Sparks fly over Latrobe area youth football programs at district board meeting

The Greater Latrobe Area Midget Football Association doesn’t have enough players to safely continue with its season, and despite pleas from association parents, Greater Latrobe School District leaders said they cannot allow late additions into the district’s youth football program.

Numerous association parents and coaches spoke during the district’s board meeting this week. They argued their children should be allowed to play or even just practice with the district team, which began practicing in early July and will play its first game Saturday.

“(Association) kids have been practicing just as the other kids have,” said Amy Bellan, a mother of three players. “They go to the same school. They deserve the chance to play.”

The deadline to register for the district program was June 1. Several association parents said they did not realize until this month that they did not have enough players to continue.

District Superintendent Mike Porembka said he approached association leaders in early February about merging the two programs, but GLAMFA declined. The district program was founded in 2017 to strengthen the district’s junior high and varsity programs.

When it was founded, the Unity Township Youth Football and Cheerleading Association merged with the district, but GLAMFA decided to remain independent. The association is a decades-old program that offers football and cheerleading opportunities for children ages 5 to 12.

Now, Porembka said, it would be unfair to district players if association players joined this year’s program a month and a half late. He said the district will welcome association players next year if they decide to join the district program.

“I’m sorry it happened, and I know kids get impacted, but I didn’t cause any of this,” Porembka said. “We as a district didn’t cause any of this.”

GLAMFA seventh graders could join the district’s seventh grade team as that season hasn’t started yet, Porembka added.

GLAMFA had 75 football players signed up to go into the season, but that dwindled to 57 players ages 5-12. There were 81 cheerleaders signed up going into the season, and 75 remain in the program, according to GLAMFA.

Tuesday’s meeting saw many passionate responses to the district’s decision, with some parents crying, yelling or cursing. Several association players attended wearing their uniforms.

“How can you sit there and tell these kids that they cannot play for the school team for something they have no control over?” asked Katya Welty, the mother of a player.

Parents also offered to cover any coaching, gear or equipment costs.

“We have kids that deserve to play no matter what, and we will do anything to make that easiest,” association board member and mother Amber Gross said. “(District leaders) just don’t want to do that for adult reasons, is what it comes down to.”

Gross, who joined the board this season, isn’t sure what will happen to GLAMFA next year but said the association still plans to hold bonding events this fall.

“We’re going to have to see where we move next,” she said.