Sixt graders in Southgate who’ve been unable to participate in football for the last few years will now be able to, thanks to the schools bringing back a program that is sure to get young athletes excited.

It’s something that Davidson Middle School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, Jonathan Victor, has been working on for a while, along with other Downriver athletic directors.

“We had the idea for the sixth-grade students to join the team (of seventh and eighth graders who were allowed to play), and it got put to a vote in April,” he said. “The vote passing means that all Downriver middle schools will be allowed to let sixth graders play on an as-needed basis."

Victor took over as the middle school AD last year, and one of his goals was to up the participation numbers of its football program.

“I’d always heard that our football numbers were low compared to others’,” he said. “Last year, I believe we had about 20.”

A “healthy” number for a football program is between 30 and 40, he said.

He added that while many local cities and townships have their own private club football programs, there is a more viable option for some families, which is to play football for their school.

“The beautiful thing about playing football for your school is that the cost is free to families, there are no strict weight limits in place, there are no wait lists, the students will be playing alongside their fellow classmates, and they will learn the systems (plays and formations) that they will see once they start playing in high school,” Victor said. “It also helps bring about a greater sense of community when more students play for their schools. There is a bigger buy-in to their school community and a greater sense of pride in where they come from.

“School athletic programs' goals are to develop student-athlete skills and help foster a sense of school pride that will only benefit them as they get older and continue playing sports,” he added.

For kids who want to get involved for the upcoming school season, Victor said the school hosts workouts every Monday from 5-6:30 p.m. outside at Davidson Middle School. There are also opportunities on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, at Anderson High School, starting at 9 a.m., for kids to come and do weight training and other activities to get ready for the season.

Contact Jonathan Victor at victorj1@sgate.k12.mi.us for more information about the sixth-grade football program.

In addition to reinstituting the sixth-grade football program, there’s also something else that Davidson Middle School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Jonathan Victor has been working on, and that’s forming a coop swimming and diving team with Creative Montessori Academy, 12701 McCann Avenue.

In the past, Southgate schools have had strong swimming and diving teams at both the middle and high school. However, due to the construction of the new pool at Anderson, the numbers have gone down quite a bit.

“We were essentially left without a pool of our own for some time and had to run co-op programs with other Downriver schools while we waited for construction to be completed,” Victor said.

Now, with the construction of the brand-new, beautiful pool at Anderson, Victor hopes to start up the swimming and diving team again.