By Joshua Yoder

LEWISTOWN – Well everyone, July 28th is the official first practice of the Central Keystone Youth Football And Cheer League. Many great teams like the McVeytown Eagles, Burnham Bulldogs, Juniata Little Indians, Derry-Decatur Cyclones, Kish Indians and the Terrace Tigers will be competing to see who will come out victorious in their respective divisions.

With that being said however, there are some changes coming to the league this year primarily to the structure of the league itself. The first being that the three divisions have been switched to being based on grade level.

For example, the Mighty Mights will now be Pre-K to K before moving up to the Pee Wees which will be grades 1 to 3 and finally the Midgets will have kids from fourth all the way to sixth grade before moving onto their school’s junior high football programs.

According to the CKYFCL website these changes were made due to issues that the Juniata County teams were unable to fill a Midget team for the previous couple years as their interscholastic football staff had strongly suggest that their seven graders play in the junior high program and now, all of the Mifflin County teams will follow suit. It also says that this decision was not just about football, but also was used for helping the kids develop their social skills and academic interests involved as well.

Another major change to the league this season will be how the Mighty Mights will also be under Flag Football rules. For anyone who may or may not have known, was that the CKYFCL had a vote back in March and out of the 11 votes, seven of which voted yes to the changes.

The reason being is according to the CKYFCL is that most kids at that age are just learning their social skills and are now starting to learn how their bodies work which has led to many kids, quitting or not wanting to play football. This way, the kids can learn the fundementals of the game and help grow interests in the game of football and also allow time for their bodies to develop before putting on the pads and tackling. Another determining factor for this was the rise of head trauma related injuries that have been a hot topic in football for quite some time now.

But despite all of these changes, the Central Keystone Youth Football And Cheer League will continue its mission to help provide a new love for cheering and the game of football to future generations.

So please continue to support the kids in your local team.

Get ready fans! It is going to be another exciting season of football and cheer!

Until Next Time!