August 5, 2019 at 12:56 p.m.
RHS football team partnering with the Y to grow game at the youth level
RHS football team partnering with the Y to grow game at the youth level
YMCA Youth and Family Director Matt Steingraber wanted to give more area kids exposure to football at a younger age.
Together, the two are trying to achieve both goals.
Under that backdrop, the two are working together to expand the YMCA of the Northwoods' flag football program, which will begin Aug. 10 and run through Sept. 28 for boys and girls in grades 1-6.
The effort is receiving further support from the Hodag Gridiron Club, the booster club for the RHS football program, and the Rhinelander Lions Club.
The Y will get help from RHS coaches and players during its three skill days and six game days, while the RHS football team gets direct access to kids on the very first rung on the way up the ladder to potentially suiting up for the Hodags on Friday nights when they come of age.
"The marriage just makes sense," Kraemer said.
Both Kraemer and Steingraber grew up in the Fox Cities area and were involved with flag football as children and stressed the impact it had on them.
"I know that when I was growing up as a kid, we had flag football options all the way up to sixth grade," Kraemer said. "You could play fourth and fifth-grade tackle, but it was important in our city for us to learn the fundamentals of the game through non-contact. If you can do that with the younger grades and get them excited about playing football, that's all you can ask."
Added Steingraber: "If I'm playing flag, it's real easy to go to recess and play touch football. The transition is natural, so you get more of those fast-paced, pick-up games. That's what we want to do. We want to grow the game here in the Northwoods and Rhinelander and the surrounding communities."
Steingraber said the collaboration began when the Hodag Gridiron Club approached him about creating a more cohesive program from the youth level to the high school ranks.
About the same time Steingraber joined the RHS coaching staff, where he got to know Kraemer, who was the varsity offensive coordinator at the time.
"Ever since he came last year, it's been a little shot in the arm for us," Kraemer said. "He's got a very positive mentality toward this football program and that's what we need. There are a lot of people in this community that love football, but we need every single person in this community who loves football to be working in one direction to continue to move the game forward."
When Steingraber came to the YMCA of the Northwoods two years ago, one of his first objective was to re-establish flag football. Flag had been played in the past, but had lost steam.
"It was so parent-driven that when those few influential people dropped off the map, it kind of fell apart," Steingraber said.
A grant from the Green Bay Packers helped relaunch the program last fall. Steingraber said approximately 50-55 kids took part in the program a year ago. He would like to see that number double this year.
"The community really wants this to be successful. It's been great to see that. Now, we've just got to get the kids there to play it," he said.
There was some participation from the RHS football team with the program last year. The flag football players even had a chance to play under the Friday night lights at Mike Webster with members of the football team on hand during a rare night off ahead of a Saturday afternoon contest at Merrill.
Kraemer said he wants to increase that visibility this year, and sees flag football as a way to establish a direct link from the youngest end of the program all the way to the top.
"When I took this job, I said, 'I want to be available and I want to be seen,' he said. "I want people to know who I am and I want them to be able to come up and talk to me from fourth grade, third grade, second grade, all the way up to a 12th grader. I want their parents to be comfortable having a conversation with me and understanding my passion for football."
A youth alternative
Of course, flag football is not the only option for elementary-aged kids who want to play football in the Rhinelander area.
The Rhinelander Youth Football Program, formerly Rhinelander Pop Warner, offers tackle football for kids in grades 2-6. The way Kraemer sees it, though both programs are targeting essentially the same group of kids, both programs are helping to build the foundation for when kids progress to middle school football in seventh grade, before playing freshman, JV and eventually varsity football.
"To me, we're both working in the same direction," he said, noting that a kid could theoretically take part in tackle and flag football simultaneously, as long as practice and game schedules do not conflict. "The tackle program has been great. Coach (Bill) Makris has done a really nice job of teaching the fundamentals of football. We're giving another opportunity for kids to do that."
In an era of heightened awareness regarding the potential dangers of football - particularly in regard to concussions and CTE - flag football gives parents another option, Steingraber added.
"Now, OK, we play (flag) through fifth grade and in sixth grade (they'll say), 'Ah, yeah, I'll go to Pop Warner.' Or maybe that's in fourth grade," he said. "It just gives another option for parents and families to say, 'OK, when is the right time for (my kid) to start playing tackle football?'"
Additionally, Kraemer noted that flag football, with fewer equipment requirements, lends itself better to pickup games kids could play by themselves in the playground or during recess.
"You put kids out in the open and you let them have fun through football - much like 3-on-3 basketball or open ice hockey - where you're letting them get out there but scaling the rules back of football," he said. "They're still learning the fundamentals and you're giving them the opportunity to be successful. Any time you can do that, that's awesome."
'Big kids' benefit too
The youngsters taking part in flag football won't be the only ones who benefit from the partnership with the RHS football team. There's plenty for the high school players to gain from the experience, some of which could help on Friday nights, and some of which will help later in life.
First, Kraemer said the players benefit from teaching the skills they've learned to the next generation.
"When you can teach someone how to do a drill, when you can teach someone the fundamentals, you have mastered it yourself," he said.
Secondly, by helping out, the members of the football team learn volunteerism and leadership skills that can be applied down the road.
"We're giving them the opportunity to say, 'Hey, I could be sleeping in right now, but I'm going to go and I'm going to give up my time (to volunteer),'" Steingraber said. "It's not just about growing those first-through-sixth graders, it's about growing those ninth-through-12th graders as well."
When the high schoolers show up, they're almost certain to have a captive audience with the kids they teach.
"They look up to the senior kids that play on Friday nights," Kraemer said. "They want to see them out on Saturday morning in a different capacity. They idolize them. If we can get that same fire lit for those kids as it was for us, as coaches, and they're excited about playing football, that's all we can ask for."
Season details
The Y's flag football season will begin Saturday, Aug. 10 in conjunction with the RHS football team's Green and White practice in front of Mike Webster Stadium. Players will receive their equipment - new Hodag-themed jerseys purchased through a grant from USA Football, plus a mouthguard - that day and will have a skill session from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During breaks in the practice, members of the RHS varsity and JV teams will help instruct the players, who will then participate in a mini game at the end of the practice.
Additional skill days will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 12 and 19. Game days will be held on Saturdays from Aug. 17 to Sept. 27. First and second graders will play from 9 to 10 a.m., with third and fourth graders from 10 to 11 a.m. and fifth and sixth graders from 11 a.m. to noon.
"Last year, I think we did a little too much skill work," Steingraber said. "We just want to get kids playing and having fun in a semi-competitive environment. The kids will keep score, but we're not necessarily going to have winners and losers at this age group. Our goal is to have them playing different kids every week, and just to get them playing and having fun."
Additionally, the RHS football team plans to honor youth football players during its varsity home game against Lakeland Sept. 3. The exact details for youth night are still in the works, according to Kraemer.
Registration is $20 per player and can be done by calling the Y at 715-362-9622 or visiting www.ymcaofthenorthwoods.org.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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