PAL Football Looks to Build on Success

The Westfield PAL football program kicked off its mini camp this week, with hopes of continuing its success rate of recent years.

The Westfield PAL program, which plays tackle football, includes children from the 3^rd grade all the way up to the 8^th grade. The teams are divided into four separate ones–the A team, B team, C team and D team–with the A team having the oldest participants, in the 8^th grade.

While the younger children play strictly in an in-town league, the experienced 5^th graders and up play in the New Jersey Suburban Youth Football League, which encompasses 17 teams in the towns surrounding Westfield and involves traveling to different stadiums.

One of the coaches of the program, Councilman who started the in-town league, thinks that the PAL program allows players to develop consistency and stability in order to play football at the high school level.

 “We try to have the same system all the way throughout high school, so the kids are already used to playing in it by the time they get there,” Ciarrocca said.

He said it helps that three of the main coaches of the A team are Westfield High School football alums and have remained coaching the team long after their children have left the program.

Ciarrocca said the program, which has been around for more than 20 years, has really taken off and grown in the past few years.

Overall, there are more than 330 players on the four teams combined, with the C team (6^th graders) having to be divided into two groups with the recent influx of new members.

It is no coincidence that 85 to 90 percent of the football players at Westfield High School have gone through the PAL program when they were younger. Ciarrocca said one way they gauge success is to see how many of the team’s eighth graders play football as freshmen in high school.

“A big question for us is, have we taught the kids to enjoy the game enough to want to keep playing?” Ciarrocca said.

This year’s PAL schedule starts September 13 for the suburban youth league and about a week later for the in-town league. Games take place on Sundays and practices occur two or three times a week, depending on the age level. Ciarrocca said the crowds are usually great at Kehler Stadium, which is where the youth league plays their home games. Practices kicked off last week at Tamaques Park.

Even though playing so much tackle football at such a young age might have some parents terrified, Ciarrocca said the support is great and parents’ trepidations are usually quelled after some time.

“We stress playing the game safe to avoid injury–we even have , attend all the travel games,” Ciarrocca said.

Ciarrocca said the Westfield team has had a nice history of making the playoffs, including a recent “Superbowl” victory in the suburban youth league. But more than on-the-field success, the coaches stress values and pride.

“We want our kids to be proud and truly understand the tradition of Westfield football,” Ciarrocca said. “No matter the age, being in this program certainly is a valuable thing.”