Norton Middle School Wildcats: My Site News

We will be participating in two fundraisers this year to help raise money for our football team.  We will be selling subs sponsored by W.G. Grinders and we will be selling discount cards that contain great deals from local businesses.  You have the choice to sell subs only, cards only, or both.  How does this help your child?  Here is how it works...

For every sub or card sold (subs are $5.00 and cards are $10.00), your child will receive $1.00 towards the price of their Pay to Participate Fee ($75.00) and $1.00 towards the price of their Wildcat Camp fee ($40.00).  For example, if your child sells 20 subs or 20 cards, we would subtract $20.00 from their Pay to Participate Fee AND $20.00 from their Wildcat Camp fee.  That would bring your totals down to $55.00 for the Pay to Participate and $20.00 for the Wildcat Camp fee.  It's a sweet deal that requires very little work! 

Both the sub sale and the card sale kick off June 5th and will end on July 3rd.  All sales are pre-sale only.  ALL MONEY FOR BOTH THE SUBS AND CARDS ARE DUE JULY 3RD!!!!  Subs will be made on Saturday, July 14th and the cards will also be delivered July 14th. 

Although the summer conditioning program is voluntary and mandatory attendance doesn't start till July 30th, it is very important that your child participate in as many practices as possible during the summer.  We get 10 "camp days", which are days that we are allowed to use footballs and actually coach them in drills and plays.  We intend to use each and everyone of those days during the summer.  We want to match the kids faces' to their talent.  We want to start to put each kid in a position as early as we can on both offense and defense.  The more they show up and the more they show how dedicated they are, the more playing time they will see come fall... it's that simple.  If you are going on vacation, please go on vacation.  If you have to leave town for a couple of days, leave town.  We want kids to be kids.  But if they are not busy, we really want them to be a part of what we are doing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  For the Wildcat Camp, attendance is strongly suggested.  Those who attend camp will play and those who do not will have to work their way up the ranks.  We look forward to seeing your child throughout the summer!

We will be painting the locker room on Sunday, June 3rd at 9:00 am if anyone is interested in coming over and helping give our boys a locker room they can be proud of.  The locker room now is bland and bare.  We are going to liven things up a bit by adding fresh paint to the walls and putting some motivational quotes on the walls as well.  We will be cleaning the lockers, wiping them down, and getting things ready for the first day of conditioning June 5th.  Us coaches will be there and we are inviting anyone who wants to come and help.  Bring your coffee, bring your breakfast, bring your kid and help us re-do the locker room. 

Due to the number of teams that will be at the passing scrimmage, we are unable to take every player.  Those who will be going will be notified on Friday July 6th after practice.  We will meet in the Norton parking lot at 4:00 and will leave at 4:10.  We are in need for parents to drive to help caravan kids to the scrimmage and back.  The scrimmage will be from 5-7 at Grove City Christian School located on Hoover Road in Grove City.  Any questions, please see Coach Rutan.

Due to severe weather, practice for Friday, June 29th is cancelled.  Practice on Tuesday is cancelled but anyone who owes money for either subs or discount cards is expected to turn in all money and forms to Coach Rutan at 6:00 pm at Norton Middle School.  Practice will resume on Thursday, July 5th at the normally scheduled time. 

Practice for Friday, July 6th is still on.  We are well aware that the temperature is supposed to reach 100+ today and we are going to accommodate our players accordingly.  Today's practice will be without helmets and there will be very little to no conditioning with plenty of water breaks.  Today's goal will simply be to understand the ins and outs of our base defense.  That means that the kids will do more standing around while learning valuable and important information about our defense as opposed to running.  The only running they will do today will be their warm-up lap and whatever running occurs during our 7 on 7 scrimmage with those kids going on Monday to Grove City Christian's passing scrimmage.  Those not involved in the 7 on 7 scrimmage will be playing Cougar Ball and doing a trash walk.  As you can see, we can still have significant progress even when the weather is not cooperative.  Regardless of the temperature, we still have to get the kids accustomed to hot temperatures for when they have full pads on while practicing.  

