WARSAW – Phil Jensen cares deeply about the game of football and the future of the sport that he loves dearly.

The Warsaw football coach also cares deeply about the safety and well-being of all of the student-athletes in his program.

Those are two of the driving forces that has prompted Jensen to implement the Warsaw Tigers/NFL Flag Football League this coming fall.

“I feel like the game of football nationally is under attack and I want us to be proactive,” said Jensen in a phone interview earlier today. “The numbers in football at both the high school and youth league levels are decreasing across the country and that’s a bad trend.

“What we are going to offer is an alternative for all players that is safe, fundamentally sound, fun, and that is more in line with what is currently happening in the great game of football. I think we need to be proactive with all the bad PR out there right now about the game before we lose a great game, the greatest game.”

The league, which is run in conjunction with the NFL, will be open to third through sixth graders and will meet for eight weeks each Saturday at the football practice fields at WCHS. All coaches in the league, which will include members of Jensen’s staff, along with his players and volunteers, will be be trained.

“My job as the football coach at WCHS is to develop the program kindergarten through 12,” Jensen said. “This will be a way that kids can learn the fundamentals. It’s a win-win for everyone. It’s also great for our players to be involved coaching. That’s just part of giving back which is a big part of our program.”

The eight-week league will meet on Saturdays only. It will begin in mid-August and conclude on Saturday, Oct. 3 so that players in the league can be recognized at the final Warsaw home football game on Oct. 9 versus NorthWood. The league will meet from 9-10:45 a.m. for fifth and sixth  graders and from 11:15 a.m. until 1 p.m. for third and fourth graders. There is a $25 registration fee per player, but scholarships will be provided based on need and no one will be turned away due to financial reasons.

The first week of the league will be a skills camp where players are trained and evaluated to be placed as equally as possible on teams.  The Week 2 will be skills camp and team practice with weeks three through eight skills and team practice, followed by a game of two 20-minute halves each week. The games will either be 5-on-5 or 7-on-7 depending on the number of players in the league.

“Everyone will get a chance to throw and catch the ball,” noted Jensen.

WCHS athletic director Dave Anson applauds the move by Jensen, which in large part was triggered by a drop in numbers in football due to the concussion issue in the sport that has received so much negative national attention in the last few years.

“Clearly concussions and collision-related injuries have become very much a concern in sports, not only for youth football but for players at all levels,” said Anson.  “As our health professionals learn more and more about the brain and the brain’s development, as well as the impact that contact sports with repetitive collisions may have on an athlete, I’m confident that this approach is a very progressive one that can have a very positive impact on our program and the sport in our area.  Not only does it reduce a player’s chances of becoming concussed playing the sport at a young age, this approach  may ultimately help develop better football players and a stronger program.”

“There is no question that parents of some of our better athletes in the corporation do not allow their children to play football because of the risk for injury.  If this risk can be reduced, I am optimistic that there is a greater likelihood that we will see some of these better athletes being allowed to play in this instructional program, thus become introduced to the sport at a younger age.  Also, since playing multiple sports is actually another method for reducing the likelihood of repetitive use injury in an athlete, this program can be promising for the growth and maturity of all athletes while benefitting the football program and all Tiger Athletics.”

“This was not an easy, flippant decision to move in this direction and offer this program because we understand the magnitude of the decision.  There was a lot of time, thought, and effort put into this by coach Jensen and his staff, and a lot still needs to be shared and planned with all levels of our programs from middle school to the varsity levels.  I commend coach Jensen for his foresight, planning, and courage to move in this direction.”

Jensen emphasizes that this is all about increasing numbers and making the sport safe for those who want to play it.

“We want to reach the kids in our community who are not playing football,” said Jensen. “This is not just Phil Jensen doing this. It’s something that is going on in a lot of other places too. We want to teach them the game in the correct manner.

“I just feel like we have to do something with the state of our game right now. The safety of our kids has always been our top priority. I think this league is a great solution to the PR problem that football faces right now.”