PC youth football takes championships
When Curtis Baker took over the Phil Campbell youth football league in 2011, he wanted to generate more interest to increase participation and get the program on solid financial footing. Six years later in 2017, the Phil Campbell youth football program has grown from 67 players to 120 players.
The Northwest Alabama Youth Football League has grown from six teams to nine teams, with a clear method to determine champions of the league.
“One of my goals when I took over was to make kids love the game,” said Baker. “I thought if kids found a game they loved, then one day it might make a difference in them making good decisions or bad decisions. If they grew to love the game of football and were part of a team, then they would continue to play throughout high school and be less likely to get in trouble and make bad decisions.”
Growing from six to nine teams has meant positive structuring for the program. “We have an East Division and a West Division. Those divisional teams play each other during the year,” Baker explained. “The winners of each division face each other in the ‘Super Bowl’ at the end of the season.
Teams in the East Division include Bear Creek, Brilliant, Hackleburg, Phil Campbell and Tharptown. Teams in the West Division include Belgreen, Belmont (Miss.), Cherokee and Red Bay.
This year in the Mini-Midget Division (5-9-year-olds), Belmont faced Phil Campbell in the Super Bowl. In the Midget Division (9-10-year-olds) Red Bay faced Phil Campbell. In the Pee-Wee Division, Belgreen faced Phil Campbell.
Phil Campbell won the “Super Bowl” in all three divisions.
Two hurdles Baker faced back in 2011 were participation and finances, which went hand-in-hand.
“We wanted to make it as easy on parents as possible to let their kids participate,” said Baker. “We set up payment plans where all the money didn’t have to be paid up front. We allowed fundraisers that went solely to buy uniforms. We weren’t broke, but we didn’t have much money either, so we needed some cash flow.”
With the growing health concerns related to football and decreasing participation across the country, Baker decided to alleviate those concerns.
“In the second year we went out and bought the best youth helmets you could buy for safety concerns,” said Baker. “Eventually we were putting every kid in a new helmet, new pair of shoulder pads and new pants, and still maintaining the $45 sign-up fee.”
Baker said he has been proud to see the league and the Phil Campbell grow over the past few years.
“Our Mini-Midgets were very young with little to no experience,” said Baker. “This group was coach by Justin Baker, and they exceed my expectations by far. I didn’t expect them to win but a couple of games. They came the furthest of any teams in our program and achieved the most.”
This was the second consecutive season for the Phil Campbell Midgets to win the “Super Bowl,” Baker said. “Coach Brian Scott did a great job with them. They are a good group of kids with some good coaches.”
In the Pee-Wee program, coach Floyd Baker “did the most with the least,” Baker explained. “About half the players had played before and half had not. They had to learn fast and be in shape. They had good focus and were hungry to go out there and win.”
Those across-the-board wins highlight the progress Phil Campbell youth football has made.
“It has been tough building this program, but it is very satisfying to see where it is now,” said Baker. “I don’t have any kids playing any longer. Mine is grown up and playing for the school. The group I started with are now tenth-graders, and many are playing varsity football. This year we hosted 305 people at our banquet.”
