Ferndale youth football program officially kicks off

FERNDALE — Ferndale High School hosted a press conference on Sunday night to officially announce the start of the Southeast Ferndale Eagles Youth Program.

The metro Detroit area is full of youth football programs that help kids on and off the field with the goal of feeding players into their respective high school programs. Ferndale was without a youth program, so Ronald Gaines and Ferndale High School’s newly appointed head football coach, Donovan Jackson, set out to change that.

“I am 110% dedicated to the youth program,” Jackson said. “I don’t want to just be focused on varsity. I love mentoring the youth. … I’m a servant to this community.”

Jackson and Gaines began setting up the youth program before Jackson had even been hired as the new head coach at Ferndale High School just over a month ago. Not to mention, Jackson attended Ferndale High and played for the school’s football team before playing at the collegiate level.

“It’s a dream to come back to a community that molded me,” Jackson said. “Getting an opportunity to lead the kids that’s walking the same path of life that I walked … it’s not a job, it’s a dream.”

Jackson had always wanted to give back to the community that raised him and found that opportunity after meeting Gaines at a free workout that Jackson was hosting for players last year. Gaines’ son was at the workout, and Jackson was adamant that it was to be free for everyone. According to Gaines, after a 10-minute conversation between the two of them, the idea was born.

“They love their community,” Gaines explained. “They just wanted to see talent being developed and brought up here. … We can keep them in the community if we start them in the community.”

The Southeast Ferndale Eagles will have five age groups starting at age 6-and-under flag football and will go up to age 14 as the program looks to transition kids into high school football.

“The biggest thing I want the youth to know is these principles that are going to be instilled. … You’re going to be a great player on the field but you’re going to be an even better person in life,” Jackson said. “Hard work, dedication, perseverance, teamwork … it’s going to take you as far as you want to go.”

Some surrounding areas will also be able to take advantage of the new youth program with the intention of spreading a wider net over time.

“A high percentage of our players will be based out of Ferndale,” Gaines said. “But Berkley, Royal Oak, Hazel Park … we visualize this in the next three years being a very stable pillar in this community that will be getting a lot of the surrounding communities involved.”

The new team will be a part of the Michigan Youth Football and Cheer Conference and will play teams in New Baltimore, Sterling Heights, Utica and Macomb, among many others.

“We’ll play a lot of the teams in the Oakland County and Macomb County area,” Jackson said. “It’s a great league.”

The players will rock green, white and grey jerseys and helmets that are similar to the Philadelphia Eagles, but with some unique traits as well.

“We just want to look great,” Jackson said. “We want to come out as a brand-new organization and just show prestige from the way we look to the way we coach to the way we carry ourselves.”

Jackson and Gaines have their eyes set on making this program a fixture in the city of Ferndale for generations to come and giving back to a community that has given so much.

“I just want these kids to come out here and really get good and have good character,” Jackson said. “I want to push them academically and be the best that they can possibly be so that when they go to whatever high school it is that they go to, that we have them ready for that. … We want to birth a good program.”

Registration is now open for the Southeast Ferndale Eagles Youth Program; register at seferndaleeagles.org. Email seferndaleea gles@gmail.com with any questions about the team.