COURTLAND
For those Western Tidewater residents wanting a look into the future of their respective high school football programs, the Cover 3 Foundation will host its Youth Football League championships on Saturday afternoon at Southampton High School.

Championship Saturday will feature games in the Flag, Midget, Junior and Teen divisions, with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. Each subsequent hour will feature another championship contest.

The Flag division, the most exciting division according to league commissioner and C3F founder Greg Scott, will pit Franklin against Boykins, and will be followed by Franklin and Sussex of the Midget division at noon.

The Junior division will feature the highly anticipated matchup between the Mustangs and the Green Machine, before wrapping up the afternoon with a battle between the Razorbacks and Bulldogs at 2 p.m.

Scott created the Cover 3 Youth Football League in 2010, hoping to teach kids the proper way to play the game, as well as build camaraderie and sportsmanship at the youth level, and by 2012, the Fredricksberg-based league had several teams competing at a national level. Despite the success, however, Scott struggled with maintaining the hands-on approach he desired.

“I had to travel 2 ½ hours to coach or run things,” said Scott. “I had coaches up there throughout the week, but I could only go up on the weekends.”

The Franklin Little League Board of Directors saw the success that the Cover 3 Youth Football League was having and approached Scott about taking over their existing league, to which he gladly accepted.

“It was an opportunity to be at home and run the league that I played in,” said Scott. “It’s exciting to be more hands-on, and I’m able to make sure everybody is in compliance with the rules and regulations, as well.”

Scott’s primary focus is on this week’s championship games, but mentioned that the league’s board of directors will have a chance to step back and look at the positives and negatives of the season, as well as have the opportunity to discuss expansion and improvements.

“With record involvement in Franklin, we’re thinking about doing a spring league,” Scott said. “All of those details will be determined in the offseason, but it’ll be a great opportunity to get the league running again when it warms up.”

Another item on the board’s agenda will be the continued safety of the young players, but Scott noted that the Cover 3 Youth Football League is an official participant of the USA Heads Up Football Program.

“We’re placing emphasis on how to play the game and tackle the right way,” said Scott. “The game is changing, and the Heads Up Program is taking the football helmet out of the game and minimizing concussions. It’s making sure that coaches and players know the proper procedures in case of a concussion, as well.

“It’ll help them, as they get older, to play the game the right way.”