As students across Horry County prepare to head back to school, they are also gearing up for football season. But, some young players in the county have had to find new ways to play this season.
On Tuesday, the South Strand Recreation center sent out an email to parents letting them know that football would be canceled due to a lack of participation, with only 65 players signed up for different age groups.
Recreation director, Joe Razzano says they’ve seen a decline for youth football participation over the last five years.
- 2013: 340 signed players signed up
- 2017: 130 players signed up
- 2018: 65 players signed up
“Not really sure why, it could be multiple reasons, safety, CTE, concussions, things like that. People just aren’t showing up.” said Razzano.
One grandfather says he was frustrated to have to find last minute arrangements for his grandson, who’s played with the league the past couple years.
“It was a real scramble in my house because a lot of programs have already closed their registration,
but luckily we were able to get on with Carolina Forest Rec.” said Daniel Dockins.
Razzano says this is the first year the rec center has offered soccer as an option, and once some parents got the news about the canceled league, their child decided to switch.
“About 80% of the cheerleaders that did sign up for cheerleading, we only had about 20 girls, just hey let’s stay active, so that kind of worked out.” Razzano said.
Parents can either get a full refund, credit on their account at the recreation, or sign their children up for volleyball or soccer.
