Flag Football Steps Up Offense
School's out and for a group of kids in the Bronx, that means flag football. But, what do you do when a wall of paperwork stands between you and the end zone?
Nick Affisco is the area developer of the i9 Sports children's program. Now in it's fifth year, the program is in danger... all over a field.
"They left our youth program out in the dust," says Nick. "The kids have nowhere to play their flag football league in Riverdale. The parents signed up their kids for a fun program, but now they're leaving us with nothing."
In February, Nick applied for a "special events" permit in Van Vourtlandt Park... detailing the dates he'd need a field. Because the City Parks Department told him all of the sports permits for the summer had already been given out, the only way to get a permit for a space NOT designated as a sports field was through special events. But, it was a no-go.
"They said it wasn't safe because of the amount of people that were on the field," says Nick. "Whether they had permits or not, they couldn't police the field at that time. So with the adult soccer programs going on and the softball programs, I guess they were afraid of any balls hitting the children."
Nick found some space between two baseball outfields that was still unassigned, but the commissioner's office tackled those hopes, saying:
"Football, regardless of whether it's a youth or adult league and the players use cleats or sneakers, is prohibited from being played on the outfields of ballfields because it damages the ballfield over time. Football leagues are permitted to play on football or multipurpose fields only."
After we spoke to the Parks Department, they did offer i9 space at Quarry Field and Mullaly Park. But, the program refused those permits because both fields are outside of Van Courtlandt Park, more than 70 blocks away!
"For some people it's very hard to get to these spots," says Jerry Lewis, whose kids are enrolled in the i9 Sports program. "Especially early morning, some people work. You know, some people don't drive."
That's when Nick found another open space used as a cricket pitch. But when he pitched that spot to the Van Coutlandt Park Administrator, he got a one-word e-mail reply... "No."
Like the baseball fields, football is not allowed on the cricket field. i9 even offered to leave a deposit to have the field reconditioned in the fall, but the parks department refused the offer. So, parents and children decided to take a stand.
For the past two weekends, i9 has been playing in Van Courtlandt Park without a permit… and without cleats of course!
"Yeah, we decided to go to the field anyway," says Jerry. "At this point, there's nothing that's going to keep us off, you know?"
Comments: 18
Coach Affisco is a disgrace and is teaching the kids exactly the wrong lesson. The kids are learning to break the rules whenever they want.
The coach is at fault. He was too late applying for sports permits and now he can't find fields for "special events" that suit him, so he's just commandeering a field. Shame!!
The parks department has clearly-stated rules and has explained the reasons for them. "Help Me Howard," you've dropped the ball by expecting special treatment for Coach Affisco's noisy wheel of entitlement.
Coach Affisco is a disgrace and is teaching the kids exactly the wrong lesson. The kids are learning to break the rules whenever they want.
The coach is at fault. He was too late applying for sports permits and now he can't find fields for "special events" that suit him, so he's just commandeering a field. Shame!!
The parks department has clearly-stated rules and has explained the reasons for them. "Help Me Howard," you've dropped the ball by expecting special treatment for Coach Affisco's noisy wheel of entitlement.
[N.B.: The tech behind comments-posting requires a major overhaul.]
Actually Jeff,
The permits were placed in early February, with a response from the parks department that there were 2 signitures on the premit and they were waitng on the third. They were told that the thrid signiture would be no problem and when it came to the season start, the person handing back the permits was out of town. So the parks dropped the ball, and it is the right since it is a PUBLIC PARK that children in the community have the right to use it. If people in tha parks had any idea about the variety of sports or even sports in general they would not set rules that stopped children from playing a sport the requires only an open space of grass to play on. It amazes me being a teacher in the Bronx, that all I here complaints about is kids getting in trouble on the streets, but when an organization is trying to provide them with somethig positive to keep them off of the streets, the people who are in control of the parks stop them. NO YOUR FACTS BEFORE YOU COMMENT!
Actually Jeff,
The permits were placed in early February, with a response from the parks department that there were 2 signitures on the premit and they were waitng on the third. They were told that the thrid signiture would be no problem and when it came to the season start, the person handing back the permits was out of town. So the parks dropped the ball, and it is the right since it is a PUBLIC PARK that children in the community have the right to use it. If people in tha parks had any idea about the variety of sports or even sports in general they would not set rules that stopped children from playing a sport the requires only an open space of grass to play on. It amazes me being a teacher in the Bronx, that all I here complaints about is kids getting in trouble on the streets, but when an organization is trying to provide them with somethig positive to keep them off of the streets, the people who are in control of the parks stop them. NO YOUR FACTS BEFORE YOU COMMENT!
Jeff,
I strongly resent that comment that you made with respect to Coach Affisco.
My son is an active member of i9 sports and I do not feel that Affisco is teaching children to break rules whenever they want. The Parks Dept could have found somewhere for these children to play flag football. The field that we are playing at now has absolutely NO ONE there utilizing the field at the time that the children play. To my understanding, i9 offered to leave a deposit to have the field reconditioned, which to me, was an exceptional effort to cut the "red tape" of bureaucracy.
Affisco is demonstrating to our children to be determined and there is no shame in that!
Jeff,
I strongly resent that comment that you made with respect to Coach Affisco.
My son is an active member of i9 sports and I do not feel that Affisco is teaching children to break rules whenever they want. The Parks Dept could have found somewhere for these children to play flag football. The field that we are playing at now has absolutely NO ONE there utilizing the field at the time that the children play. To my understanding, i9 offered to leave a deposit to have the field reconditioned, which to me, was an exceptional effort to cut the "red tape" of bureaucracy.
Affisco is demonstrating to our children to be determined and there is no shame in that!
Alan, your comment is so littered with grammatical errors, that's it difficult to understand. E.g., There are commas and words missing in the fourth sentence. Most egregiously, you mean "hear" not "here" and "Know" not "No". You're a teacher? Oi veh!
The coach should have had the third signature. It's his fault the children don't have a field, not the parks department. They have rules. They have reasons for the rules. Everyone should obey them.
Isabel, you're simply providing another excuse for Coach Affisco not following the rules. There is no excuse.
If you want, get the rules changed. Don't just ignore them. Even worse, don't teach children to ignore them simply because you can think of self-serving reasons for doing so.
Coach Affisco is doing a fine job with these kids and it is a shame that they cannt get a permitt to use this field...He is trying to keep the kids off the streets and teach them to stand up for themselves
Coach Affisco is doing a fine job with these kids and it is a shame that they cannot get a permit to use this field...He is trying to keep the kids off the streets and teach them to stand up for themselves.
Hey Jeff
Why don't you give the young man a break..and the kids to, you belong in the hall of shame, along with the NYC parks dept.
Jeff,
Rules may not even need to be changed..it's just lack of cooperation from City Agencies that make complications so insidious. I simply believe that the system doesn't want to be bothered with going beyond it's daily potential to make the situation succeed.
I'm not making excuses for Affisco and don't believe in teaching children to ignore rules. We are showing our children how to proceed within reasonable means.
HEY JEFF,
HERE WE HAVE SOMEONE TRYING TO DO GOOD FOR THE KIDS OF NEW YORK CITY AND YOUR HERE WASTING GOOD ENERGY ON RAGGING ON PEOPLE SUPPORTING THE CAUSE INSTEAD OF STEPPING UP AND HELPING OUT. WHERE ARE YOUR MORALS???????? HEY CHECK MINE FOR GRAMMER, WHILE YOUR AT IT.
OH WAIT I CAUGHT IT FIRST BUT TOO LATE "WHILE YOU'RE AT IT"
Jeff,
First, if you would like to discuss rules and breaking them, than the parks are at fault as well. Let’s go over some rules of the parks department:
1. All youth programs are supposed to get first chance at receiving permits for fields before adult programs. This weekend get away from your computer, go down to Van Cortland Park, and take note of how many more adult programs are on the fields compared to youth ones.
2. Most programs will permit a field out for a 12 hour span a few days a week, even if they do not need it. When these programs are doing this, and the parks department is notified, they are supposed to investigate this issue for 2 or 3 straight weeks. With pictures as proof from i9 Sports, there is a field that was not being used for 2 hours that would accommodate the program. What did the parks do? Well, they called the program, gave them a heads up, and only investigated the field for 1 week. With more pictures taken with weeks to follow, what did the parks do, Jeff? They said, they will be no longer investigating this issue.
All the parks had to do was keep investigating this issue for the proper amount of time, and accommodate the program for 2 hours, but they refused.
So Jeff, maybe the parks should be following there own rules! Maybe, the parks should be hiring personnel that has a clue about sports and children! Maybe Jeff, you should be lecturing the parks department on how to follow rules!
Jeff,
I just cannot believe what I read…you my friend are obviously a loser. Your child should be taking more lessons from i9 Sports and less from you. One more thing; stop blogging at 5:00 in the morning definitely not a good look. Being up that early is scrambling your brain.
In a democratic country, rules must be uphold before it is modified. In a free country as ours, no rule is even worse than bad or improper rules. I am a Chinese American, and I hope a school teacher will pay more attention to his senstence structure.
In a democratic country, rules must be uphold before it is modified. In a free country as ours, no rule is even worse than bad or improper rules. I am a Chinese American, and I hope a school teacher will pay more attention to his senstence structure.
As a referee for the i9 sports program for the past several years, I can honestly say that we can use more Nick Affisco's and Mike Garcia's in this world. They are not motivated by greed or popularity, but by their love for children and sports. They put many hours into this program that provides our children a place to learn not only how to play sports, but learn the importance of teamwork and discipline all while meeting lots of new friends. As someone who grew up in this area and played on thes local fields, I find it disheartening that these local kids and the i9 program are having such a hard time getting a field to play on. LET THE KIDS PLAY! And kudos to all the parents who coach these kids on their own time!