|
|
The Region #10 junior varsity gridiron squad will build on the tri-op football team already in place with St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol and E.C. Goodwin Tech in New Britain.
It will include at least players from the Spartan classes of 2011 and 2012 but will also be open to Region #10 student-athletes who choose to play football at Mills as well as newcomers to the sport, Mills athletic director Dave Tanner said.
Tanner said the move was made in part because of doubts and delays last season of approval by the CIAC for the tri-op program. If the CIAC had not approved the arrangement before the 2006 season the Mills football players would have had nowhere to go, Tanner said. There were 21 Mills players in the tri-op this season, reportedly the largest personnel chunk of any individual school on the team.
The J.V. team was created after a survey gauging interest scored well among the high school's students.
"Right now it just looked like a good time to go forward with it," Tanner said.
Youth football programs also are growing, the A.D. said.
Tanner said $180,000 had already been raised by the Lewis Mills Football Boosters to go ahead with the plan.
Tanner added as of now the J.V. and varsity players currently with the tri-op can stay until they complete their senior seasons. Tri-op head coach Jude Kelly and Tanner spoke about a month ago. At the time Tanner indicated Kelly did not express concern about the move.
The long-term goal of the J.V. idea is to form a varsity football program at Mills, Tanner said.
A posting for the football head coaching job at Mills is already online at www.gomills.us with a link "coaching vacancies" and boys' head football coach detailing the particulars.
Tanner said the J.V. program's sample budget information, coaching application, presentation to the Region #10 Board of Ed. and overview is included on the "gomills" Web site.
