The Town of Siler City has rolled out and announced new athletic programs for its surrounding community.
Siler City Parks and Recreation announced the return of youth tackle and flag football for the upcoming season and a new youth soccer league. The town has also begun its new JumpStart Program, a series of non-sport specific training sessions designed to help kids build a solid athletic foundation.
The returning tackle football league will hold four age divisions — 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U. It will stand in place of the Siler City Youth Football League program started and ran by former town parks and recreation director Donald Dones last year. Players can register for $60, per the town’s registration site. Practices will be held at Bray Park and the Paul Braxton Park multipurpose field. More details on the league and dates will be released later.
Treiston Burnette, the newly hired town parks and recreation director and a Jordan-Matthews football alum, said it was “big” for him to get tackle football started again to give kids a better chance at success on the field and with going to college.
Jordan-Matthews’ football program has been negatively impacted over the years with scarce or non-existent local opportunities to play youth football, especially at the middle school level. Many kids move on to the high school level after not playing for multiple years and either lose interest in the sport or are forced to jump into the varsity level due to a lack of numbers needed for a stable JV program.
“Everything that we do, we’re a feeder system for the high school,” Burnette said.
“I’ve been coaching college football now for 16 years, and one of my goals and dreams as a kid was for me to get out of Siler City and learn as much as I could from as many coaches I possibly could about running football. Lord willing, I was able to do it, and now I’m back, and I’m trying to pour everything I can into the kids as well as the parents and most importantly to these coaches. I’m just giving everything I got so these kids can be successful.”
Burnette and the town will also expand its flag football program with co-ed competition for ages 4-7 and a focus on girls’ participation from ages 8-14. The cost to register for the fall will be $35, and practices will occur at the same location as tackle football.
“It’s another avenue for these young ladies to get scholarships and just not be content at playing the sports that are offered,” Burnette said. “They can do things the guys do as well on a safer playing field.”
The new youth soccer program will be open for ages 3-12 with games and practices held at Bray Park, Landrus Siler Park and Paul Braxton Park. The registration fee is $20.
The JumpStart program, for ages 3-14, meets from 6 to 7 p.m. at Bray Park on Field 1 every Tuesday until July 28. Athletes can sign up for a one-time fee of $10 and will learn development skills in speed, agility, strength and conditioning.
“We’re starting out with a baseline of just doing proper mechanics as far as how to move your body when it comes to running, proper technique, proper form,” Burnette said. “This is one of the most important things that you have as a kid is knowing how to actually do it.”
Burnette hopes to add more athletic programs provided by the town in the future, especially wrestling.
