Army of volunteers helping Morristown Youth Football continue to grow

MORRISTOWN -- There are countless challenges to overcome when starting a youth football program. Fortunately for Morristown, an army of volunteers has made life much easier on Greg Worton.

Worton, who is the President of Morristown Youth Football Inc., said there are approximately 35-40 coaches and other individuals who give up their time in hopes of making a positive impact. An eight-person board also deserves credit as the program continues to grow in its fourth year. 

The Shelby County Post caught up with Worton to talk about Morristown’s fall season and the state of the program.

Kris Mills: What are numbers like for each age group compared to the first year?

Greg Worton: We started with about 43 kids that came out the first year. It was for grades K-6. It was tight but it helps we play a lot of eight-man football. A lot of schools are turning to that to help with the numbers. But we have just built on it.

Our second year was 55 then we settled around 72 last year. This year we are right around 70. It is a good number because each team averages about 16 players on the roster. Percentage wise, we hear that is really good for a small school.

Then there are about 35-40 cheerleaders for their youth program. Once I saw it getting into the kids’ blood in year one, I really thought we could get to this point. But our ultimate goal is eventually to have football for grades 9-12 at the high school. 

KM: What is your upcoming fall schedule?

GW: On Saturday, we will have our big home opener against Waldron. It is three games in a row starting with the K-2 team, it follows with the (grades) 3-4 team and concludes with the 5-6 matchup.

The 7-8 team will follow up two days later (Aug. 26) with their home opener against Waldron. Waldron has been a great opponent for us. They have been around a little longer and helped us get started. We will play one or two games after fall break. So our season will end mid-to-late October.

The four teams will play a total of 29 games this year -- 17 away and 12 at home. 

KM: How has the board and long list of volunteers helped you?

GW: It has become more organized. The board runs the program. That was not the case until year 3. It has very much helped the program. The reason we are successful in year four is because of them. All of the credit needs to go to them. 

KM: Do you think football has positively affected the players with the life lessons it teaches?

GW: One of the most gratifying things about the position I am in is hearing the stories from parents. We hear numerous times a year that the kids’ behavior has changed for the better. We hold them accountable in the town, community and school.

Leigh Langkabel, who owns the Kopper Kettle Inn (restaurant), saw our kids wearing their jerseys around town being loud and proud. That really impressed him, so he invited each team to a dinner. He gave a very valuable speech to the kids about sportsmanship and representing the town -- just being good little humans.

Everyone was talking about how good the kids acted. I was impressed. It can be hard to keep their attention. But they sat and listened. 

KM: You have an event on Tuesday centered around bullying. Why will that be important for the kids?

GW: We understand we are not going to stop bullying. We wanted to find a way to empower kids to stand up against it and bring awareness. We reached out to Chris Lytle (retired MMA fighter), who actually used to have an anti-bullying nonprofit. He sold books and would go talk at schools.

I reached out to him but he said he was not doing that anymore. Once I told him the reasoning, he agreed to come do it for no money or anything. So we are inviting the players and the whole community to come and listen.

He preaches about the kid who is standing there watching someone get bullied. He wants to empower them to say something. We think that is a great message and is what we are trying to teach with football. We have zero tolerance for bullying. 

KM: Is the program facing any recent challenges with equipment or funding?

GW: The biggest challenge is using the school’s property and having to co-exist with other sports. With school sports, we understand that should be their first priority. We have to be versatile and have a backup plan.

With funding, we are very fortunate in that sense. The first two years I remember exhausting myself with fundraising efforts and seeking funds for helmets and shoulder pad orders. Now, we are so known that our sponsors are ready instead of us seeking them out. They are excited, which is neat.

We are a zero fee league. There is no cost to parents. We are proud of that. It is from the efforts of the board and volunteers. 

KM: If someone wants to donate or get involved in another capacity, how can they do so?

GW: People can go to morristownfootball.com or morristownfootball.org -- both will work.

On the site, we have a “donate now” button. There are different levels of sponsorship. If people want to give, that is the way we would encourage them to do so.

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