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Seven youth programs at inaugural Elk Grove jamboree
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| Photo by Keri Wood - The Pleasant Grove Jr. Eagles will be one of seven Elk Grove-area youth football organizations participating in the Elk Grove Jamboree on Saturday at Monterey Trail High School. |
By Jon Gudel - Sports Editor
The unofficial start to the 2011 youth football season begins Saturday with the first-ever Elk Grove Youth Jamboree.
Seven Elk Grove-area youth football organizations will play in a scrimmage-style format at Monterey Trail High School. The jamboree begins with opening ceremonies at 9:45 a.m., followed by games at 10.
All divisions – Mighty Mites, Jr. Peewees, Peewees, Jr. Midgets and Midgets – will be represented.
Teams participating include the Elk Grove Jr. Thundering Herd, Franklin Jr. Wildcats, Laguna Creek Jr. Cardinals, Monterey Trail Jr. Mustangs, Pleasant Grove Jr. Eagles, Sheldon Jr. Huskies and Valley Jr. Vikings.
It will be the first time all Elk Grove programs, excluding the Cosumnes Oaks Jr. Wolfpack, will participate in the same preseason jamboree.
Discounted tickets ($7 adults, $5 children 12-and-under) can be purchased from participating youth organizations.
Tickets at the stadium are $10 for adults and $6 for children.
“It’s going to be a big deal,” said Elk Grove Jr. Thundering Herd president Patrick Brown. “It’s going to be the first time where the majority of the youth programs are at one place.”
Brown said Cosumnes Oaks wanted to play in the jamboree and participated in the planning of the event, but had a scheduling conflict with their own league jamboree that same day.
Cosumnes Oaks is the only Elk Grove-area program in the Sierra Football and Cheer League.
Five of the seven jamboree teams – Elk Grove, Franklin, Laguna Creek, Sheldon and Valley – are members of the Northern California Sports Alliance.
The other two – Monterey Trail and Pleasant Grove – are aligned in Sacramento Youth Football.
The SYF is a three-division, 22-team league.
Division I consists of Pleasant Grove, Rosemont, Rio Linda, Davis, River City, Vista del Lago and Casa Roble. Division II includes Colfax, Monterey Trail, Foothill, Highlands, Union Mine, El Dorado and Cordova, and Division III includes Center, Mesa Verde, Jesuit, Golden Sierra, Rio Americano, Pioneer, McClatchy and Davis (White).
Divisions I and II will have two non-league crossover games Sept. 3 and 10. Division III will play one non-league game on Sept. 3 and start league play Sept. 10.
The top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.
The NCSA is a nine-team league, with five of those from the Elk Grove area.
Other NCSA teams include: San Joaquin Jr. Rams, Lodi Jr. Flames, Inderkum Jr. Tigers and Foothill Jr. Mustangs.
The NCSA will also conduct three separate three-team jamborees next weekend in Elk Grove (Laguna Creek, Valley, Elk Grove), Stockton (Lodi, Franklin, San Joaquin) and Foothill (Sheldon, Inderkum, Foothill).
The NCSA regular season begins Aug. 27.
All games are played on Saturdays, except for the Elk Grove-Foothill games on Sunday, Sept. 24. Games begin at 8 a.m.
“Everyone sees the opportunity to play locally,” said Brown, explaining the concept behind an all-Elk Grove jamboree. “We won’t have to drive to places like Rio Linda when we have so many teams here in Elk Grove.”
Brown said the plan came together “relatively easy.”
Two scrimmages will be played simultaneously on each half of the stadium in 10-minute sessions. All five divisions, although Pleasant Grove and Monterey Trail do not have Mighty Mites and instead will have their respective Jr. Peewee teams play opposing Mighty Mites, are scheduled to participate, with each division scheduled for scrimmages of about 90 minutes.
Financially, the jamboree could be a huge boost for all seven organizations. Brown estimates that each organization could raise between $4-6,000.
All tickets sold through organizations prior to the day of the jamboree stays with that respective organization. All gate tickets and snack bar profits will be split accordingly amongst the seven organizations.
The Lions Club donated tri-tip and sandwich rolls to be sold at the snack bar.
Bell Brothers, an Elk Grove-based heating and air conditioning company, donated $5,000, almost half of the jamboree’s start-up costs.
“That right there is a big deal,” said Brown of Bell Brothers’ donation. “They are the primary sponsor. We want this to be an annual event and without donations like that it wouldn’t be possible. Bell Brothers understands the importance of high school and youth athletics in Elk Grove.”
Most of the funds raised from each organization will be used to replace equipment, Brown said.
Seven Elk Grove-area youth football organizations will play in a scrimmage-style format at Monterey Trail High School. The jamboree begins with opening ceremonies at 9:45 a.m., followed by games at 10.
All divisions – Mighty Mites, Jr. Peewees, Peewees, Jr. Midgets and Midgets – will be represented.
Teams participating include the Elk Grove Jr. Thundering Herd, Franklin Jr. Wildcats, Laguna Creek Jr. Cardinals, Monterey Trail Jr. Mustangs, Pleasant Grove Jr. Eagles, Sheldon Jr. Huskies and Valley Jr. Vikings.
It will be the first time all Elk Grove programs, excluding the Cosumnes Oaks Jr. Wolfpack, will participate in the same preseason jamboree.
Discounted tickets ($7 adults, $5 children 12-and-under) can be purchased from participating youth organizations.
Tickets at the stadium are $10 for adults and $6 for children.
“It’s going to be a big deal,” said Elk Grove Jr. Thundering Herd president Patrick Brown. “It’s going to be the first time where the majority of the youth programs are at one place.”
