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By LEAH INGRAM EAGLE | Special to the Reporter

The fall sports season is one of the busiest times of the year for the Chelsea Youth Club according to Bart Pettus, Parks & Recreation Director for the city of Chelsea.

“We have so many sports going on at the same time,” Pettus said. “Three of them have already kicked off.”

The 19 flag football teams and four tackle football teams have already begun practicing.

“We have close to 240 kids playing either flag or tackle football,” Pettus said. “That’s a big group of players.”

The cheerleading program, which has 120 participants, kicked off with a three-day cheer camp July 29-31 and their camp begins the week of Aug. 5 to prepare for the football season.

Programs currently open for registration through Aug. 16 include baseball and softball for ages 4 to 12 and volleyball for third through eighth grade.

“We will have fall archery class registration from Aug. 1-31,” Pettus said. ”The instructor, Phil Carter, has been doing the program for a couple of years and normally has between 20-25 kids sign up for the intermediate/beginner or advanced classes.”

Archery is for ages 9 and up and will feature six to eight classes in the months of September and October.

Wrestling registration is set for Thursday, Aug. 15 through the beginning of October. Those participants will compete in tournaments and matches in December and January.

“For wrestling, we have a really good group,” Pettus said. “Philip and Tiffany Bolen are the wrestling coaches who run the program for us. It’s been very popular, with anywhere from 35 to 60 kids participating in grades kindergarten through sixth.

Pettus said that the kids get a lot out of the program, including getting stronger and becoming more confident. Children as young as kindergarten can participate and can prepare themselves to wrestle in middle and high school.

Basketball registration will begin Sunday, Sept. 15 and run through Tuesday, October 15. One of the largest rec programs, Pettus estimates it will have around 500 participants.

With so many kids participating in Chelsea Youth Club programs, Pettus said it couldn’t be done without the volunteer coaches.

“I tell our coaches every season that we don’t have rec sports without them,” he said. They are vital for us to be able to run our league. They’re invaluable to how we run our programs.”

As park and rec director, Pettus has a hand in all of the programs, overseeing everything, setting schedules and handling the administrative side of things.

“We’re spread out so thin in the fall it would take five of me to cover all the locations—that’s where our good coaches come into play. If you got good people running (the programs), it’s a good environment where you don’t have to micromanage.”

To register for any of the programs, visit Chelsea.recdesk.com to create an account. After registration, parents will receive emails about upcoming events, sign up information and deadlines.

“Rec is all about giving these kids an opportunity to experience youth sports and have fun,” Pettus said. “That’s what we’re here for—to provide a service of athletics that’s safe and enjoyable for kids to play.”

The following are the registration dates for CYC sports:

• Baseball – July 15 – Aug. 15
• Softball – July 15 – Aug. 15
• Volleyball – July 15 – Aug. 15
• Archery – July 15 – Aug. 15
• Wrestling – Sept. 15 – Oct. 15
• Basketball – Sept. 15 – Oct. 15