There will be no question what the score is any more at Montville Youth Football League (MYFL) games, thanks to a brand new, high tech scoreboard sign. Or where the kids are playing: in Montville.
The new sign went up a few weeks ago, thanks to effort spearheaded by Bill Clark, Oakdale, one of the MYFL board members and a coach for the past two years.
As reported in the July 24 Montville times, the field at Camp Oakdale has been spiffed up in the past year by volunteers. Parents, coaches, some team alumni and community supporters installed new goal posts and put a fresh coat of paint on the field house, among other efforts.
Last fall, Clark decided to scope out what it would cost to replace the rusting scoreboard, which was missing some lights and showing its age. He had his eyes on something with some LED technology, a remote control and a horn. Knowing there wasn’t an additional $8,000 for this in the board’s budget, he got the board’s approval and took it upon himself to raise the funds.
Clark hit up his business partner, Greg Hoagland, to see how much their business, Frozen Pipes Plumbing and Heating, could donate. The two guys both grew up in East Lyme and played in youth sports as kids. They started the business a couple of years ago.
“We wanted to give back to the kids,” he said. “Youth sports keeps them focused and out of trouble. The thing we try to teach is that if you play together in sports at a young age, you become a family. Hopefully, that follows through as you get older.”
The two agreed to give $2,000 to the cause. Next, he talked to a Pennsylvania-based contractor they work with, Dave Jordan, who agreed to match Frozen Pipes’ donation. Clark said the man wasn’t looking to promote his company or get name recognition.
“He told us, if you have enough area on the sign, just put ‘God Bless our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ that’s enough,” Clark said. In fact, none of names of the donors, local or otherwise, show up on the new sign.
“It wasn’t going to be an advertisement for companies,” he said. “It’s not something where you put the name of your company and say ‘Look what I did.’ It’s just straight for the kids.”
With times tough in the local economy, Clark decided to keep talking to vendors, suppliers and business partners, regardless of proximity. What appealed to all was the fact they were doing something for kids who were getting out there to play on a field, he said, not necessarily in their home town.
Tom Metcalf of Metcalf Paving in Mystic pitched in, as did Viking Supply Company of Norwich. So did Fridgair, an air conditioning equipment supplier based in Baltimore. Mohawk Industries, Inc. of Groton helped with the electrical work and donated the steel to hang the sign. Clark said local contributors included Mohegan Sun and some funds from the Town of Montville.
Clark said he and others wanted to complete the upgrades to the field to get more kids interested in playing and to build the program. Having a desirable playing field also can make jamborees, events where the local league invites visiting teams, more popular and successful. Increased player and community interest can lead to more concession stand sales. He hopes other sports, including soccer, can benefit from the scoreboard, too.
Wherever there are football dads, there are football moms, whether they are behind the scenes at the snack bar, organizing things for the games, or handling the home front while the dads are off coaching.
Getting financial backing turned out to be the easy part. Clark’s wife, Jennifer, gave birth to twin boys, Wyatt and Conner, on March 4. Football moms came to the rescue. The Clarks’ oldest son, Billy, plays on the Micro-B league division. Meanwhile, Hoagland and his wife, Sofia, who live in New London, had a baby girl, Franchesca.
The football families were busy with the summer upgrades to the field and setting up the fall schedule.
Once the new scoreboard arrived, Coach Rich Huston – and his wife – agreed to store it at their place. Then in September, the night that coaches and team parents volunteered to put it up, remnants of a hurricane blew through. Clark thanked Craig Forehand, one of the parents who came and got drenched in the process.
Montville’s youth football teams have an enviable field at Camp Oakdale now, with the new scoreboard and the new goal posts.
“When you go to a football game, the kids do cheers: ‘Whose house is this? This is our house,’” Clark said. “Now they have a house they can be proud of. ‘This is our house. Who are we? Montville.’ It’s great to see the nine-year-olds get pumped up like this.”
Clark said the dedication will most likely be low key.
“We’ll probably get up at the last game and say ‘God Bless our Troops,’ like Dave Jordan wanted,” he said.
Clark already has his sights on next year’s project: a new sound system for the field.
“My vendors better get ready because I’m already looking forward to next year,” he said.
Anyone interested in helping Clark with his quest can contact him at the Frozen Pipes office in Quaker Hill, 447-1525. The company also has an office in New London.
For more information about the league, go to MYFL’s new website, www.montvillefootball.com