PenMet Parks’ flag football program sees rapid growth as parents, kids seek alternative to youth tackle football

As youth tackle football participation continues its downward trajectory across the country, one local youth sports program has seen a boom in the past few years.

The youth flag football program at PenMet Parks, which started eight years ago and is open to boys and girls first through eighth grade, currently has about 400 participants. That’s up about 200 kids since Chuck Cuzzetto, PenMet’s marketing specialist, began his job with the park district four years ago.

“We’ve grown anywhere from 25 to 50 kids per year,” Cuzzetto said.

The program, ran by Mike Schick, also the girls basketball coach at Peninsula High School, provides an alternative to tackle football for young kids. In a time in which parents are becoming increasingly armed with knowledge of concussions in tackle football and CTE has been a major topic in the sports world, having a non-contact alternative in the sport is becoming an increasingly popular option.

“We really fill that void, with kids that are either intimidated by tackle football or their parents aren’t letting them play,” Cuzzetto said. “During the fall, if you’re not into soccer, what else are you going to play? There’s no other options for a low-impact sport that has such a benefit and teaches the game. Everything is the same with the game, except they’re not getting blown up.”

But Cuzzetto (not the former Peninsula School District superintendent — that’s his uncle) isn’t anti-tackle football. PenMet works to feed kids into Peninsula Youth Football and into the high school teams. For parents who have a “No tackle football until high school” rule for their kids especially, flag football provides a foundation.

“With the impact of collisions in tackle football, people are turning toward something that might get the kids used to avoiding tackles,” Cuzzetto said. “Flag football teaches you to avoid tackles. Our goal is to work with other community programs. If we feed into those, that’s perfect. ... It’s about community, camaraderie, working with those other organizations. It really allows kids to develop.”

Cuzzetto has had plenty of great feedback from parents and coaches about the program. The most positive takeaway? The kids love playing.

“One of the parents told me that her kid wakes up with a mouth guard in his mouth,” Cuzzetto said. “The kids just adore the program. ... The best feedback is the smile on the kids’ faces.”

That joy is obvious to Cuzzetto when he’s watching games, filled with kids’ celebrations, complete with dances from the popular competitive online multiplayer video game Fortnite.

The program held its jamboree last Saturday and will soon kick off its regular season. While enrollment is closed for the fall, PenMet also holds a spring passing flag football league in the spring.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie with flag football,” Cuzzetto said. “It really uplifts those kids and encourages them to come together as a group.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2018 at 9:15 AM.