Westside Panthers coach Jamie Bloomquist is pictured coaching his team before Saturday’s game.Photo of PJ by John Whittaker
They do it to promote love for the game and safe play.
In the Jamestown Area Midget Football League, football begins at age 8 and continues until age 13. Players learn teamwork, discipline and sportsmanship.
“I like the aspect of actually giving back.” Westside Modified Coach Jamie Bloomquist said. “I was a Jamestown Red Raider. And you know, he motivated everybody, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
And it’s about respect. When Bloomquist speaks to players, they reply: “Understood!”
Other teams in the league include the Southside Blue Devils, Northside Warriors and Dunkirk Marauders.
Bloomquist began coaching on the Southside in 2007 with Steve Shishaw and Tom Fisher. He said he had decided to take some time off after coaching the Southside for about three years. Bloomquist started as his jayvee coach and throughout his time has watched players grow from his jayvees to modified ones. About eight years ago, Bloomquist resumed coaching the West Side.
“Since then, I like to give back and teach other children what I was taught.” he added.
General Manager of Dunkirk Marauders, Phil Collier, agrees.
“Coaching to me is inspiration. It’s my soul. Motivating someone has always been my passion.” Collier said.
Collier has been a coach since about 1998 and has been the general manager for about six years.
“It teaches you the important values of life. To me, no other sport teaches that than football.” Collier said.
He added that one person cannot do it all. A running back can’t score a touchdown without an offensive line. If that linebacker doesn’t have 10 other players on the defense to help, he can’t win the game.
Bloomquist said the 8- and 9-year-olds play junior volleyball. 10 years old and he is 11 years old to play for the national team. Ages 12 and 13 play on modified teams. He said the changed team consisted of players from his seventh grade and his eighth grade. Bloomquist emphasizes the basics of the game and teaches you how to play it safely.
At the practice range, you can hear coaches giving directions and assessing how players are mastering their positions.
North Side head coach Brian Bigelow started coaching in a slightly different way.
“It started as an activity” Bigelow said. “I was one of the parents who had a side job.”
What happened was that he got into an altercation with former head coach Mark Panebianco. Bigelow said Panebianco told him that if he didn’t like the way things were done, he should sign up to become a coach.
“That’s exactly what I did. When he resigned, I succeeded him.” Added Bigelow.
Bigelow has been coaching since 2015 and he will be the first to tell anyone it’s a job he does with love.
“This is my therapy” Bigelow pointed out.
For some players, the coach is the only male role model who consistently occupies 3-4 months of their lives. He and other coaches are trying to rebuild the North Side into a family-safe environment that players can rely on year-round.
“Northside is in my heart and soul. My personal success as a coach is not measured by wins or losses, but by whether these kids want to come back and play for me year after year. increase.” Bigelow said.
Fisher, South Side’s general manager, has been coaching for nearly 33 years. His assistant Steve Sishaw, one of his coaches, said South Side has been with his program for 26 years, but has been coaching for about 42 years. He said he had six Javy coaches, three of whom were former players under Fisher. Two of his changed coaches also played for him while his son was in charge of the flag football team.
“I started working here (Southside) in 1990 when my son was 9. We enjoyed it so much we stayed.” Fisher said.
Over the years, he has coached multiple sports including Bambino Baseball, Babe Ruth Baseball and YPL Basketball. And he enjoys them all.
“No program is successful without good people around it. Fisher said. “I like to keep involved.”
In an attempt to emulate Jamestown’s program, Fisher said he used the same formations and the same terminology for the national team and the changed team.
This year’s games will be played at Dunkirk, Strider Field, Purcell Middle School and Roseland Park. The Washington Middle School field is undergoing repairs.
Community support and trust is important, Bigelow said, and the community is very excited.
Video link: https://youtu.be/Rly7CdjnKvo
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