For the 2015-2016 school years, most schools in Frederick County have collectively eliminated freshman sports. As a result, the players, parents and coaches at Middletown have chosen to keep freshman football and are happy to support and fund a healthy program. Reasons as to why they kept the program may vary.

MHS was able to keep the sport because of generous donations from the town and various corporate sponsorships. Head coach of the varsity team, Kevin Lynott, stated that there had always been a possibility of freshman sports being cut but he was still shocked when the final decision was made. He also says that this was “the best choice for our community.”

Luckily for Middletown, many of the original freshman coaches chose to stay with the program. Jason Cutsail will lead the team this year as head coach, with Ty Crompton and Tyler White assisting.

Crompton says the largest benefit of keeping a freshman football program at Middletown is giving the players more time on the field and helping them gain experience in the sport. Crompton loves working with freshman, he says the best part is “helping to establish MHS traditions, and getting to see the team grow and develop.”

Junior varsity player Kevin Lynott Jr. participated on the freshman team his first year at Middletown and is thankful the town decided to keep the program. When asked what the benefits of playing on a freshman team are, he said that it helps the team “to develop and become better players.”

Most players were relieved there was a freshman team this year, and were nervous about the possibility of having to join the junior varsity team if they wished to continue their football career.

Freshman player Daniel Boush said, “Football is my favorite sport, so being on a team is great, but just being able to play is even better.” He’s happy the school decided to keep freshman football because he may not have gotten the same amount of playing time if he joined the JV team.

Freshman football players Hunter Wiles and Nicholas Bradley have similar opinions. Wiles said that he’s grateful for the opportunity “to keep playing,” even if the team play a team more than once or need to play against a JV team.

Both Wiles and Bradley have attended a Frederick County board meeting on the subject, and signed petitions in favor of keeping not only football, but all freshman sports.

Bradley said that above all, he’s “really involved in the football family,” and would be happy to be a part of any team. He is glad the freshman team is scheduled to play several junior varsity teams this upcoming season. Bradley sees it as an opportunity for the team to witness “the diversity of the teams and it really helps to form us into a team.”

Although Frederick County cut freshman sports, Middletown continues to keep a functioning football team, and for a good reason. Most players are comfortable spending their first year of high school playing with the same group they’ve been with for years.

Freshman year is a time to focus on building the players as a team, working on the fundamentals and preparing them for the challenges that will come during their time playing at a high school level. In keeping freshman football at Middletown they offer students more playing time and therefore more opportunities to grow.