Becoming a Tiger

The Paris Youth Football (PYF) program is hard at work practicing for the Saturday, Aug. 3 Wabash Valley Youth Football League (WVYFL) Jamboree: the kick-off to the Tigers’ season. For both its seventh and eighth-grade team as well as the sixth and fifth-grade squad, preparations include positional work, memorizing plays and, most importantly, it means becoming a Tiger.

The Tiger Award, first instituted in 2018, is given to Paris Youth Football players who exemplify (positive) attitude, effort, leadership, camaraderie and performance.

According to seventh and eighth-grade Assistant Coach Jeff Arp, everything the Tiger coaching staff does serves to reinforce a “culture” built around these five tenets.

“The idea behind it was to acknowledge more than statistics,” he said of the Tiger Award. “We (coaches) are doing this because we love football… and of course we want to win, but the most TDs, tackles and yards do not mean a young man will be a productive citizen.”

For fifth and sixth-grade Assistant Coach Keith McManus, the prospect of earning an award has motivated players in each age group to model exemplary communication skills and teamwork, regardless of position or playing time.

“It’s inspired them to be a leader, to bring energy,” McManus explained.

For McManus, a second-year coach, teaching his players technique and the fundamentals of the game is “the most crucial thing,” but ensuring his younger players display character on and off the field is of equal importance.

“That’s one thing we are focusing on this year, letting them know that’s an award,” he explained, adding, “We’ve tried to put that on the forefront… reminding these kids that’s what we want them to be.”

“We talk about the Tiger Award in some form or fashion at every practice,” Arp said.

So far, the PYF coaching staff’s emphasis on building character is paying off.

“We’ve had some kids that are really quiet that have turned into great motivators,” McManus said. “You can tell who wants to lead.”

For McManus, his group’s desire to learn and grow in on-field skill and maturity is an encouragement.

“They (players) have got a lot of focus and they’re doing a great job listening and learning,” he explained, later adding, “(We have) an extremely smart group of kids… It’s going to be an exciting year.”

There is no limit to how many players can earn the Tiger Award, but only one or two will receive the coveted Tom Tuttle Award, described by Arp as the “MVP” of the Tiger Award winners.

Arp enjoys recognizing his players for their character growth, but the true reward is not a trophy or accolade.

“The criteria of attitude (good and positive), effort (play and work hard), leadership (managing and inspiring) and camaraderie (being a good teammate) will serve a young person for life,” Arp said. “Like I said, we want these people to be good, contributing members of society.”

The Paris Youth Football program plays on Saturdays this fall, with home games taking place at the John P. Allen Sports Complex on Buena Vista Street in Paris.