The Crofton Athletic Council’s football program continues to keep growing.
They began practice for the fall season a few weeks ago – despite the warm weather – with a program that continues to grow each season.
Football commissionier Mike Najarian said that they will have approximately 365 kids on the field this year, up from about 340 last season. In addition, they are going to have a total of about 18 teams overall.
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The regular season begins later this month.
“The bottom line is [that] a successful program and a successful year, to me, is having the kids come out and play,” Najarian said. “That’s what it’s about—the kids having a good time.”
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Najarian said they’re not trying to make all the kids be miniature Ravens or Redskins. Instead, they want them to enjoy the game and enjoy the sport while learning how to play it.
Hopefully, they’re learning something and having a good time and coming back,” Najarian said.
The practices began on July 18. That first week saw the players go without pads to simply get used to everything before putting the shoulder pads on the following week to make things tougher.
During the summer, teams can go up to five nights a week. They can run practices like that up until school starts. After that, they’ll cut back to three nights per week. Those practices will usually run from about 6-8 p.m.
Najarian said the opening weeks are about evaluating the players and seeing where they belong. After they check out players for the first two weeks or so, then they’ll put everyone together in the right spots.
They’ll be working at Cardinal Field in Crofton during the summer for practices. Games are going to be played at Crofton Park throughout the fall.
The teams will be in the following divisions-- 70, 80, 90 and 100 pounds. Then, it goes to 11-and-under (sixth grade), 12-and-under (seventh grade) and 13-and-under (eighth grade).
The 11-and-under team won the Anne Arundel County Division 2 championship last fall. Crofton, like most other teams in the area, will compete in the Anne Arundel County league throughout the fall, and can be eligible for state-wide tournaments after that.