LYNN ADAMS, SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
When Brittany Hogan thinks back to when she was in school at Gans, she recalls that there was youth league football.
But in the almost 20 years since her 2005 graduation, youth league sports disappeared.
“It’s just like it just disappeared one day. And that happens. People stop volunteering and stop putting in the work. And then the next thing you know, no one even knew that we ever had it,” she says.
And no one was pushing to resurrect the program.
“We’ve had people in the community saying, ‘I never even knew that there was a youth league in Gans,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, we used to have a great one’,” Hogan remembers. “By the time we got to high school, we’re going to state. It’s hard to teach kids when they don’t know the fundamentals. And whenever you’re playing against schools that do have that — that have had their kids playing football since second or third grade — and then your students haven’t started until seventh grade, it’s hard. They’re on two different levels.” Hogan now has 8-year-old twin boys, and she wants them to be prepared if they play sports when they reach junior high and high school, because elementary school-aged sports are not offered.
That’s why when Gans school resource officer Randy Taylor decided to do something about it, Hogan was all in.
“I heard that Randy was pushing for it and I was like, ‘Let me help any way I can’,” she says. “And I thank him a thousand times over, because I didn’t know how to get it up and going, and I was so thankful that he did.”
Taylor, who also helps with the high school football team, secured use of the high school football field, then reached out to some parents. From there, the idea snowballed.
And the community got in on the act.
“The coolest part about this whole thing is we were short some pads and helmets, and we were like three weeks away from our first game,” Hogan says of the league’s early challenges.
“So the whole community — I mean Sallisaw, Muldrow, Webbers Falls, Warner, even some schools from Arkansas — pitched in, gave us everything that they had. And then we were still short a few helmets, so then we did ‘Fill the Helmet’ near McDonald’s and raised the exact amount of what we needed to go get those four extra helmets.
“So it was just really nice. It was one of those things that whenever it was all said and done and all the stress was released … I was like, OK, that’s why we do it, and that’s why everybody does it. Because it’s for the kids. And it doesn’t matter what school it is,” Hogan says.
“Everybody thought that we would get overlooked because it’s Gans, and that’s not true. I feel like everyone looks at it like it’s kids, and they deserve to play sports, and we’re gonna make sure it happens. Because I believe that if kids are in sports, they’re more likely to stay out of trouble. Our kids deserve it. We deserved it, but our kids deserve it, too. This, hopefully, will give us a little head start for high school.
“So it’s very important. We’re drawing attention to the school. When I was in school at Gans, we had a great sports program, like it was phenomenal. We went to state and everything else. But now you don’t really hear a lot about Gans anymore. So I think this will get us back on the map. I’m so excited about it.
“We are so appreciative of all the support from the community. Randy said, ‘You said everybody would pull together, Brittany, and they did.’ I knew that they would. I knew if everyone focused on this being for the kids. That was the best part of it is watching everyone pull together. There were people contacting me, ‘How do I help? What do I need to do?’” Hogan says.
Strength in numbers
With apologies to the voice in the cornfield in “Field of Dreams,” Taylor and Hogan found that if they offered it, they would come.
The result in the first year back for first through sixth graders was 33 football players and 33 cheerleaders.
“That’s a big number,” Hogan exclaims.
“We actually have kids from other schools that are playing for us, too. We’ve got some from Sallisaw, we’ve got some from Muldrow. That’s really important. I wish that more people knew that you don’t have to play at the school district that you’re in. So if Sallisaw has 45 kids on the third and fourth grade team, it makes it hard for all of them to get to play. So if you’re wanting to get your kids more playing time, it’s sometimes better to go to a smaller school where there’s not big numbers.
“We were really shocked at how many people at Gans were not informed that we had this going on. We were really shocked at how many kids didn’t know about it. There were a lot of kids that wanted to play at Gans that didn’t get to this year. So we’re hoping by next year — because we’ve now got the word out — that they will be coming and playing for us,” Hogan says.
Youth league football offers play for three teams: first and second grade (flag football), third and fourth grade, and fifth and sixth grade. The teams play in the eight-man format, just like their high school counterparts.
The youth teams use the same football field as the high school team. And just like the high school games, the youth league games have an announcer and concession stands. Those attending the games see a younger version of what happens on Friday night with the high school team.
