PHOENIX — Hundreds of families were left in the dark in the middle of their youth football league last fall, but the community came together to start a new league to keep kids in the game.
Katie Monsibias’ son Jamie Wilken was in for a world of hurt last fall after finding out his football team, AZ Sol, and its season, were up in the air.
“He's such a good, kind-hearted boy and I had to tell him that grown-ups disappointed him,” Monsibias said.
In October, families that were part of the National Youth Sports Tackle Football League in Arizona were left without answers after their games ended up not getting scheduled. The Valley organizer for NYS, James Vieth, told families at the time that he planned on filing for bankruptcy.
In those two weeks of trying to figure out what to do, football team leaders tried to schedule their own games to keep kids playing. From car washes to fundraisers, teams raised money to help pay for costs. Coaches and referees donated their time to help and school districts allowed teams to play on their fields.
Then, families found out Vieth passed away. His family says it was due to medical issues.
In trying to move forward and help kids continue playing, several team organization leaders stepped up and started putting together a plan.
“We just came back together and bootstrapped the league back together out of nothing,” said Diron Tappin.
Tappin partnered with JC and Nikki Lunt, Shannon Eastin, and other parents and team organizations across Arizona to start their own league called the Arizona Youth Football League.
“Transparency is the number one thing that's come out of all of this, and then that sense of community,” Tappin said.
Teams are starting to register kids for the spring season and looking forward to the fall. Adults and communities tried to tackle all the obstacles in hopes of scoring a touchdown for the kids.
“It’s a lot to take on but at the same time, it's a labor of love,” Tappin said.
“As long as we have an organization that wants to treat our boys right, let's go play football. That’s all we care about,” Monsibias said.
For more information on registration, teams, and the Arizona Youth Football League, click here.