Sub Making Day will be tomorrow at 10:00 am in the Norton cafeteria.  We ask that all athletes be in the locker room by 9:45 so we can go over the procedure for the day's events.  Not only are we making our subs, we are also passing out their equipment such as pads, practice jerseys and pants, and game jerseys.  From what I get from the kids, they are super excited to pick their number for the year.  Here is how that will work... the order of who gets to pick their jersey is very specific.  We reward people who show commitment to our team.  Athletes who sold fundraiser items will go first based on the number sold.  The second group to pick will our 8th graders from last year's team.  The third group will be the 8th graders who did not play last year, followed by the 7th graders.  That is how we have done it in the past and that is how it will be done this year as well. 

 If you sold subs, please be here no later than 11:30 am to pick up your subs.  Those who do not pick their subs up before noon on Saturday will have to wait till 4:00 on Monday to get them.  And with no refrigerators up and working in the school during the summer, your subs will not be of great quality when you deliver them.  

For the official start of the season, we have to abide by a set of rules when it comes to acclimation days.  The acclimation period is the first 6 days of the season.  The reason for acclimation days is to get the kids accustomed to their equipment before contact drills are done.  Here is a breakdown of what we must follow.

                                                Day 1:  Helmets only

                                                Day 2:  Helmets only

                                                Day 3:  Helmets and Shoulder Pads

                                                Day 4:  Helmets and Shoulder Pads

                                                Day 5:  Full gear, no contact

                                                Day 6:  First day of contact allowed

The other part of the rule can be complicated and it goes as follows... if at any period of the first six days in which a child misses practice, he or she must start where they left off until they have completed the acclimation days in order.  For example, lets say your child shows up Monday with helmets only and goes on vacation for the next three days and returns on Friday.  Most would think that your child would wear full gear with no contact since its the 5th day of practice.  That is not the case.  It's the 5th day of practice for the team... its the 2nd day of practice for your child.  That means that they would have to wait till the following Wednesday to hit.  This may result in your child sitting out of drills due to them not being able to hit, which also may result in loss of position until the acclimation days are completed in order.  It's confusing.  If you have any questions, please see Coach Rutan.

On August 11th, immediately following our drug, alcohol, and concussion meeting, we will be having our annual Community Day and Team Potluck.  Each year, we provide the team an opportunity to give something back to their community and school.  This year is no different.  We will be painting the concession stand, painting paw prints on the pathway leading to the field, and giving our field a general makeover.  We encourage as many parents as possible to lend a hand all while meeting other parents and getting to know the players on the team.  For all the hard work, we will be having a potluck lunch afterwards in the cafeteria.  We are asking 7th grade athletes to bring drinks, and 8th grade athletes to bring a main dish.  The coaches will provide the hamburgers and hotdogs.  All athletes are expected to be there.  So come on out and get to know the rest of the Norton Football Family!  Any questions please see Coach Rutan.

Due to horrible timing, the SBC Scholarship form was given to us today and is due to Coach Rutan by tomorrow at the end of practice.  They will be collected on Friday morning by a district representative.  The scholarship form gives the opportunity to have money deducted from your Participation Fee.  Not all athletes will receive money but those athletes who do will receive no more than $50 towards their fee.  If it is not in by tomorrow after practice, the form will not be reviewed by the district for consideration.  No exceptions. 

Just a reminder that the Drug, Alcohol, and Concussion meeting will be this Saturday, August 11th starting at 9:00 am sharp.  This is a required meeting for all parents for those participating in fall sports here at Norton.  The school administration will be reviewing the district policies on drugs, alcohol, and citizenship.  They will also be going through the procedure for concussions and the steps that will be taken in such circumstances.  Following the meeting, we invite all parents to come out to the field as we do our best to prepare our field for the season ahead.  We will be painting the concession stand, painting paw prints on the path towards the field, and doing other things that are going to make our field look great.  It will be a great time for the parents to meet eachother all while getting to know the kids on the team.  Please bring the following items if you wish... weed whackers, air blowers for removing gravel and sand, paint brushes, paint trays, gardening gloves, push brooms, ladders, power washers, and anything else you may want to bring that you think would help with the project.  

After the work is done, we will be having a potluck lunch for all the workers.  Keep in mind that 7th graders are to bring drinks and 8th graders are to bring a main dish of some sort.  We do have access to the walk-in fridge just in case you need to keep something cool.  We will also be forming a parents booster group that will work together to make pregame snacks for the kids, 50/50 raffles, and other things for the team.  If you are interested in donating your time to this group, our kids will surely benefit.