“We actually hire the referees that high school uses, so they’re not just some high school kid. We have legit refs. It’s just like the real deal,” Hogan says of the games that are played Saturday mornings.
But the youth league has something not even the high school has — a mascot on the sidelines.
“That’s something that we have as youth league that the high school doesn’t have,” she says, revealing that her son, Zainlan, is the mascot. “We raised enough money to get a mascot outfit, and he loves it so much because, he says, ‘No matter if we’re winning or losing, I make everyone smile. The mascot makes everyone smile.’ So we have a little grizzly bear. And let me tell you, our football players love that grizzly bear. Our cheerleaders love that grizzly bear. It gets the crowd pumped up. He goes around and waves at everybody, and takes pictures. That is one thing that I really feel like why we stand out is because we have that.”
She says the high school used to have a mascot on the sidelines, like so many things that are no longer.
“There’s a lot of things that we used to have at the school that we don’t have anymore, and we want to get it back up and going. This is kind of our foot forward on that. So I think it’s important.”
The teams celebrated homecoming last Saturday when they hosted Porum for their regular- season finale. But with the games being must-wins for the Grizzlies in order to make this week’s playoffs at Brushy, the local teams came up short, ending their season just short of post-season play. The two teams from each age division that advance in the playoffs — from the six-team league that also includes Brushy, Keota, Quinton and Webbers Falls — will play in the Super Bowl Oct. 28 at Porum. Hogan doesn’t recall Gans ever winning a Super Bowl, and must wait until next season for another chance at the post-season prize.
Reviving the youth league
Even before Taylor stepped up to take the lead in reviving the youth league, Hogan had made overtures to Regina Brannon, who was the school principal at the time before being named superintendent.
“I said, ‘Hey, these kids deserve what Muldrow has, they deserve what Sallisaw has. Let’s make it happen’.”
Brannon agreed, saying that she thought that the reason why Gans may be overlooked in sports was “because we’re not starting out at a younger age.”
“So this kinda got it up and going,” Hogan says. “You don’t start school football there until seventh grade, so this starts them out at first grade. Most of our kids, this is the first year that they had ever played football at all. For the most part, the ones that have played played one or two years. The other kids have never touched a football in their life.”
But the biggest boost came from the community.
“That’s the thing I love about this so much is how the community has stepped up to help us. I think there were some people that were worried that [the community] would be like, ‘We don’t want any part of this.’ But everybody’s like, ‘Hey, let’s get them some help. Let’s get them up and going.’
“There were so many local small businesses that did a sponsorship, that we wanted to give back to them. So when you go to our games, something that you will not see at the high school games is that we have banners up that are thank-you banners to the local businesses,” Hogan says. “I thought that was something that was really cool that they did for the sponsors. And that’s something that maybe the high school could do next year. They might look at that and say, ‘That’s a great fundraiser.’ We really had a great turnout on how many businesses and local families that wanted to support us.”
Taylor and Hogan are looking to the future of the league, with fundraising campaigns still continuing.
“We’re hoping to get some more jerseys next year, because I think we’re gonna have an even bigger turnout next year. We’ve had a lot of parents that have reached out and said that they’re wanting to get involved and bring their kids over. So we’re hoping to raise more money with the homecoming game for next year,” Hogan says.
While parents shoulder the brunt of the responsibilities for coaching and running the league, some upperclassmen and recent graduates have stepped forward as coaches for football and cheer.
“They’re young, and they’re staying involved in the school instead of just moving on. The high school girls, they come down and help with the cheerleading. I love that,” Hogan says.
Those wanting to sign up for next year can contact the school or visit the Gans Youth Football Facebook page. For cheerleading, visit Gans Youth League Cheer Facebook page.
The youth league board is comprised of Taylor as president; Hogan as vice president; Jodie Webster, secretary; Shelbi Sixkiller, treasurer; and board members, Cyndie Lane and Chris Plank.
Football coaches were:
• First and second grade — Dalton Forslund, Cameron Morris and Toby White
• Third and fourth grade — Quinlan Hogan, Joe Castillo and Mitch Turner
• Fifth and sixth grade — Randy Taylor and Chris Plank Cheer coaches were:
• First and second grade — Cyndie Lane and Mindy Plank
• Third and fourth grade — Chrystal Dority • Fifth and sixth grade — Jessica Wittman.
