MCRD Pop Warner season in jeopardy

For the second time in as many years, the Morgan City Recreation Department may be unable to host Pop Warner football this fall.
Morgan City Recreation Director Seth Thomas said Tuesday that in 2014, for the first time in 40 years, the recreation department was not able to hold Pop Warner football due to a lack of interest.
Thomas is not sure things will improve for this season, but he is holding a public meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Morgan City Recreation Department Office on Everett Street for anyone who is interested in helping out the Pop Warner League, wants to help put it together or is just interested in having it.
“We don’t have all the answers and we’re looking for them, and anybody that can bring anything to the table for us will be a great help.”
While prior to the 2014 season, Thomas said the recreation department would field 32 kids each from Berwick and Patterson with a waiting list and two teams apiece from Morgan City with 30 kids apiece. He said that in 2014, the league received no more than 20 sign-ups from each of the three areas.
“We don’t know if it was an abnormality or just the way it’s trending, but we’re going to do all we can,” Thomas said. “That’s why we’re having this meeting.”
Among the reasons for the decline are students gravitating toward school programs, while Thomas said parents are concerned about concussion-related issues with their youngsters playing football early, too.
Thomas said that players cannot play in school and recreation football because they would be unable to make practices for both in a week.
The decline in football is not just limited to the Morgan City area, either, Thomas said.
“We’re not sure if we can even have it (or) if they’ll ever have Pop Warner again,” Thomas said of the local situation. “We hope to have it because we do think it’s important to teach the kids. It’s kind of to see if you like it. … You don’t want to wait until you’re a junior or a sophomore in high school and go out there and say ‘I’m going to try to play tackle football.’ You got to have some skills before you get to that point, but athletics is changing. … This is another example.”
Ideally, Thomas said he would like to have four teams with 26 to 28 players on each team.
While pop warner is struggling, flag football is growing “leaps and bounds,” Thomas said.
This year, they will have a league for ages 7-9 and ages 10-12 in boys and possibly could have a girls’ league if enough interest is generated.
Thomas noted they have had a few girls play in the past.
If Pop Warner is not held, Thomas said those 10-12 year-olds who signed up for tackle football will be put in the flag football leagues.