Halfway through the first season of the reality TV show “Friday Night Tykes,” the suspension of two head coaches validate the concerns for the safety and well being of young football players in Texas.
The documentary series on Esquire Network feature five competitive football teams responsible for coaching eight and nine-year-old players in the San Antonio area.
The coaches were suspended for bad conduct, which included promoting dangerous play and bad behavior, the Texas Youth Football Association (TYFA) announced on Jan. 31.
Head coach of the Junior Broncos, Charles Chavarria, was suspended for the 2014 season. Chavarria urged players to injure other players with aggressive helmet-to-helmet hits. The head coach of the Northeast Colts, Marecus Goodloe, was suspended for six games for instigating profanity.
The show has generated such strong reactions to the football cutlure that the NFL released the statement that “Friday Night Tykes” is not associated with the organization’s Heads Up Football Program, which is dedicated to improving the safety of players in youth football.
Despite the abundance of negative responses from critics, TYFA has been glorified for teaching children how to be tough on and off the field.
“We want a competitive league,” TYFA president Brian Morgan said. “It seems competition has become a bad word. The parents are looking for a league that is competitive and pushes their kids.”
Parents continue to enroll their children in the aggressive league, making it the largest youth football program in Texas, Morgan said.
“We were done with everybody gets a trophy, everybody wins,” Lisa Connell, mother of a Junior Bronco, said. “We wanted him to understand the value of working hard and the reward that comes with that.”
According to Joe Flint at The Los Angeles Times, an Esquire Network spokeswoman released the statement:
The show provides “an authentic and provocative glimpse into an independent youth football league in Texas. We believe ‘Friday Night Tykes’ brings up important and serious questions about parenting and safety in youth sports, and we encourage Americans to watch, debate and discuss these issues.”
With five episodes left in the series, there is plenty of time for more critical issues to surface and fuel the heated debate. There is also the potential for a second season if the discussion between the league and producers goes well.
