Football: Dave Wright starts his second year at Rosemary Clarke

Dave Wright will be returning for his second year as the head Rosemary Clarke Middle School football coach.

This will be his sixth year coaching youth football. He has three years of Pop Warner and three years coaching middle school football.

“This is my third year coaching here and the participation is going up,” Wright said.

Middle school football had nearly 100 players last season and the numbers for this year should be close to that.

The numbers have not been following the national norm, for the country has seen a decline in youth football due to the concussion scare.

“I think the price is right for middle school football,” he said. “We only charge $50 and that’s a deal.”

He also added that football in middle school and high school has made changes to the way they have been tackling, using the “Heads Up Tackling” method.

“All the coaches are certified in this tackling method, which is sponsored by USA Football and is a rugby-style tackling method, which takes the neck and head out of the tackle. This will lower concussions.”

Wright says football has made some positive changes toward lowering the concussion rates for youth.

“If parents are that concerned about concussions in football, they have to take a hard look at other sports too,” Wright said. “Football is not the only sport with concussions.”

Wright will be following in the high school footsteps and going back to the “jet sweep”, which means the team will be running the ball this year.

He said it doesn’t make sense for the middle school to do something different than the high school.

“We need to have the same terminology,” the coach said. “We are trying to call the positions and the formations the same as the high school. Joe (Clayton) was heading in the right direction and it’s good to have him back.”

The coach wants to improve the amount of kids getting to play at the middle school level.

This means the coach tries to listen to his players and then tells them what they need to do to play that position.

“The season has not started and I will guarantee you that some teams already have a starting lineup,” he said. “That’s not the way I do things. I want to give kids a chance to play and so I don’t keyhole them in a position. I am all for giving them an opportunity.”

He said the “A” team is for players with experience and this team travels. The “B” team is mainly for giving the kids the playing experience they need so they can make it to the “A”team. He is working out a new system of play for the “B” team but he needs to finalize this with the school.

Wright said he hopes to make some changes in the teams that the Sharks have been playing too and he also needs to finalize this with the school.

“I hope to talk to the new athletic director soon and when the details come out, we will let people know,” he said.

He said he feels his team needs to play teams that are more on the same level as his team.

The Sharks have not done well with the club football league. They have been last place for a couple of years.

He said basically the problem has been finding middle school teams to play. Not many middle schools in Las Vegas have them because of the expense.

The middle school is conditioning for football at Petrack Park Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9-11 a.m. near the pool.

“We do some conditioning and then play some touch football, so it’s not all work,” the coach said.

Wright said all players wanting to play need to have their physicals done. On July 30, Affiliated Chiropractic is conducting physicals from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at their office located at 2250 S. Postal Road, Suite 4. It’s $20 for high school and middle school kids and $10 for Pop Warner kids. It’s cash only and Dr. Taylor is giving away sports bags, water bottles and ice packs while supplies last. All proceeds go back to the schools. Signups for football are on the Rosemary Clarke website under forms:

http://bit.ly/2a63cHl

All athletes must register on the Rosemary Clarke Middle school site under “Register My Athlete” http://registermyathlete.com/schools/

Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com.