Conshohocken Golden Bears Celebrate 50 Years

As the president of the Conshohocken Youth Football Association, Rob DeVitis has to act in the interest of 200 area boys and girls on the Conshohocken Golden Bears football teams and cheerleading squads.

At practice on Wednesday, however, his biggest challenge is getting one young player to keep his helmet on.

“It’s always something,” he said. “Never a dull moment.”

DeVitis said that his first year as president has been an eventful one, largely due to the organization celebrating its 50th anniversary in the borough.

“It’s been a crazy year with the 50th,” he said. “We usually average around 120 kids and we have 200 this year between our football teams and cheerleading.”

He cites the club’s 50-year anniversary as a reason for the uptick in players, as well as the group’s willingness to take on players from outside the borough.

“Kids don’t have to be from Conshohocken to play here,” he said. “We take anyone from everywhere.  There are a few clubs that have folded [and kids have come here from them].”

Keeping the league running for 50 years has been no easy feat. This year, DeVitis said that the group has had to deal with a declining number of parent volunteers, difficulty securing donations and moving from their home field in the middle of the season.

“It’s getting harder every year,” he said. "The hardest part is getting people to volunteer. It’s tough getting parents involved sometimes. Today’s mentality is to treat this almost like a glorified day care, drop off the kids and expect us to watch them for two hours. That’s not what we’re here for.”

Jim Ford, the league’s treasurer, said that tough economic times have made things tougher for the Golden Bears.

“We’re a [non-profit], so that helps us get donations from businesses,” he said. “The economy has been tough, so we’re trying to keep our prices down. If you look across the league, we’re one of the cheapest teams.”

Despite concerns about manpower and money going forward, DeVitis says the Golden Bears have been doing well. The league currently has six teams at five different weight classes, a flag football team and cheerleading squads. Troubles aside, the teams remain competitive.

“We’ll have up and down years but we’re always in the hunt,” he said. “Three out of our four weighted classes are making the playoffs this year.”

He credits the league’s volunteers for making the Golden Bears what they are.

“I don’t think there is a person here who doesn’t enjoy it,” he said. “One of our coaches goes around and brings about 12 kids from his neighborhood alone. The kids don’t always come from the best neighborhoods, so he brings them in and gets them doing something. We do this because the kids love it.”