St. Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks hosted an informational meeting Thursday night regarding the direction of youth football. Recreation Division Manager Arthur Shepherd discussed the transition with a crowd of involved, volunteer football coaches and concerned parents.He told them the county has “nothing in particular to gain from taking on youth football,” but wanted to provide “stability and sustainability [for the sport].” 

Based on a recommendation to the Recreation and Parks Board from Shepherd and Dept. Director Phil Rollins, the County has decided to start the St. Mary’s Youth Football League, similar to the successful club models in nearby counties. Clubs from the North, Central, and South sections of St. Mary’s will form the league, with existing SMYFL teams, the Mechanicsville Braves, Hollywood “Blue” Raiders and Lexington Park Hornets planning to continue participation.
 
Shepherd assured that the County’s involvement would not change the way volunteers run their teams, stating they would still be responsible for registration, fundraising, and recruiting coaches. The county would, however, provide oversight for the League handling administrative tasks such as field scheduling, fair weigh-ins, and contracting with game officials. Shepherd said the Dept.’s recreation professionals will help establish both club regulations and playing guidelines with the help of existing boards from SMYFL.
 
The adoption of the county-wide, club model league was not forced. Chris Pixton of the Pax River Raiders chose to stay independent, playing between St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties.St. Mary’s Pigskin leader Trudie Kemp alluded to her group’s return in upcoming years after Pigskin cancelled their ’09 season. Shepherd said the Dept. planned to provide equitable scheduling of fields for teams remaining independent of the new County League.
 
Pat Murphy of SMYFL said many volunteers in his organization support the club model. President of the Lexington Park Hornets’ board, Lee Cooper told The BayNet.com he felt the County’s involvement was due. Parents and coaches agreed with Shepherd’s idea for game-day supervision and standards for weigh-ins.
 
Rollins stated the county-volunteer partnership would offer a, “football program that provides a safe and positive sports environment for participants and their families.” The Dept. will conduct meetings to establish specifics in coming months, planning to launch the St. Mary’s Youth Football League for its first season in 2010.
 
Several individuals attending the meeting expressed concerns over equipment, costs and the rocky history amongst youth football leadership. Shepherd encouraged those wanting to have a club to sign up and introduced Kyle Kebaugh as Coordinator of the now-forming League. &qu

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