The Putnam County Recreation Department (PCRD) is set to begin its fall sports schedule this upcoming week.
Putnam County Assistant Recreation Director Jay Doss spoke with The Eatonton Messenger recently about his excitement for the upcoming sports season.
“We’re just getting it going,” Doss said. “We’ve got a little over 400 kids participating in all our sports.”
Since joining PCRD in April 2022, Doss said he’s already seen plenty of progress, with a steady increase in participants across all sports.
“We’re growing pretty consistently,” he said. “I think the biggest reason we are growing is because we have great community coaches.”
Doss said he’s also seen both parents and community members without kids step up to coach youth sports.
“At our level, if a volunteer coach gives us their time and does a great job, it’s the main reason the kids come back. So, half our job is to make sure the kids have a good time and learn the sports at the same time,” he explained. “We’re definitely lucky to have the people we have around. We’ve got an awesome staff at Putnam County that does a great job. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
PCRD is offering tackle football, flag football, soccer, cheerleading and softball this fall. These core sports have become very popular within the community and are rapidly growing. All five sports are available through Putnam County Recreation Department this fall, with leagues for all ages, starting at age three for some. The most popular are soccer and tackle football, though.
In soccer, PCRD offers co-ed leagues for kids three to four years old and five to seven years old. Those two age divisions play co-ed and only within Putnam County teams, against others within their league.
According to Doss, the soccer league age groups from eight to 10 and 11 to 13 are not co-ed and they play teams from other surrounding counties, too. He said it’s called the “Lake Area Soccer League.”
“We have finally gotten the numbers to where we can split up,” Doss said. “I’ve met with the representatives from Morgan, Greene, and Jasper counties. We’ve been sitting down and trying to crunch numbers together to see how many soccer teams we are going to have for this fall.”
Flag football starts with a league that includes ages four to six, and also plays only within the county. Doss said kids aged seven and above, who are playing tackle football, participate in the Lake Area Youth League, which includes teams from Putnam, Morgan, Greene and Jasper counties. Also, girls are welcome to enter and play in all PCRD sports levels and divisions.
“In our Lake Area football league, we play a seven-and-year-old league, a nine-and-10year-old league, and an 11-and-12-year-old league,” Doss said. “It’s gotten very popular over the last few years.”
Doss said he believes what makes the community great is that people love to come out and support its kids.
“Again, we are super fortunate to have the volunteer coaches we have in every sport. Overall, it’s all about participation,” Doss said. “We’re also very fortunate that we have really good officials and really good coaches. That together helps provide a really great environment that people to be around.”
Doss and PCRD Director Scott Haley, a Putnam County native, work hard at growing and expanding the county’s programs. However, Doss repeated, it’s only possible with the participation of local kids and volunteer coaches.
“Coming down here [from Morgan County], I didn’t know what to expect but I quickly learned that it’s the people that make it great,” he said. “We’ve got great kids, but we’ve got great coaches who volunteer their time. That makes a huge difference. I could say a hundred names that come out here, but I don’t want to miss anyone. We’re just very fortunate to have everyone come together.”