|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, August 7, 2008 11:11 PM CDT
JFL coach making his request
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
Pointing to 15 years of Charleston Junior Football coaching experience, Jerry Payne requested an interview.
Next he made things very clear: “I don’t want this to be about me,” Payne said. “It’s for the kids.”
What Payne wants for the current JFL kids and future JFL kids, is some help from his past JFL kids many of whom are no longer kids.
JFL coaches and organizers are so close to having what Payne calls “a field of dreams.”
But right now that new field looks at least two Sunday afternoons of work away from being even playable this season let alone having the extras that will probably have to wait for the future.
Maybe the Aug. 17 and 24 work days can include some breaks with former players and coaches to talk about the old days for this program that started with one combined team of seventh- and eighth-graders.
Some from the league mowed some ground near Rural King for a practice field.
The team of middle school kids got to use the school
district’s Trojan Hill for home games.
Practices soon moved to the school district’s land near what was then a bus garage and is now a softball field.
The young football kids also got to use an area by the Rotary Pool and middle school now used as Charleston High School’s main practice area.
Then in 2002 even Charleston’s high school team was without a field during the construction of the new Trojan Hill complex. The high school team got to play three home games at Eastern Illinois’ O’Brien Stadium where the field was then grass and only could take so much wear and tear.
The JFL teams got to use a recreation field near the stadium and then an area by the Lutheran church.
Next Chuck White allowed the program to use some of his land on Garfield Avenue while that land was vacant.
The promise from the start stipulated that before long houses would be built on the football fields and players would have to find a new home for a program that has gone from one team to split seventh- and eighth-grade teams then expanded to sixth grade and now also has a fifth-grade team. This year the four grades total 117 players and 16 cheerleaders.
Now when home dates include four games, the high school field cannot handle the wear and tear on the grass for the JFL, which eventually found an area north of town for its own home.
“The township bought the land for us and Robin Hood (Excavating) has done countless hours of work for us,” Payne said.
Still, work remains to make the new field playable for this season with hopes of eventually turning this into a model facility like the one neighboring Mattoon has for its junior football program.
This is where you read Payne’s plea.
“If just the guys I coached and guys I coached with would come, that would be enough manpower,” he said.
Work days are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. both Aug. 17 and 24. Obviously, volunteers can decide how long they would stay or when they would show to help.
Those with questions or who would like to let organizers know help is coming can call JFL President David Runyon at 549-3840.
Those wondering if they should bother can just check with Payne, who can relate reasons he has continued to coach long after his son went through the program.
“There are times you start wondering ‘why am I here?’ ” he said. “Then when you get with the kids, you realize why.”
Brian Nielsen is sports editor of the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Contact him at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
