Fewer playing football in state
Across Arizona, schools deal with cancellations
When Paul Moro got off the hill, where he was king of White Mountains football, and came to the Valley five years ago, he had a grand football vision at Poston Butte.
The San Tan community looked like fertile football ground that would keep growing. But after two years, the second of which saw the 13-time state coaching champion at Lakeside Blue Ridge go 0-10, Moro left.
Dain Thompson, the trusted Blue Ridge assistant who left the pines with Moro, took over the Poston Butte program, only to see an annual decline in participation numbers.
But as he keeps his three programs afloat, three junior varsity games and a freshman game have been canceled on Poston Butte because those schools lacked enough players.
“From just five years ago, when Coach Moro and I moved down to Poston together, our program numbers have declined by about 35,” Thompson said. “That’s about 10-12 less kids on each team.”
Poston Butte is part of the Florence Unified School District, which two years ago acquired San Tan Valley from the Coolidge district. That redirected some Poston Butte students there, so Poston Butte’s enrollment dropped.
With more than 2,100 students, Poston was overcrowded, which was why the Florence district consolidated three Coolidge district schools. San Tan Foothills’ enrollment was 300 before then. Now it’s at 800. Poston has since dropped to 1,460 students.
Chris Knutsen, superintendent of the Florence Unified School District, said this has allowed for room to grow across the district without having to build a new school, which he says is a great thing for the district and taxpayers.
But it hasn’t helped the football programs at Poston Butte and San Tan Valley. San Tan Valley Athletic Director Rick Romero said there are approximately 65 players in three levels and only a couple who came from Poston.
“I think participation in football is on the decline,” Romero said.
It has been for the last five years in Arizona.
According to AIA Executive Director David Hines, there were about 22,000 football participants in 2013. Last season, he said, there was about 19,900. Is that reason for concern?
“I just think parents are more aware of things now and kids have more options,” Hines said.
The National Federation of State High School Associations last week released findings that participation in sports rose for a 29th consecutive year with 7,979,986, according to figures provided by the 51 member state associations (including the District of Columbia).
‘A softer world’
Football is the most participated sport, but, even with 1,035,942 participants nationally, there was a decline for a second consecutive year.
In 2017, according to the NFHSA, participation in 11-man football declined by two percent (21,465) from the previous year.
There has been more awareness across the nation, from the NFL to college to high school to youth football. Concussions. CTE. Deaths. Lawsuits.
Jason Henslin, who played football at Fountain Hills and now leads the program, said there has been a decline in participation over the last decade at his alma mater.
“The last couple of years we’ve been able to bring the numbers up slightly but not to the level we would like,” Henslin said. “We would prefer to have enough players to have JV and varsity completely separate, but as of now we have 48 players between the two and it makes practice difficult at times.” The main contributors for decline? Students are afraid of injuries, Henslin hears, seeing their chances of getting injured greater in football than other sports.
“They also have a fear of concussions,” Henslin said. “I understand the concern. I am concerned, as well, which is why we’ve done everything we can to remove the head from tackling, limit the amount of full contact in practice, and to also protect our players with the latest and greatest in helmet technologies.”
But Phoenix Arcadia first-year coach Kerry Taylor, who has already made big strides in resurrecting the 2-0 Titans after an 0-10 2017 season, believes it’s more than head and knee injuries that keep players away.
“That’s the easy target to blame it on,” Taylor said of concussions. “I believe the main reason in the decline in numbers has to do with the way society is these days. We live in a world that has a culture of, if you don’t get what you want, then quit.
“If you’re not a starter, quit. If a coach doesn’t see it the way the player or parent sees it, then quit. We live in a softer world these day where everyone is sensitive to the truth, and sensitive to reality. The decrease in numbers I don’t think is coming from the front end of rosters. I think it’s coming more from the back end of rosters. The willingness to fight and work hard for the things you want is at a decrease.”
‘All in’
After being outscored 436-6 in its first six games, Phoenix Sierra Linda last year canceled it game against Peoria Centennial for safety reasons because it was so undermanned after a slew of injuries. The JV game also got canceled that week.
This year, under new coach Nate Gill, and playing in a new region that gives the school a better chance at succeeding, Sierra Linda is experiencing a resurgence.
It scored 27 points in a season-opening win over Tucson Rincon University, before falling last week to Phoenix Washington 54-6.
Gill said he saw a huge increase in numbers this year and expects it to rise past 100 for all three levels next year.
Creative measures
Coaches and districts have had to become more creative to get kids to come out.
Florence doesn’t have Pop Warner or American Youth Football (AYF), so, to introduce tackle football, there are sixth-to-eighth grade football played during the third quarter of the school year with a district championship.
“Not many districts have this model, as it is expensive,” Knutsen said.
The White Mountains, where Moro became a coaching legend, no longer is home for the 3A powerhouses in Arizona.
Moro’s last year at Blue Ridge, in 2013, was the last time a White Mountains team won state. A four-year absence without a White Mountains team holding up a gold ball at the end is the longest drought since 1981.
The five 3A East schools -- Blue Ridge, Winslow, Holbrook, Payson, Snowflake, Show Low -- are a combined 5-6 after two weeks this season.