COURTESY PHOTO
Last year’s Lynn Parks and Recreation and Stop the Violence flag football tournament was a success, according to Fred Hogan and Rob Smith.
By HAROLD RIVERA
If you’re a parent looking to get your kids out of the house and on their feet this summer, Lynn Parks and Recreation is organizing plenty of events that’ll catch your interest. One of those events is the Lynn Parks and Recreation and Stop the Violence Flag Football Tournament, which will kick off next Saturday at Manning Field.
The first edition of the annual event ran last year. Fred Hogan and Rob Smith, two of the many who worked to organize the tournament, agreed that last year’s edition was a success.
“It went very well,” Hogan, a committee member of Stop the Violence, said. “We had a strong turnout. We had eight middle school teams and four high school and four grammar school teams. So it was a great turnout.”
Smith, also a Stop the Violence committee member, added that he’s hoping for a strong turnout this year.
“It went excellent, it was a great turnout,” Smith said. “We’re looking forward to a similar turnout this time around and maybe even a better turnout. We hope that we get even more kids this year. We filled our quota last year and it was excellent.”
The overall goal of the tournament is to provide Lynn’s youth with an opportunity to get out of the house and stay active. Other events like the upcoming kickball and three-on-three basketball tournaments, and the Lynn Parks and Recreation summer basketball league, aim to achieve the same feat.
“It’s another free event that will get the kids at a football field for a whole day,” Hogan said. “It’s a day-long event that keeps the kids busy. Usually the kids stick around to watch all the games.”
With Stop the Violence at the center of the event’s running, there’s also a positive message being sent to those who participate in these events.
“We’re trying to drive the message home,” Hogan said. “You see the t-shirts everywhere now. Whether it’s a basketball game or a kid just walking around, you see those Stop the Violence t-shirts. It’s a grassroots effort but we’re driving the message home.”
Smith added a similar sentiment.
“We want to get the kids out of the house and away from the negatives, like social media,” Smith said. “A lot of negative things can come from social media. If we can occupy these kids for a few hours a day, it helps them realize that there are positive things out there they can do.”
This year’s tournament will follow the same format that it did last summer. A total of 16 teams will participate through the three divisions in eight middle school teams, four grammar school teams and four high school teams. Each team will consist of ten players and two of those must be females.
“We’re tying to make it a co-ed event by getting the girls involved,” Hogan said.
Two games will take place at a time, starting at opposite 40-yard lines and moving towards the end-zones. Each game will be seven-on-seven, meaning teams will have three substitutes. Each player will receive a t-shirt and water will also be provided.
“Kids that don’t know each other get to make friends,” Smith said. “Kids on one team will get to meet kids on another team and they talk to kids they might not have talked to.”
The coaches and referees for next Saturday’s tournament, Smith added, are all volunteers.
“There are a lot of former football players volunteering to referee,” Smith said. “My son played on the 2008 Lynn Classical football team and 80 percent of those guys come down to volunteer. Whatever we need, they’re always 100 percent willing to help us with.”
“One thing about doing these events is that people come up to us and ask us if we need anything,” Hogan added. “There are a lot of organizations in the city doing positive things.”
The tournament starts at 8 a.m. and runs through the afternoon. The grammar and high school teams are filled but there are still slots available for teams in the middle school division. Registration for the available middle school slots will take place next Tuesday at Breed and Wednesday at English, while the summer basketball league games are being played. Registration will also be done on the morning of the tournament. There’s no cost to attend or play in the tournament.
“I just hope that a good crowd comes out and supports these kids,” Smith said. “It’s a great time.”
