Everyone’s a winner at PYO Football awards

On December 11, several hundred spectators gathered in the St.Rosalia – Regina Pacis gym at 65th Street between 12th and 13thAvenue for Parkville Youth Organization’s annual Full TackleFootball Awards Luncheon to watch all 190 players in the youthfootball program — open to children ages four to 13 – receiveparticipation awards to celebrate their achievements.

According to Parkville’s Executive Director of Public RelationsRobert Cavaliere, this type of democratic display is what theprogram is all about.

That’s the Parkville way, Cavaliere said. In our footballprogram there are no stats taken. There’s no first place team.There are no records. Everyone gets a participation trophy.

Cavaliere noted that, to keep things relatively equal,Parkville’s coaches do their best to spread out the most talentedplayers among the teams after assigning them a number based ontheir ability in training camp. And if a team goes up by 12 pointsor more, it is forced to take its quarterback out of the game.

Yes, there’s always competition, but we don’t want a blowout,Cavaliere explained. That’s not good for the losers and it’s notgood for the winners.

And although some players at the December 11 ceremony did getsingled out for honors like the Coach’s Award, the Iron Man Awardor the MVP, the main goal for Cavaliere was that all players feltincluded, a goal he feels proud that Parkville accomplished.

Everyone got their recognition, he said.