SAFL caps first football and cheer season

SANDPOINT — In a town rich with football tradition, Owen Rust, Mose Dunkel and Travis Garrison, men who have coached youth football in Sandpoint for many years, wanted to bring football to Sandpoint’s youth. They wanted a program that had Sandpoint roots, something that really embodied Bulldog football and from that vision the Sandpoint Affordable Football League was born.

The SAFL is a program whose foundation is built on the idea that “no kid is left behind.” It is a non-profit organization that focuses on getting the most kids playing and participating in the game of football as possible. With low/affordable registration costs, sponsors and equipment donated from leagues around the Sandpoint area, the SAFL was able to put pads and jerseys on over 100 kids from 3rd to 8th grade in its first year.

With many new programs, the SAFL had some growing pains, but as any youth coach will tell you, the wins don’t come from the outcome on a scoreboard. They don’t come in the win/loss column in the local paper. They come from the hard work, effort and determination of each and every player. They come from battling with your teammates, looking them in the eye and knowing that you did your best to help your team on and off the field. The kids in the SAFL took this philosophy and embodied every bit of it.

Many of the teams were comprised of players that had never played the game of football. Kids that didn’t know the feeling of lacing up their cleats and taking the field with their teammates. They played tough teams, teams from Lakeland, Coeur d’ Alene and Post Falls, they battled against programs with players that they will see throughout their high school career, something that the founders of SAFL wanted going into the season — to play against teams that they would see every year.

The players of the SAFL learned, grew and fell in love with Sandpoint Bulldog football.

But if you think the SAFL stopped at football, you would be wrong. They also offered a cheer program. A program for young ladies between 3rd and 8th Grade to learn how to cheer, and to cheer their brothers, cousins, friends and loved ones on while they played on the field.

The Sandpoint Affordable Football League is a strong organization, an organization that will continue to grow over the years, and one that I am proud to be a part of.

For more on the program, visit www.affordablefootball.com.