GEROY SIMON TOUTS CFL FUTURES

Geroy Simon says he’s living proof of how football can positively impact youth.

The former B.C. Lions star receiver said the sport afforded him the opportunity to leave his native Johnstown, Pa., and not only have a shot at a pro career but become a role model.

Simon, now the Lions director of Canadian scouting, was on hand Thursday when the CFL and Football Canada unveiled CFL Futures, a new development program for youth between the ages of eight and 13.

“There are certain myths about football but when it comes down to it there are a lot more positives from playing the sport than negatives,” said Simon, a Football Canada board member. “I’m from a very rough place and if I didn’t have sport in general and football, I would’ve never had the opportunity to get out of there.

“You learn leadership, you learn teamwork, you learn accountability. All of those different characteristics of a sport, being on a team that helps you move forward in life.”

Football Futures will give young Canadians an opportunity to learn the basics of the game in a fun, inclusive environment. The program’s aim is to drive the growth of youth participation while deepening the game’s roots nationally.

“We’re trying to provide an entry point or development point for kids to be interactive in the sport that isn’t status-quo football,” said Aaron Geiseler, Football Canada’s director of sport. “Games, activities, fun, to be able to experience what football is like and then move forward into another avenue.

“To be able to start on a team, to be able to feel what it’s like to move into a more competitive phase.”

CFLFutures will consist of hour-long sessions for eight weeks to teach players to properly and safely play football in a non-contact environment.

Registration in tackle football is down nationally – reportedly as much as 30 per cent. But Geiseler said registration in other forms of the sport – like touch and flag – have helped offset the tackle figures.

“We’ve generally been a late-entry sport,” Geiseler said. “So we’re trying to find avenues with non-contact, with intro programs like CFL Futures and our Football Canada First Down program, Football Canada flag program, to get athletes into the sport.

“For us, the primary focus is how can we get young kids to come out, experience it in a way that’s low-barrier entry, low cost and the best way to get kids participating.”

However, Geiseler’s statement about football being a late-entry sport isn’t necessarily accurate as there are – or have been recently – various programs across Canada offering tackle football to players between the ages of six and eight.

There have been suggestions tackle football be eliminated at the younger groups due to injury concerns and replaced with non-contact programs. That’s prompted concerns that younger athletes will then participate in other sports and be so entrenched in those spots that they’ll choose not to play tackle football when they become eligible.

“One of the things we’re focused on and the whole sporting community is focused on, (is for) kids to play a variety of sports,” Geiseler said. “We want to make sure our sport is one of several that a kid is playing.

“If you look at the NCAA, NFL, CFL, most of those kids being drafted are multi-sport athletes and we need to encourage that.”

The concussion issue is one that continues to plague tackle football, but Geiseler said the sport isn’t alone.

“This is something sport in general has to deal with,” Geiseler said. “We’re doing everything we can to make our game as safe as possible, to be able to provide avenues that allow kids to learn the proper way at their development stage.”

(Canadian Press)