Laramie Youth Football has one eye on the season, other eye on the future

Aug. 13—LARAMIE — They arrived one-by-one during a hot late afternoon under a bright, cloudless sky near the corner of N. 15th St. and E. Reynolds St. — entering a field synonymous with a rich football tradition.

The youthful gathering quickly grew Wednesday on the north end zone of the old Deti Stadium. They were sporting white helmets and full pads under the group's kaleidoscope of colorful jerseys. Most of the tops had team sponsorship names on the back and a few jerseys left no doubt about their NFL loyalties.

It was a full practice for the entire Laramie Youth Football organization, a longtime all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to "supporting, encouraging and enabling youth to benefit from participating in football in a safe and structured environment," states the mission on the LYF website, laramieyouthfootball.org.

The proud football organization can be considered in the midst of a revival this season by building on its past, and changing a culture for the future.

It's a Laramie football culture that has a clearer direction from the bottom up and top down from fourth grade to seniors in high school.

After the players from 4-6 grades ran about 100 yards and back, and participated together for pre-practice stretching, they separated into groups: clocking speed for 20 and 40 yards, tackling drills, rushing drills and edge-rushing drills. Welcomed water breaks were between the players rotating among the separate groups spotted throughout the whole field — each drill under the direction of a couple of coaches.

"I thoroughly enjoy football and love teaching all kids — and not just the best athletes on the field," said Danny Punches, who coaches 5-6 grade players. "It's teaching them a skill, determination, accountability and responsibility they might not get somewhere else. Being a part of that just seems to grow this community as a whole.

"Seeing the kids after you coach them in the community and to see how they succeed, you can't put a value on that."

Punches played at Rock Springs High as a cornerback, tight end and outside linebacker. He was recruited and played wide receiver for a year at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. He has been a LYF coach for six years and became a member of the board of directors this season.

Another board member this season is Tony Shingleton, who joins Punches coaching 5-6 graders. He brings a wealth of youth football coaching experience.

Shingleton played on the offensive line at Laramie High, and was a part of the 1984 Plainsmen state championship team that went 9-1 that season. He has coached youth football for 14 years, starting in Palisade, Colorado, just east of Grand Junction. He also was a board member for the Mesa County Junior Football Association for six years prior to moving back to Laramie. Upon his arrival in the Gem City he became a part of the Laramie Youth Football organization.

"I got involved in coaching when my kids were young and started playing football," Shingleton said. "I enjoy passing on the traditions of the game — not only X's and O's, but life skills along with it. When I moved here, I really missed coaching and after about four years I got back into it."

For the past several years, Laramie Youth Football had two board members, Heather Jacobson and Adam Lindstrom. The board has grown to 10 members this season.

"Heather and Adam did an outstanding job with it being just the two of them," Shingleton said.

The organization also has about a dozen coaches for two fourth grade teams and four teams for combined 5-6 graders. Practices began Aug. 1 and skill assessments were Aug. 2-4. Teams will be selected before Monday with team practices starting next week. Practices run four times a week. The regular season of one game per week begins the week of Sept. 5 and goes through the week of Oct. 1, which will be championship weekend.

It's also the first season the youth players will be participating in community service projects. The popular Snowy Range Showdown that started more than 10 years ago will feature 4-6 grade All-Star teams from around the region. It is set for Oct. 30 at University of Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium.

Middle school connection

Shingleton also is an assistant coach for the eighth-grade team with head coach Jared Krysl coaching the Scouts. Sean Baker coaches the seventh-grade team.

"Last year, I invited the eighth and seventh graders to come and watch the 5-6 grade games," Shingleton said. "The sixth-grade players knew they had the upperclassmen's support. It was because they will all be in high school together anyway. The eighth graders even helped run the chains and down markers."

Punches added: "The eighth graders would go straight from their practices or games and come support our program."

Punches also said all the coaches talk, share stories and have the "camaraderie of a football community as everyone is involved with them asking questions about our kids and us asking about their kids.

"The only way to make a football program successful all the way through is to have everybody involved at every step," Punches continued. "One of the things I like to brag about for Laramie Youth Football is that we purchased a two-man sled and a five-man blocking chute for the Laramie Middle School this year. That will not only help those players right now, but for future generations of players because the equipment they had was antiquated."

Dropping off

Shingleton played for legendary Laramie High coach John Deti Jr., who followed his equally legendary father, John Deti Sr.

Deti Jr. led the Plainsmen to a 157-79 record from 1977-2002, won two state championships in 1984 and 1994, was runner-up in the championship game five times and won 11 conference championships.

Since 2003, Plainsmen football has had seven head coaches for a combined 39-139 record without reaching .500 in those 19 years. LHS football was winless twice, won one game six times and two games three times. It's also no secret many of the losses were blowouts.

One of the major reasons for the nearly two decades of lackluster results at the high school level was the absence of football continuity in the community. Second-year Plainsmen head coach Paul Ronga recognized the disparity immediately.

"One of my initiatives when I got here was to tackle that and to get our program, our school and our community centered around Laramie High football — to be more in line with them and to embrace them as one huge community and program," Ronga said.

"We went to the middle school for meetings for 3-8 graders. We had slide and video presentations with parents, coaches, students interested in playing and students already playing. High school football players also were there speaking about what they do and to motivate them to continue playing and staying with football as they progress. We brought to them what we do at the high school — offense, defense, special teams and practicing. They can get that under their belts now so it makes the transitions that much easier."

Ronga also had coaching clinics for all levels so "everyone can be more on the same page as a uniformed script to be carried from each grade level and for each team on the way up to 12th grade," he said.

Punches added: "There about 40-50% of kids who play 4-8 grade football, and do not play football by the time they are freshman in high school."

Shingleton also said: "There's a huge drop off once kids go from middle school into high school. A lot of them don't play football at the high school level. What coach Ronga is trying to build as far as the overall Laramie community of football and what we are trying to do from the youth level and up; if we can get it to all meet in the middle, then we can get it on track to where the culture changes for the better.

"Then we can bring the tradition of Laramie football back to where it was."

David Watson is the WyoSports assistant editor. He can be reached at dwatson@wyosports.net or 307-755-3327. Follow him on Twitter at @dwatsonsports.