Changes to area club FB programs

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay School District's new middle school football program for 7th and 8th graders is already squeezing out some area club teams.

The school board approved the new program last month.

"I had a fun time playing," explained 5th grader Eugene Winkel.

Winkel enjoyed his first season with the Eastside Bulldogs, but come next fall, he'll have to find a new team.

"It's sad to see it ending, because I had so much fun and I wanted to be with the same kids," Eugene said.

The Bulldogs as well as the Westside Wolverines recently announced they'll be ending their club football programs, to the disappointment of some parents.

"There's still going to be kids that are left behind," explained Eugene's father, Bob Winkel. "My biggest concern is the middle school program is 7th and 8th graders and so the 6th graders get left behind and I felt there's still opportunity there. We were looking forward to him playing with the same group of kids."

"I just didn't want to put the kids in the middle of the situation, and make them have to choose between the school and the organization," explained Bulldogs President Curtis Turner.

Turner says it was a tough decision.

"I just didn't want for it to come down to registration day and then all of a sudden I get a flood of children, players and parents saying they're going to go with the school and then leave our organization kind of stranded," Turner explained.

The Director of on-field operations for the Westside Wolverines, Jeff Earley, says he too is disappointed to have to end the program, but he says it was the right thing to do.

"It's something we believe the school system should be doing, and we couldn't really look at a kid and tell them you should play for us instead of the school team, when what they're trying to do is incorporate the high school philosophy down to the middle schools," explained Earley.

Despite the disappointment, Eugene says he'll find another team to play on until he reaches 7th grade.

That's when he can participate in the new Green Bay School District's middle school football program.

Both teams are part of the Great Lakes Independent Football Conference.

Conference officials tell FOX 11 it's no doubt a loss, but they say the league is still showing some strong numbers for next season, and will continue with the six remaining teams.