Football fans still have a few months until the season culminates in the Super Bowl, but for fans of youth football the wait is over. Hundreds of youth football players will meet in Santa Maria for the Central Coast Youth Football Super Bowl Saturday, Nov. 21, at Santa Maria High School.
The event is a special one, according to organizers, because Santa Maria Youth Football only gets a chance to host the game every six or seven years. The Central Coast Youth Football League includes youth football programs from Paso Robles to Lompoc, and each year a different city hosts the big game.
This year’s Super Bowl includes matchups between the Santa Maria Rebels and the Paso Bearcats in the bantam division; the Paso Aggies and the Five Cities Eagles in the junior division; the Orcutt Ducks and the Orcutt Panthers in the intermediate division; and the Five Cities Eagles and the Santa Maria Rebels in the senior division.
Santa Maria Youth Football President Lupe Meraz said he’s been involved in the program for six years as a board member and now as president. He said the program is proud to have two teams in the Super Bowl this year.
“It’s a big sense of accomplishment. Especially because we’re hosting this year,”
he said.
Even though it’s youth football, Meraz said it could be very competitive. With all the discussion surrounding injuries to youth football players, Meraz said Santa Maria Youth Football has been proactive in terms of training its players to prevent injury.
He said every year the coaches participate in educational sessions on teaching the players the proper tackling techniques and other measures that aid in injury prevention.
“There has been so much negative publicity about concussions—we are taking precautions, we make sure our coaches are properly trained,” he said.
He said the focus has made a difference, and the program’s injury rates have gone down significantly over the last few years. It’s one way that Santa Maria Youth Football is trying to clean up its image and recruit more players, Meraz said.
Reflecting on the current season, he said it’s been rewarding to see how much hard work the players devoted to the game and the joy they are experiencing in anticipation of the game.
“It’s an awesome feeling to see the smile on their faces and the determination,” Meraz said.
Santa Maria Youth Football Vice President Larry Vea said that making it to the Super Bowl is especially important this year to the senior division players because they are moving on to high school next year.
“They put in a lot of hard work to make it through the playoffs and they made it to the show,” Vea said.
That’s not to say it means any less to the younger bantam division. “It’s something that they’ll remember for their whole lives. Win or lose, they’ll remember this and that they played it at home,” Vea said.
Vea said the Santa Maria community has lent support in terms of sponsorship. The Elks lodge will provide barbecued tri-tip sandwiches for the team to sell. Vea said that kind of assistance is important because it frees up the Santa Maria Youth Football board members to help with the event.
Vea said he expects the game could attract up to 200 people. “The stands are going to be pretty well packed,” he said. He added that a lot of coaches who may not have teams playing in the Super Bowl like to come out and see how the other teams in the league fare. But the game is also important to a lot of youth football alumni.
The Santa Maria Youth Football program was established in 1972, Vea said, and so some players have multiple generations of family who’ve played. “We have coaches and parents who played Santa Maria Youth Football when they were young and now their kids are playing—and in some cases their grandkids too,” Vea said.
Vea said that organizers are already trying to make the event a memorable one for the youth in a lot of little ways, with trophies and celebrations for making it through the playoffs, but he said ultimately it would be memorable for all the players.
“It’s special and we want the community to come out and join us,” Vea said.
Admission to the game is free, and food like tacos, tri-tip sandwiches, and shave ice will be available for sale. Fans and players can also commemorate the day by purchasing a limited edition, official 2015 Super Bowl shirt.
This article appears in Nov 19-26, 2015.
