|
|
The town is on the same page. This past June, the Canton Board of Education gave permission to the Friends of Canton Football to try to raise the $82,000 to fund a team. Out of the gate, almost $10,000 was raised from individuals interested in a program. If the $82,000 is reached, the Canton Board of Education has agreed to vote on whether or not to approve football in Canton.
Canton residents A.J. and Jill Zukowski, the parents of 15-year old Matthew Zukowski and 9-year-old Andrew are members of the Friends of Canton Football. Jill grew up in Southington where football was a big part of high school and the community, especially on Friday nights. A.J. coaches his son's midget football team and he works as a physical therapist.
"My 15 year-old is hoping to play," said Jill Zukowski, "and we are hoping Canton will have a solid team by the time my 9-year-old is in high school. I think once the ball gets rolling, more people will help out. I think it will happen."
This week, the Friends of Canton Football organized a golf tournament as a fund-raiser at Simsbury Farms to benefit the proposed team. Organizers are anticipating raising another $10,000 from the event along with greater momentum.
"Everyone in town is interested in helping the kids," said Canton resident Bill Plourd. "The issue is funding. The Board of Education has said 'if you raise the money, we'll do it.' We have a couple of events to show them the validity of our raising money. There is an excitement now, but when the ball starts to roll, literally, the participation level becomes much greater."
Due to budget referendums in the spring of 2005, the Friends of Canton Football thought the climate was not right to ask the town for money to pay for football. Instead, Friends of Canton Football concluded they could raise enough money themselves.
"We have the driving forces in place for the fall of 2006," said A.J. Zukowski. "We have a lot of work to do. That is a bar we are trying to reach. We would start with a JV program. There are probably 40 kids in town playing football in youth football leagues on the Farmington Mudhogs, the Farmington Valley Titans, the Simsbury Trojans, and the Simsbury Raiders. We started this initiative in November of 2004. We put together a three-year budget of $82,000. We did extensive research from other towns and our proposal was very detailed, from soup to nuts."
In January of 2005, Canton High School distributed a football survey to students and their parents. The results showed that there were 35 students in grades nine through 11 interested in football. Currently, the two sports available in the fall are soccer and cross-country.
Other Friends of Canton Football fund-raising events are planned for this winter and next spring including a raffle, comedy night, and dog parade. For more information, visit www.focf.zoomshare.com.
