Tackle football unlikely to get off ground for a second season
Peterborough’s rep football programs are preparing alternatives if tackle play is not permitted this spring.
New Ontario Football Alliance executive director Aaron Geisler said it’s unlikely tackle football will be allowed for a second consecutive season during the pandemic.
Peterborough Otters and Wolverines officials acknowledge tackle is unlikely and are planning for flag or touch football.
“We’re all holding hope out for (tackle), but OFA and Football Canada are not holding out hope there’s going to be tackle football this year,” said Ken Butcher, president of the Wolverines who play in the Ontario Football Conference.
The OFC will create several options for tackle schedules starting in May, June or July if COVID-19 numbers improve to the point tackle is permitted. In the meantime, they’ll organize a touch league among their registered players. They’re also considering creating events where they can film players in competitive situations to send to universities.
“We have a lot of kids who would like to go onto the OUA, but this will be two years in a row where there will be no game film of them,” Butcher said.
They’re taking registration but not accepting money until they know what program they will run. A tackle season is $800 for varsity players and $700 for bantam.
Fees include two practices a week and eight regular-season games plus playoffs. It also includes insurance, helmets, pads, uniforms and busing.
Players are required to purchase a mouth guard, girdle and shoes. Butcher said a fee has not been set for a touch season.
Last year, the Wolverines offered no programming but Butcher said that’s not feasible two straight years.
“Two years without tackle football and football is going to be pretty rough. You’re probably going to lose some kids,” he said.
Otters president Sidney Parkes said the Ontario Provincial Football League forecast Aug. 1 as the earliest possible return of tackle.
“We know the likelihood of a tackle football season is extremely unlikely,” said Parkes, “but our mission is to provide a football program for our athletes regardless. Our alternative programming is going to consist of football throughout the week. We are going to give our varsity guys the weekend off because we know they have school and work.”
The plan is to hold two practices through the week with seven-onseven flag football games Friday nights following Football Canada’s COVID-19 protocols. The Otters offered a similar program last fall.
“We started promoting that to our registered families about three weeks ago and they’re all in. They just want sports back,” he said.
Games will be played without helmets or pads. Required equipment is a mouth guard and cleats. Parkes sees it as an opportunity to showcase football skills to counter some of the stigma attached to the sport from concussion concerns.
“I look at this spring and summer as an opportunity to get kids ready for football through other ways other than just hitting hard and making tackles,” Parkes said.
“Learning the fundamentals of footwork, vision, hands, good posture. I told our coaches we still have a lot of work to do because we have a chance to coach our players the modern approaches to football, which is a far safer game than the traditional hit the guy as hard as you can.”
Parkes said they’ll run a 12week flag program preceded by an evaluation session to help assign players to teams. There’s a $75 fee to attend the evaluation due on registration. The cost for the 12 weeks was $200 prior to Jan. 31 and is now $300.
“It’s a very affordable program considering we are going three nights a week,” he said.
The Otters fee for a tackle season is $750, including the $75 tryout fee, and includes eight regular-season games, an exhibition contest, uniforms, helmets, pads, insurance, bus transportation and a shirt, hat and shorts.
Geisler said it’s his goal to get the OFC and OPFL back under the OFA banner. The OFC left OFA three years ago and the OPFL last month. Butcher said the OFC is open to discussion.
“We don’t want to get drawn into what’s happened in the past, not getting information and not knowing what’s going on with our money or where our money is going, but I think a lot of us agree these guys seem sincere in wanting to get everything under one umbrella again,” Butcher said.
Parkes said the OPFL created a three-year strategic plan when it broke away from OFA so he doesn’t think a return is imminent. “In the short run, I don’t see it happening but, if we can get it done over the next three years, I do think it’s a possibility,” Parkes said.
“I think going into the job Aaron knew not everything was going to get changed overnight.”