Dallastown Cougars youth football team teaches kids fundamentals

DALLASTOWN, Pa. — Back in 1969, when Gene Tayler was named the first commissioner of the Dallastown Cougars, he surely had high expectations for the club but may have never imagined it would still be going strong 54 years later. Luckily for our community, thanks to its army of volunteers, the program has been building year after year with the obvious goal to produce stellar football players but more importantly mold these young athletes into caring team members of their future communities.

After speaking with current Commissioner, Mr. Micheal Vance, and Mr Darren Bonacquisti, Midget/6-7th grade Coach, we learned ALOT about this incredible youth program. It is clear that the Dallastown Cougar Football Staff is committed to the development of each player under their watch. The first part of a player’s development, and most likely the first to come to mind is physical development. These are things like basic football learning skills such as throwing/catching/safe tackling, etc… and improving fitness and conditioning while having fun playing the game of football. We can all agree that these are important to succeed in football, but this organization strives to ensure that each athlete that joins them at Cougar Field leaves with the tools to succeed short term (new school anyone?) and long term (new job?) in life.

This is why both psychological and social development are two of the other paramount aspects of the program. Regarding psychological development, the goal is to ensure each athlete can control their emotions and develop positive feelings of self worth, accomplishment and a positive mindset. Hand in hand with this, is social development and teaching how to be a part of a team while always displaying appropriate sportsmanship behavior.

Coach B tells us that no matter what an athlete’s background, situation, etc… may be, that the Cougars want to make sure that practice is the best 2 hours of their day. He makes sure that his team knows that when they join the Cougars, they now have 57 new best friends. This is extremely important, as he goes on to tell us that he intills with the team that they are part of a TEAM now, both on and off the field. “At school, a team mate should never be sitting alone. They should never be bullied. No one should have these things happen, Cougar teammates or not.”

It is truly special that this group is teaching our young ones to be empathetic to their teammates, as well as their classmates and community members. The Coaches know that they have the special privilege of building leaders in our community. In fact, something that Coach B said to us that really stuck, was the simple phrase that he says to his mentees: “It’s bigger than football. It’s what you do outside of the game that matters the most!”

So here is how it works. There are three age groups – Rink being the youngest/1-3rd graders, Pony/4th-5th graders and Midget/6-7th graders. After several weeks of practice and training, each of these groups are split into two JV teams and one Varsity team per group. I LOVE that one of the things presented to new families and parents to the organization is the emphasis on fair and competitive play. This means that the head coach of each team will select the player and position they will play for their team. This is based on an evaluation, completed by each Head Coach, for the best need and fit for the team. “We’re told, “A player will not be selected for a team, or a position based on who the players parent(s) are, etc…”
After that, they are ready to move on to 8th grade and high school to hopefully play with newly (Jan 2022) appointed Dallastown High School Coach Levi Murphy. Commissioner Vance tells us that while the high school has always been appreciative of the “farm team” that has been created with the Cougars program for the high school, he is very excited to partner with Coach Murphy. The Dallastown Wildcats high school coach has now integrated volunteering with the Cougars program for his varsity players.

Vance describes to us that when the varsity players arrive, it’s nothing short of their Cougars athletes seeing Justin Tucker, T.J. Watt or Big Ben walking onto the field. Those wide eyes and big open hearts are just that much more open to learning when they are listening to their Dallastown Area High School heros. On top of that, the partnership affords the opportunity for the Cougars to have special nights at the high school field where on certain nights they get to usher the team onto the field!
Now let’s go behind the scenes of how this works part 2. This program (currently capped at 174 athletes) would not be possible without the tireless efforts of all of its volunteers. Coaches, assistant coaches, “team parents,” concessions, clean up crews… There are hundreds of volunteers that make this happen. In fact, if your family (it is a family affair here) wants to be a part of the program, there is a volunteer requirement, bringing this group even more tight knit than the socks your granny made you for the holidays.

Beyond that, Commissioner Vance tells us that their goal is to make all of their participants feel equal and that the top of the line equipment and protection is provided with the registration fee. This means the Cougars use and provide the best equipment available (minus cleats and some personal items.)

• HELMETS:
  • Speedflex Helmets that are adjusted to fit each individual kid.
  • Helmets are checked for defects
  • Rotation of Helmets sent out every year for re-certification.
  • Spare parts available in case a helmet piece is defective shoulder pads
• SHOULDER PADS:
  • Custom fit to each player to ensure safety and protection.
• INTEGRATED PAD PRACTICE PANTS:
  • Ensures each player has adequate protection of the hips, legs and
  torso
• GAME UNIFORMS:
  • Jerseys custom made for each player with stitched Numbering and Letters
  • Heavy material so jersey may be used for multiple years

In addition to top-notch equipment, coaches have various and lengthy years of youth football coaching experience, though many have experience coaching local high school ball and college. They are also required to have all appropriate clearances such as State Police Clearance, PA Child Abuse History Clearance, FBI Clearance, Mandated Reporter Updating. Also, each Coach is required to complete an annual concussion training as presented by the (CDC) Center for Disease Control, which is an internal requirement of the program. That said, you can be sure that this program has the full safety of your child and family in mind!

Part 3 of how this works… Fundraising! The only way to continue to provide this amazing program to the community is by community support. This can be anything from Cougars internal fundraisers, to local business sponsorships. Are you craving DELICIOUS pizza? The first way to support the Cougars is to purchase some pizza and/or spaghetti dinner tickets from a player and their family, or at the concession stand at Cougar Field valid at Parma Pizza in Dallastown. (I’m sure everyone is grateful to Coach B for his graciousness on this one!) Next, purchase a raffle ticket from one of your neighbors in the program! Lastly, if you are a resident or business owner in the area that would like to help, there are plenty of sponsorships available!

And lastly, the only way to teach kindness and generosity is to live it. Each year, the Cougars program rocks their pink uniforms to benefit a local family who may be working through a cancer diagnosis in their life. These community members, coaches, volunteers, parents, friends and family (along with your SYC Sports Team) encourage you to attend one of these games where everyone is in pink, and the teams experience the gift of giving demonstrated by their fearless, strong and kind leaders.

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