Winner Circle and other club football leagues on the rise

For the past couple of months, rumors circulated that there would be an increase in club football leagues if the normal CIF sanctioned football season were to be canceled. Well ready or not, club football is happening and will likely continue through the spring. The CIF state and Southern Section still maintain their statement that football practices will begin later this month or next month if state and county guidelines permitted it. But as the days go by and coronavirus cases continue to increase, it’s becoming likely that the season will be canceled. Naturally, alternatives to CIF football have presented themselves to high school football players in California. Various club teams have emerged and have already started playing games. The most prominent club football league is the Corona based Winner Circle Champions League. The league just completed its first weekend of games which were fully padded, with referees, uniforms, athletic trainers and a small amount of fans. https://twitter.com/DUiagalelei/status/1348800683579830272?s=20 Despite the California Department of Public Health’s guidelines that prohibit any youth sports competition, the first weekend of games went smoothly. The league’s founder is <strong>Jordan Campbell</strong>, an alumna of Norco High who played college football at USC and New Mexico Highlands before a three-year NFL career playing for the Bengals, Chiefs and Redskins. After his brief NFL career, he opened the Winner Circle Athletics training facility which includes a weight room and a football field. According to Campbell, the league currently consists of 34 teams and 18 games each weekend with 1,500 players playing (approximately 44 players per team). Many players from Long Beach Poly and Sierra Canyon are playing on teams in the league and players from other major programs in the state. The league as well as all other club leagues do face obstacles. The club leagues cannot use any school equipment or facilities and the teams must have their own insurance. Winner Circle and other club leagues have been receiving backlash on social media, including from me regarding how organized the league is and the league going against county and state health guidelines. https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1347665051633602560?s=20 Campbell’s response to naysayers is that he thinks his efforts are for the greater good. “I’m saving lives,” Campbell told Tarek Fattal of the LA Daily News. “I have letters from parents saying their kids were going to commit suicide, and thanking us for giving their kid a way out of depression.” He says the league is making sure the players are safe. The league is using experienced officials, athletic trainers and has paramedics on site each weekend, he said, and it meets all liability insurance requirements. Most high school coaches in California support players joining club football teams if they desire but also support players who are weary and don’t want to participate. Multiple public school head coaches I’ve spoken to said they will not discourage their players from playing club football, but have no desire to coach due to liability. The league features class of 2021 prospects like <strong>Tristan McMurry</strong> from Murrieta Mesa High, <strong>Caiden Robertson</strong> from San Clemente,<strong> Tyson Scott</strong> of Mission Viejo and <strong>Nasir Morrow</strong> of Heritage. Some players in the league are already signed to Division 1 colleges like [player_tooltip player_id="25142" first="Cole" last="Batson"] from San Clemente who is signed to Boston College. Top underclassmen are playing in the league too like <strong>Jack Endries</strong> of Monte Vista and <strong>Andrew Velez</strong> of Murrieta Valley. On the "Line Six" team, the quarterback is one of the top prospects in the country for his class, [player_tooltip player_id="25419" first="Malachi" last="Nelson"] of Los Alamitos. https://twitter.com/MalachiNelson9/status/1348419666025189376?s=20 The league costs 100 dollars per player according to Campbell. Campbell says there are 152 college-committed players competing in the league and that 64 teams signed up to play in its next season, which begins in March. &nbsp;