in and help mold our youth. We want to make sure that we develop our leaders of the future. It’s important that we maintain our youth development through sports and recreational programs.”
Contact Kusnierz at 687-4714 or email wareyouthfootballprogram@gmail.com for more information on getting your child involved.