As another season of youth football and cheerleading draws near, local athletes wanting to participate in the Owensboro Daviess County league have a few days left to register.
Football ranges from ages 4-12 and is divided into five age groups. Cheerleading ranges from ages 5-12, and squads will cheer throughout the season before having their own dedicated competition at the end of the year.
In addition to online registration at odcyouthsports.com, ODC is also holding two more live registrations at Waymond Morris Park for both football and cheer: Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Sarah Price, ODC’s cheer commissioner, said both programs provide opportunities to develop skills from a young age that will allow them to go on to play at the middle and high school levels.
For football, ODC’s lowest level is an instructional division for 4-year-olds that was instituted a few seasons ago.
“It is a very fundamental level,” she said. “We just want them to get out there and be active and get a football in their hands.”
Other age divisions are 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12. Price said they try to prepare each athlete for the next level of competition up to middle school.
“The number one ultimate goal is to have fun and enjoy the game of football,” she said. “But then we want to make sure as a flag player we’re preparing them for the rookie level and so on. So if their goal is to go on and be a middle school or high school football players, they are well-prepared fundamentally for that.”
While the cheer and football programs work together, Price said they do try to recognize the talent in each separately at the end of the year. For football, that means a pair of All-Star tournaments at Waymond Morris Park that draw travel teams from several nearby states.
For cheer, that means a big competition at the Owensboro Sportscenter on Nov. 3. The 8-12 age group has a competition, while the 5-7 group performs an exhibition.
“Everybody goes out and they cheer and dance,” Price said. “We try to make that just a really big day that focuses 100 percent on them. So much of the season, they are out there cheering for the football team, and the emphasis is on the boys a lot of times. We try to make sure that day is over the top and all about them.”
During the season, cheer squads are assigned to support specific teams. While cheer sponsors help oversee the safety and organization of their teams, local middle school and high school cheerleaders and dance team members come out to teach material.
“It’s a really good cycle to see,” Price said. “I’ve seen kids come in at 5 years old and cheer until they were 12. Then a couple years later they are back as a coach.”
Online registration closes Monday for both programs. Evaluations for football players age 7-12 will by Aug. 10, and the season kicks off Aug. 24 with a Jamboree, where each team will play in a scrimmage. The championships are set for Oct. 26.
