San Antonio Express-News
By Roy Bragg
October 13, 2016

Conroe The Woodlands wide receiver Chris Stewart (right) pulls in a ball in front of a DeSoto defender during their Division I semifinals matchup at the 2016 Texas 7-on-7 Championships at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station on July 9, 2016.

Progress has altered the soul of Texas, and not necessarily for the better.

More so than any place in the world, the Lone Star State was long a healthy mix of revolution and tradition, where neighbors respected privacy and didn’t give a damn how you did it back east or up north.

The Texas of years gone by is as innocent as the line of boys outside of the barber shop, waiting for their summertime buzz cut. It’s as crusty as the gaggle of old guys puttering at the courthouse square.

Not to go Roy Batty from “Blade Runner” on you, but many uniquely Texas images, such as boys fishing for crawdads in a muddy field or clusters of little girls moving en masse through a dance hall on a Friday night, are pretty much gone, lost like tears in the rain.

 

 

At least we still have Texas high school football.

Modern science, legal liability and tax protestors have done their worst, but Texas’ grand game lives on.

Protecting high school football from outside harm, while making sure it embraces necessary change, has been the sacred mission of every head coach and athletic director in the state since kids first laced ’em up.

Now, along comes Tina Peeples, who has her work cut out for her.

A sports-obsessed mother of six, Peeples just finished a two-year term as president of McAllister Park Little League, the state’s most consistently successful youth baseball program.

As Peeples surveyed the state’s youth football landscape, she discovered an idea she wanted to replicate that was already successful in Dallas and Houston.

This fall, Peeples and partners are rolling out Dime Factory, a privately run and funded 7-on-7 football league for players in grades 4-9. Registration is underway (search online “Dime Factory 7on7”) and play begins Nov. 11.

“I don’t want to do anything, nor would I ever do anything, that hurts high school football,” she said. “I want to add something to it.”

An offseason game that essentially codifies sandlot touch football, 7-on-7 is credited with turning Texas into a college football quarterback factory.

The conventional 7-on-7 system, run by high school coaches, exists to give skilled players a chance to develop talent and allow teams to bond before fall camp.

Privately, some coaches have expressed concerns over injuries and bad instruction at the hands of volunteer coaches who are not educators.

The original idea of 7-on-7 was to build camaraderie among teammates. A private 7-on-7 team, with kids from different schools and different talent levels, won’t do that.

 

Conroe The Woodlands defender Kyle Trauffler (15) breaks up a pass intended for a College Station receiver during their Division I quarterfinals matchup at the 2016 Texas 7-on-7 Championships at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station on July 9, 2016.

 

There is a precedent for concern about parents and volunteer coaches messing up sports.

The bad apples of AAU basketball are legendary. They have become brokers and de facto agents, treating high school players as if they were chattel. And high school basketball is now an afterthought to many kids.

Club 7-on-7 teams appeared in the Dallas area a few years ago. They have since spread to Houston. Dime Factory will be the first Alamo City league, though there are travel teams based here.

Peeples understands the minefield she is traversing. To assuage concerns, she has already reached out to two large San Antonio school districts about working with them to establish co-sponsored leagues.

 

Dickinson junior wide receiver Myles Lewis, right, gets ready with his teammates to battle Manvel in their Division I quarterfinals matchup at the 2016 Texas 7-on-7 Championships at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station on July 9, 2016.

The Dime Factory, she said, will work on several levels, helping kids at different levels of ability and with varying degrees of interest.

It could provide playing time for kids buried at fifth-team punter on their school team.

Girls, Peeples said, would play alongside with and compete against boys.

And private 7-on-7 could be used as part of an offseason regimen for varsity and JV athletes.

The most exciting part, Peeples said, is the potential of uncovering diamonds in the rough, such as late bloomers in need of visibility or drawing attention to players considered too small to play significantly.

To put this in football terms, Peeples will try to tightrope the sideline of football politics.

Dime Factory will be cheaper than traveling clubs or private leagues around the state, Peeples said, charging $100 per player for a guaranteed, five-week long season of doubleheaders.

And, yes, Dime Factory games will be played on Friday nights, which is when Texas football is supposed to be played.

“It’s all about Friday night,” she said.

Peeples’ 7-on-7 league has incredible potential. There might be a few injuries, but considering it’s one-handed touch football, there’s not going to be a lot of hard contact.

Dime Factory also will find a few superstars and that will help local schools.

More than anything, however, this league means more playing time for the ninth-stringers who join, as well as for the kids left behind on the school teams’ bench.

 

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