Brown said Cosumnes Oaks wanted to play in the jamboree and participated in the planning of the event, but had a scheduling conflict with their own league jamboree that same day.
Cosumnes Oaks is the only Elk Grove-area program in the Sierra Football and Cheer League.
Five of the seven jamboree teams – Elk Grove, Franklin, Laguna Creek, Sheldon and Valley – are members of the Northern California Sports Alliance.
The other two – Monterey Trail and Pleasant Grove – are aligned in Sacramento Youth Football.
The SYF is a three-division, 22-team league.
Division I consists of Pleasant Grove, Rosemont, Rio Linda, Davis, River City, Vista del Lago and Casa Roble. Division II includes Colfax, Monterey Trail, Foothill, Highlands, Union Mine, El Dorado and Cordova, and Division III includes Center, Mesa Verde, Jesuit, Golden Sierra, Rio Americano, Pioneer, McClatchy and Davis (White).
Divisions I and II will have two non-league crossover games Sept. 3 and 10. Division III will play one non-league game on Sept. 3 and start league play Sept. 10.
The top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.
The NCSA is a nine-team league, with five of those from the Elk Grove area.
Other NCSA teams include: San Joaquin Jr. Rams, Lodi Jr. Flames, Inderkum Jr. Tigers and Foothill Jr. Mustangs.
The NCSA will also conduct three separate three-team jamborees next weekend in Elk Grove (Laguna Creek, Valley, Elk Grove), Stockton (Lodi, Franklin, San Joaquin) and Foothill (Sheldon, Inderkum, Foothill).
The NCSA regular season begins Aug. 27.
All games are played on Saturdays, except for the Elk Grove-Foothill games on Sunday, Sept. 24. Games begin at 8 a.m.
“Everyone sees the opportunity to play locally,” said Brown, explaining the concept behind an all-Elk Grove jamboree. “We won’t have to drive to places like Rio Linda when we have so many teams here in Elk Grove.”
Brown said the plan came together “relatively easy.”
Two scrimmages will be played simultaneously on each half of the stadium in 10-minute sessions. All five divisions, although Pleasant Grove and Monterey Trail do not have Mighty Mites and instead will have their respective Jr. Peewee teams play opposing Mighty Mites, are scheduled to participate, with each division scheduled for scrimmages of about 90 minutes.
Financially, the jamboree could be a huge boost for all seven organizations. Brown estimates that each organization could raise between $4-6,000.
All tickets sold through organizations prior to the day of the jamboree stays with that respective organization. All gate tickets and snack bar profits will be split accordingly amongst the seven organizations.
The Lions Club donated tri-tip and sandwich rolls to be sold at the snack bar.
Bell Brothers, an Elk Grove-based heating and air conditioning company, donated $5,000, almost half of the jamboree’s start-up costs.
“That right there is a big deal,” said Brown of Bell Brothers’ donation. “They are the primary sponsor. We want this to be an annual event and without donations like that it wouldn’t be possible. Bell Brothers understands the importance of high school and youth athletics in Elk Grove.”
Most of the funds raised from each organization will be used to replace equipment, Brown said.
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of egcitizen.com.
Citizen does it again wrote on Aug 12, 2011 10:21 AM:
" Do you think that maybe you could have spoken to some of the other organizations involved in this jamboree? As you noted, there are other schools involved. How about talking with Sheldon or Laguna?
Sorry to let you in on the sad news Citizen, Elk Grove is no longer a city of 5,000 white people. It is now a wonderfully diverse city of 150K. Get with the times and be a real paper. "
Sorry to let you in on the sad news Citizen, Elk Grove is no longer a city of 5,000 white people. It is now a wonderfully diverse city of 150K. Get with the times and be a real paper. "
LC Jr. Cardinals wrote on Aug 12, 2011 1:34 PM:
" @Citizen does it again...You sound ignorant. This story has nothing to do with race. Patrick Brown is the person overseeing the event and that's probably why they talked to him. The entire story is about all seven programs. Quit complaining and be happy that somebody is even covering youth football. "
Football Fan wrote on Aug 12, 2011 3:31 PM:
" CO could have been in the same league as Franklin and Elk Grove, but they thought they were too good. "
Pack Fan wrote on Aug 12, 2011 5:07 PM:
" You have to cut CO some slack. Their Varsity team plays in a Division 4 league so it might be better for their Jr. Program to play some of the smaller schools in the foothills. Might as well train them for the future is the way I see it. "
Parent wrote on Aug 13, 2011 11:46 AM:
" CO JR Pack actually plays in a tougher league than the others with the likes of Rocklin, Folsom, Del Oro, etc. And the high school will be on the D-2/D-3 cutoff (enrollment based) which everyone knows is better the D-1, with the exception of PG "
Sure wrote on Aug 13, 2011 4:09 PM:
" Yea, we all believe your logic Parent.
Guess the CO folk are just too good for the rest of the Elk Grove community. "
Guess the CO folk are just too good for the rest of the Elk Grove community. "
Parent wrote on Aug 13, 2011 7:57 PM:
" No, not at all. Just saying that they play in a tough league as well. "
Kudos wrote on Aug 13, 2011 9:36 PM:
" What a great day of youth football! I had a blast watching all of the different programs compete today at the Jamboree. I even saw many of our local high school coaches wandering around showing their support. I really hope this might be the first step towards an Elk Grove Jr League. "
Kudos to Kudos wrote on Aug 14, 2011 9:33 AM:
" You are 100% correct, "kudos." It was great event. I was there for an hour in the morning and then two in the afternoon. All I saw was a packed house full of enthusiastic players, coaches, and families. What a great thing for our community. Let's all hope that you are right about a new All-Elk Grove league, which will also include CO. "
True wrote on Aug 12, 2011 10:04 AM: