BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
WESTWOOD, N.J.—The 20th season of flag football wrapped on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, locally with the annual North Jersey NFL Flag Football double elimination tournament putting every team in the Pee Wee, Junior and Senior divisions through their paces for an impressive 74 games.
Play “moved rapidly and the players and families were very flexible,” North Jersey NFL Flag Football Commissioner Fred Kritzer said.
That’s 22 senior games, 28 junior games, and 24 pee wee games. This season fielded 358 boys and girls, ages 6-13, from 27 North Jersey communities; 61 volunteer coaches; and 14 student-athlete referees, the league said.
Whether the program will continue is up in the air. Kriter just learned the program no longer is welcome at the Ketler Field complex at the middle school.
“I’m afraid the program will end after 20 years, Kritzer told Pascack Press on Dec. 27.
On Dec. 21, Westwood Regional School District Business Administrator Keith Rosado informed Kritzer in writing that he needn’t apply for a new district use permit.
“In review of the current year Use of Facilities requests, the Westwood Regional School District hereby informs you that as of July 1, 2019, we will no longer be approving future use of facilities requests with your organization,” Rosado writes.
“We are reaching out to you now to provide you with ample time to plan for alternate locations for the upcoming years,” he adds.
Kritzer, whose organization pays the district approximately $750 a weekend during football seson for access to Ketler A Field, said that he wasn’t given a rationale for the decision.
He also said recent challenges, including a parent’s attack of a student coach in 2018, had him questioning the future of the program even before Rosado’s letter.
Asked for comment, Superintendent of Schools Ray Gonzalez told Pascack Press “The deteriorating condition of the field has hampered our school’s ability to access it during the day, thus requiring that we reevaluate its use.”
He added, “The decision to not renew the request for the use of our fields for the North Jersey NFL Flag Football program was primarily based upon the need to preserve our fields for use by the students of our school district consistent with board policy.”
Gonzalez said Kritzer’s program, which also serves communities beyond Westwood and the Township of Washington, was notified as early as possible “so that they may explore the plethora of field options available throughout Bergen County.”
Meanwhile, the district is expanding the middle school per a $24 million bond referendum.
The flag football program, run by volunteers, has flourished at Ketler for most of its existence. Kritzer said that since the program’s founding in 1998, 3,000 youngsters have played here.
After coaching the Westwood Wolverine Tackle Football program for 10 years and seeing that only certain kids could play, Kritzer said he wanted to create a place where all kids could play.
“We started the program and took a lot of criticism early on but we continued to promote the program with the main objective being fun,” Kritzer said.
The program outgrew St. Andrew’s field and settled into its new home at Ketler. Then the NFL Flag Football program asked Kritzer to consider changing his program’s name to North Jersey NFL Flag Football so children from North Jersey could participate.
League players experience the fundamentals of football, with emphasis on such skills as running, throwing and catching. Leadership instills self confidence, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
Practice schedules are limited, allowing players to participate in other sporting, academic, and social events.
“We want the kids to get their exercise rather than play video games. We don’t keep records or have a formal playoff system,” Kritzer said.
“The philosophy is to allow the players to attend their games, and have a good time with their friends, teammates, and families. Our games are competitive but they are not the most important part of their weekends,” he added.
20th anniversary tournament highlights
- The Falcons repeated as 2018 Senior Division champs, with the Senior Jets as runner-up.
- The 49ers won the Junior Division, with the Junior Texans as runner-up.
- The Bills won the Pee Wee Division, with the Pee Wee Vikings as runner-up.
- Alexis Hellman, 13, of Park Ridge Middle School, was named 2018 Poster Player of the Year for “exemplifying true sportsmanship, playing very competitively, and being a gifted athlete.”
“She loves our game and has played since she was 7 and always competes with all the boys and is the only female on the runner-up Senior Division Jets team,” Kritzer told Pascack Press.
Each player received NFL and USA Football certificates of achievement. Divisional winners and runners-up also received trophies.
At a small ceremony on the field at the end of gameplay, Kritzer’s son-in-law Mike Shea, co-commissioner for the past four years, presented him with a recognition plaque from the NFL.
Kritzer thanked the school board, which had allowed the program to operate at the Ketler Field complex at Westwood Middle School, also home of Dragons Soccer and spring lacrosse.