Alamance County parents urge commissioners to preserve competitive youth sports amid parks restructuring

Dozens of parents, coaches and residents told the Alamance County Board of Commissioners on Monday night that competitive youth sports — particularly tackle football — are critical for children’s character development and community ties and should not be curtailed by program restructuring.

"If we decide that we want to cut out county sports, we're doing a disservice to the community that we serve," said Anthony Pierce during the public‑comment period. Several other speakers echoed that view, describing long travel times, equipment costs and brief seasons they said would result if the county replaces competitive schedules with more recreational or pick‑up options.

"You have to learn to fight hard for the things you want in life," Roxanne May said, calling competitive games essential training for later success. Jessica Evans, who identified herself as a single mother of three, told commissioners that reducing competition would force families into travel teams that many cannot afford: "Where is that option for so many families?"

Coaches and program leaders said the county’s changes resulted in fewer guaranteed conference games this season. Jennifer McGowan, who serves as an associate director for a local youth team, said participation levels are strong and four regular season conference games — plus playoffs — "isn't enough" for the teams and families that invest time and money.

County Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Merkel, invited to respond, told the board the department did not intend to eliminate tackle football. Merkel said the program this year uses a collaborative model with municipal partners (Mebane and Gibsonville) and one organization elected to move its team to a different league, which reduced the number of guaranteed conference matchups. Merkel explained that officials costs, staffing constraints and scheduling across jurisdictions influenced the format and said the guaranteed number of games is the same as last season when accounting for playoffs and consolation games.

"It is my understanding that this is the same exact number of guaranteed games as last season," Merkel said and invited parents and coaches to meet with her staff so the department could present a clearer youth‑athletics plan at a future meeting.

Commissioners said they heard the concerns and agreed to place the issue back on the agenda for the board’s second September meeting to allow staff to return with a detailed plan and to gather input from community stakeholders. Several commissioners also suggested exploring additional preseason games or scheduling approaches that would increase competitive play without disrupting municipal schedules.

The board did not enact policy changes during the meeting; Merkel said staff would return with a proposal and additional details about costs, officials and possible preseason arrangements.