Fast growing Junior Wildcat Football program committed to safe environment, teaching life lessons; registration open

While baseball and lacrosse are in full swing for the youth of the Snoqualmie Valley, one group is already looking ahead and working on the 2019 Fall football season.

The Board members of the Sno-Valley Wildcats Junior Football and Cheerleading Association (www.WCJFA.org) have been hard at work to prepare for the 2019 season that kicks off in August.  The program serves the Snoqualmie Valley youth aged 7-14 years old.  Registration opened on March 1st and board member say demand has been huge.  They explained that football teams are filling up fast and expect numbers to surpass last season.  In fact, the Cheer squad is already filled and has a waiting list despite doubling the size of the squad from 40 to 80 for the upcoming season.

“We are really excited for the 2019 season,” stated WCJFA President Lou DeCola.  “Our program is committed to providing a safe environment for kids to learn the game of football while teaching them lessons they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.  We continue to expand our partnership with Mt Si High School to provide our coaches with cutting edge training to prepare the kids in the safest possible manner.  We are also continuing to utilize Seattle Children’s Hospital to have a professional trainer on the sidelines at all home game to assist the coaches.  On another note, I am very proud that we have, again, been able to expand our financial assistance program, because we do not want any child to miss out on our program.  If your child wants to play, they will play.”

The Junior Wildcats also partner with the High School Football program through its summertime football camps and coaching clinics. Junior Wildcats will also be participating in a Football Safety Summit later this Spring with the High School program.  Mt Si High School Head Coach, Charlie Kinnune, and his entire coaching staff act as advisors in many ways for the Board and the coaches.

Coach Kinnune commented, “We want to grow football in the Valley and the Junior Football program is a great place for kids to start. In my view, football has never been safer, and we want to keep improving our coaching techniques to keep football safe.  With our guidance, the Junior Wildcat coaches make sure that kids all start with safe fundamentals.”

Coach Kinnune is also hosting his annual football camps in July and registration for those camps are also open now.  Children aged 7-9 can attend football camp July 15-18 and children aged 10-13 can attend football camp July 22-25.  All equipment, besides cleats, are provided when registering for camp.

Those interested in either registering for the season or football camps can do so HERE.   Registration is open until June 30, 2019.

“The 2019 season presents a new opportunity to push farther than we have ever pushed with our program and the safety implements we use,” added Jeff Gregory, the Board’s Coach Rep.  “We have invested in several new tackling implements to be able to teach safe, rugby-style tackling and reduce the amount of live tacking we need to do in practices.”