The Bristol Borough Wildcats youth football program disappeared for seemingly no reason about 30 years ago, but it is entering its fourth year of resurrection and adding fourth and fifth teams to the program.
Chris Chapman, the president of the youth sports group, played in the old Wildcats program, some 30 years ago, before going on to coach and run other youth football programs in the area. He ran a program in Bristol Township, where he coached a national championship team to victory. After the victory, he wanted to return home to build a program in his home town.
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The program started with a single football team. Now, there will be five football teams, basketball teams and cheerleading.
Chapman said he ran into some trouble with Bristol Borough Council, but when he brought the program to the school board, the district was more than accommodating. They offered up the field behind the high school for use, the ability to play night games, the gym and more.
“They basically gave us the whole shebang,” Chapman said.
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Although the program has been growing gradually, it has been growing unmistakably.
“The more we work to get the word out, the more boys and girls are coming to us,” Chapman explained.
The sports offered in the youth program are co-ed as well. Last season, two girls played football with the Wildcats.
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“The only push back we got was from boys on the team saying ‘Uh, how do we tackle her,’” Chapman laughed.
The service to the kids only begins with the football, basketball and cheerleading programs. Throughout the Summer, the program puts on a free training camp for kids, whether they play in the program or not.
“I just have a soft spot for these kids,” Chapman went on.
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The program goes a long way towards helping kids who need to be pushed in a better direction, as well, as opposed to just providing a football outlet.
“It’s more than just winning and losing at football,” Chapman said. “It’s our duty as adults to reach out to kids who might need us and who others might not.”
If kids are receiving failing grades in school, they aren’t allowed to play the game. Even though grades aren’t usually a problem for the kids in the program, the few times grades have dropped, the kids knuckled down and got them back up very quickly.
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Although there is more to the program than strictly competition, competition is still pretty big for the program.
The teams compete in the North East Suburban Athletic Conference, which is in the United Youth Football League. The top two teams in the 19 team division get to play for a national championship in Tampa. Bristol Township is also in the division, and according to Chapman, is the programs biggest rival, although it is a friendly comradery rivalry.
As far as making the program run, Bristolians and people who were in the program as kids give back to make it possible.
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“We’re pretty much fundraising all year round to keep the program funded,” Chapman said.
If paying the registration fee is too much for some kids, they can work to raise funds to bring the cost down. Making football affordable is a main focus for Chapman.
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In terms of donating equipment or otherwise getting involved with the Wildcats, it is easy to get in touch with the group.
The Bristol residents who make the program possible in total are Val Spanellis, Shawna Bell, Dawn Trappasse, Mike Childs, Rufus Davis, Joe Graber, Rob Gonzalez, Sam Porterfield and Chapman.
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The season runs from September until about November. If you’re interested in what’s going on with the Wildcats football program, you can check out their workouts between noon and 2 p.m. on Sundays behind the high school on Wilson Avenue.
