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A fun day of football activities on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at the Methanex Bowl is planned in hopes it can help reinvigorate popularity in the sport among youth players.
srooney@medicinehatnews.com@MHNRooney
Mike Baker realizes football as he played it growing up is long gone – but that doesn’t mean the sport he loves has to go by the wayside too.
The Medicine Hat Tackle Football Association president hopes an event Saturday at the Methanex Bowl can help reinvigorate the sport’s popularity in town as well as show parents it’s not as scary an option as it might seem.
“I started with a single-bar and foam (helmet),” said Baker, who played minor football and went on to university ball. “It’s come a long way.”
From 12-4 p.m., the free event will feature a variety of activities for kids and parents to try out. Continuous touch football games will take place around both end zones, a giant bouncy castle and obstacle course will take up the centre of the field while parents are encouraged to try a tackling demonstration so they know what they’re getting their kids into.
“We are all heads-up coach certified now, it’s mandatory,” said Baker of the new standard of tackling which reduces the chance of concussions and related brain injuries. “I don’t want to shy away from the concussion issue, I don’t think that’s all but it does play into people’s heads. I’ve been around the game my whole life, my wife is worried about it.”
The impetus for the Family Fun Day, as they’re calling it, is a trend of fewer and fewer players signing up for minor football in Medicine Hat. Baker didn’t have exact numbers on him but is concerned by the way things are going.
“In the past we might’ve had closer to 200, now we’re probably around 150,” he said. “If you take two, three players over eight teams, well then now you’re down 25 kids.”
Why? Injury problems in football have been well-documented. A Government of Canada study showed football second only to hockey in the number of brain injuries reported from 2011 to 2017 in 10- to 19-year-old boys. Both the NFL and CFL have developed programs and changed rules to prevent concussions.
Baker feels that’s not the only reason his association has seen a downturn.
“There’s club teams, competition, and also just the way things work, parents are so involved these days. Back when I was a kid my parents kicked me out of the car and said see you later. It’s a real time commitment for parents too.”
The hope Saturday is that the association gets an upswell of registrations – which, by the way, have remained at $175 the past few years. Between that and programs like Kidsport, Baker notes any kid who wants to play, can, regardless of their family’s finances.
For more information, Medicine Hat Minor Football has an event page on Facebook.
