Sean Toomey-Stout and teammates will play an independent, non-league schedule this fall, one of several changes for the Coupeville High School and Middle School football programs. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
There are big changes coming to Coupeville’s high school and middle school football programs.
Wolf Athletic Director Willie Smith released the following letter Thursday to address the new direction, and he and the CHS coaching staff, led by Marcus Carr, will host a public meeting to follow up.
That meeting is 6:30 PM Wednesday, May 29 in the CHS Commons.
Smith’s letter:
I would like to take this opportunity to go over the state of our middle and high school football programs and hopefully, address some concerns and questions that our students and community may have.
Our middle school football program has ended; and while many may think that’s a bad thing, I actually see it as an opportunity.
More and more, the direction that youth football is moving is in a direction we’d like to pursue as a school.
The NFL, WIAA (governing body of interscholastic activities/athletics in Washington), and many current and former football players are all moving to a new youth program which we are excited to pursue: flag football.
The beauty of flag football is that we can get all kids out, regardless of size, ability or gender.
It takes away the stigma of contact and pigeon-holing kids into positions based on size or skill level.
Each kid gets an opportunity to play every position: quarterback, receiver, lineman, etc.
We want boys and girls playing and we are looking to start this program, grades 3-8 by next fall.
It is a great lead-up game to tackle football and kids get to learn football without worrying about getting tackled or put in a position just because they are big or small.
At Coupeville High School, we have seen a dramatic decline of participation over the past 7-8 years.
While some of this can be attributed to the concussion element, I believe it is also due to the lack of a consistent football coaching staff during that time.
The constant coming and goings of our head coaches has led to an uncertainty, apathy, and non-interest in the program.
However, I truly believe that our head coach, Marcus Carr, and his staff are committed to rebuilding our program and see it come back to the healthy, strong program it once was.
In part, this is why I’m writing this article: Coach Carr and I want our community to come to meet him and his staff, learn more about them as community members as well as learn about their commitment level, philosophies, and coaching methods.
We have taken two big steps, in our minds, to help address the safety concerns of our community.
First, I appealed to and was allowed by our current league, the North Sound Conference, to pursue an independent football schedule rather than participate in our league.
I did this based on the fact that we have low numbers and a young group of returning players.
As I stated earlier, the safety of our kids is paramount in our scheduling of games and Coach Carr and I truly believe that moving to an independent schedule was vital in beginning to revitalize our program.
I have been able to create a full schedule, weeks 1-9, with teams that are going through what we are, are smaller schools (or new programs), and will provide our kids with an opportunity to be successful each and every game.
It is not an easy schedule; we are not throwing in the towel on our kids or program, and it will require our kids to work in the off-season, and be committed just like any other season.
It is a great opportunity for our kids and community to feel success in a program that needs to feel success and in spite of our low numbers and youth, has a genuine chance at being a very good football team.
Secondly, we have purchased (thanks to a generous donation by the Coupeville Booster Club) an item that we believe, will add some safety and peace of mind for our program.
It is a product called Guardian Caps and is a shell that goes over the helmet and has shown to help in the reduction of concussions.
In researching this product, and I want be completely clear, it does not, nor can any product, guarantee 100% protection against concussions or head injuries.
It does, however, offer added protection to the head, especially when hitting the ground.
We will be using these during our practices, and in discussion with Bremerton High School who used them this past fall, it did help with kids’ confidence as the season progressed.
They have been shown to reduce the number of concussions in a season, which is what drew us to the product, and they are used by a number of colleges, high schools, and youth programs throughout the nation.
Coach Carr, his staff, and I would like to invite the community, parents, students, and any other interested parties to a meeting on Wednesday May 29 at 6:30 in the High School Commons.
You will get to ask questions of our football staff and myself, learn more about how our football staff instructs tackling and blocking, as well as learn about the training they receive in order to become a football coach.
2019 CHS football schedule:
Friday, Sept. 6 — Port Townsend (6 PM)
Friday, Sept. 13 — @ Vashon Island (6 PM)
Friday, Sept. 20 — @ Friday Harbor (6:30 PM)
Friday, Sept. 27 — La Conner (7 PM)
Saturday, Oct. 5 — @ Kittitas (3 PM)
Friday, Oct. 11 — @ Northwest Christian (Lacey) (7 PM)
Friday, Oct. 18 — South Whidbey (7 PM)
Friday, Oct. 25 — Anacortes (TBD)
Friday, Nov. 1 — @ Interlake (7 PM)
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