IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON!

Please sign your child up today to enjoy one of Southaven’s best traditions.  CHERRY VALLEY PARK has been the home of youth football in our city since 1969.  We have excellent facilities, referees, cheerleading instructors, and experienced football coaches that have prepared countless players for high school football and other sports opportunities.  Although all players with any level of skills are welcomed and developed, this league has always been the home of a competitive brand of football.  You can visit any high school in Desoto County on a Friday night this fall and find players that learned the game at Cherry Valley.

Football is one of the greatest team sports ever created.  It teaches kids the value of working together as a team towards a common goal as well as work ethic, mental toughness, and physical toughness that prepares them for whatever they may venture or encounter in life.  Personally, I can testify that I still use lessons daily that I learned on a football field and some of my best friends still today are former teammates.

Now, I understand that our youth today have more other opportunities than I did as a kid, but I hope you don’t mind my challenging you to consider some facts.

Some friendly Q & A from your Mayor…

SHOULD MY KID PLAY FOOTBALL EVEN IF HE WANTS A FUTURE IN BASEBALL?

Specialization has become popular in our youth sports world today, but I challenge you to consider the following facts.  Multiple sports complement each other by developing skills that make better athletes.  Football not only improves physical and mental toughness, but it also makes stronger, quicker, faster, and more agile athletes.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to be a great baseball player and some do not possess the ability to be a multi-sport athlete, but let me share one thing that I know…playing baseball at a higher level (namely moving from youth to high school to college to pro) not only requires better baseball skills, but more so, more athletic ability.  If you are the best player on your team right now, trust me, you will not always be and your “ticket is not written”.  It is time to work!  You must continue to get better.  You can count on players being faster, stronger, having quicker hands, throwing harder, and having sharper breaking pitches at the next level.  Skill sets are enhanced by better athleticism.  Countless hours in the cage and spending a fortune on pitching lessons is not all that is needed.  Football makes better baseball players (along with the weight room and a good diet.)

Also, listen to current college and pro baseball coaches as well as former baseball players that have become vocal recently.  Many baseball coaches are attracted to multi-sport athletes and prefer them.   Look at the enormously-high percentages of current MLB and NFL draft picks that played multiple sports as a kid and in high school.   You never know what the future brings, so leave your options open.  Facts are that about 93% of high school baseball players never play college ball.  Then, of this 7% that play in college, less than 1 out of 10 get drafted professionally (*ncaa.org).  Recently, John Smoltz and even Tommy John himself expressed outrage about the number of “Tommy John” elbow surgeries performed on teenage baseball players and cautioned about the dangers of year-round baseball.  Personally, I can testify after experiencing a severe elbow injury and rotator-cuff shoulder surgery, you better rest that “wing”!

IS FOOTBALL TOO DANGEROUS? 

There has never been a safer time to play football than now.  The rules have been amended and the equipment made safer to protect our players.  Tackling techniques are much different and minimize the risk of injury.  Kids 12 and under very rarely generate enough force to cause significant injury.  All sports have a degree of risk.

I WANT MY KID TO PLAY COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL.  IS CHERRY VALLEY COMPETITIVE?

As I mentioned earlier, this league welcomes players with all skill levels, but offers a competitive brand of football.  We have experienced coaches that have prepared countless players for high school football and other sports opportunities.  High school fields are full of former Cherry Valley players.

Sold yet?  See you at the park!