To the Editor:

Upon reading last week’s issue, we at Mattapoisett Recreation were disappointed to read the letter regarding the scheduling of our Flag Football Program. Had we been called or emailed we could have clarified that this year we are starting the program a half hour earlier, at 8:30 a.m., so the session would conclude by 10 a.m. Last year the time was 9 to 10:30 a.m.

We also make it clear to all players and families that if they need to leave early for church or other activities, they are free to do so. MATTREC’s Flag Football program is a fun, laid back, minimal commitment opportunity to expose a child to the game of football in a relaxed atmosphere. We separate the players into teams each Sunday, so if a player is unable to attend they are not “letting down their teammates.”

The scheduling decision was made in August at a coaches meeting. We rely on volunteers to coach and structure the program. Some felt that the earlier time was too early to ask families to get up on a Sunday morning, but others pointed out that an earlier start time would allow players to make it to 10 a.m. services without missing much of the session.

We did lose some participants that felt it was too early for them. A later session did not work for participants taking 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. CCD classes or those participating in travel soccer programs that generally have games from the time range of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Obviously, it is impossible to please everyone, and accommodate all schedules. We felt this was a great compromise. As an organization, we try to take church services and CCD class schedules into account whenever possible.

Flag Football is the only program we run on Sundays. We are unable to run this program on Saturdays as many of our coaches are also coaching their children’s soccer teams on Saturdays. Our goal is to provide positive and diverse programs to the community; however, we are reliant on the tri-town schools and local organizations such as Mariner Youth Soccer to provide us with gym space, classrooms and fields to conduct our programs.We are fortunate to have this community support. Please realize this often dictates our scheduling.

We encourage all community members to contact us with questions or concerns regarding our programs. Please email us at mattrec@mattapoisett.net or call our office at 508-758-4548. All program information is available on our website www.mattrec.net.

Thank you,

Greta Fox
Recreation Director