By Rich Brown

rbrown@joplinglobe.com

Another youth football campaign kicks off in the Joplin area Saturday and a man who has been a big part of it for over two decades said its growth and value are still evident today.

Merl Stanley, in his 14th year as president of the Southwest Conference, said this year’s field of around 1,310 players in grades three through six is the largest ever.

“It keeps growing every year,” said Stanley, who became involved in youth football when his son, now 26, was in the fourth grade.

Lamar has joined the conference this season, putting the number of communities represented at eight. In addition to Joplin, which joined the league three years ago, communities fielding teams are Webb City, Carl Junction, Neosho and Carthage (with two teams per grade) and Seneca, McDonald County and Lamar, with one squad for each grade.

The amount of interest has increased so much that Joplin has had to add a third team to each of its four grades, said Mike Burns, president of the Joplin Youth Football Association.

“In addition to our four teams on the Red and four on the White, we have added four Blue this year,” Burns said. “Each of these teams will have 18 to 30-some kids. I think our largest has 32 or 33.”

Burns said that the first year Joplin got into the conference there were about 220 participants.

“Last year we had nearly 240 and now we have over 300,” he said. “I think the reason for this is because of the combined success of youth football working together with Joplin High School. The high school has been a great leader for our organization and because of that it has increased awareness of our program.”

Players on Southwest Conference teams benefit greatly from their interaction with members of high school squads in their respective areas. The prep athletes not only provide them with role models but, also, give them valuable tips to further develop their skills.

“I think it has made a big difference,” Stanley said.

Not only that but the youngsters are also being groomed to play on those same high school teams themselves one day ... if they so desire.

“I talk most about Webb City and look how well it has done over the years,” Stanley said. “Carthage is doing well, too. In the short time Joplin kids have been in our conference, you can see them getting better and better every game.”