Are You Ready for Cape Football?

On the Broadneck Peninsula, football season has arrived. Team rosters have been finalized and official weigh-ins have been completed. The football program, sponsored by Cape St. Claire Recreation Council, is underway at Broadneck Park with fields full of athletes honing their skills for the upcoming games against other local football organizations.

Cape Football offers a program of flag and tackle football where athletes ages 4 through 15 learn the basics of the competitive sport, along with teamwork and sportsmanship. Players are grouped on teams by age with a maximum weight limit, or by age if weight is "unlimited." (Note there is no minimum weight, only maximum for the weight groups.) Rosters have a minimum of 15 players and maximum of 30.

More than a dozen coaches endure the intense heat while running drills, teaching plays and training athletes with a wide variety of experience. There is an emphasis on safety, preparedness and hard work both from the coaches and their teams.

Mike Sutphin, football commissioner, and his wife, Shelley, dedicate an enormous amount of time making the program one of the best in the area and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.

"We’ve seen a 20 percent increase across the board in the number of kids signed up to play this year,” Shelley Sutphin said.

An increase in the number of players also means there has to be an increase in the number of coaches because no athlete is turned away.  Starting at age 4, athletes can participate in the flag football league and can stay in for two years while developing the rudimentary skills needed. Then, athletes move on to the more challenging tackle football program and then follow through until they reach the age of 16.

“Many of the coaches out here tonight don’t even have kids young enough to play anymore. They're dedicated to teaching the kids in the community and helping keep the program running strong. For instance, Coach Coyle has been out on the football field for the last 15 years passing on his love of football and helping the program remain strong,” Denise Terrible said.

Before school starts, the teams usually practice four nights a week for two hours. After the kids go back to school, practice is three days a week with a game usually on Saturdays. It takes a lot of dedication from parents, players, volunteers and coaches to keep this valuable football program as successful as it is and the community is fortunate to have such a group.

“It's great coaching youth football again this year! Solid fundamentals provide a sturdy foundation on which to build. We will do a few things perfectly rather than lots of things poorly. That will make us unstoppable,” Coach Dan Williams said.