For over a decade Oak Harbor Youth Football League teams have gone by the same names.
Navy-related mascots: Jammers, Prowlers, Bombers, Jets, Intruders and Warriors, adorned the uniforms of the Oak Harbor teams.
That will change in 2005.
“The main reason we, the board, thought to change names was to align ourselves with the high school,†OHYFL president Mark Schroder said.
New names will revolve more around the OHHS mascot, the Wildcat.
In the Pee Wee division, the Prowlers will be called the Bobcats and the Jammers are the Lynx. For the Midget teams, the Bombers will be called the Panthers and the Jets are the Cougars. In the Junior division Warriors will be Jaguars and the Intruders are called the Sabres. The senior team will remain the Wildcats.
Not only will the names change, but focus will also shift to getting the 6 to 14-year-olds in the league used to running some of the same plays the high school does. Uniforms will also more closely resemble those at OHHS.
“We’re trying a whole bunch of new things,†Schroder said.
As for community response to the name changes, Schroder has heard a lot more positive than negative — especially among the kids.
“I’m in the schools a lot and the kids think it’s great,†Schroder said.
Of 65 to 70 e-mails he’s received, Schroder said very few have been negative.
“The majority were either ‘we don’t care,’ or ‘it sounds good, let’s try it,’ “ he said.
He wanted to be clear that the changes had nothing to do with the fact that he used to be a Marine and the names were related to the Navy.
“We’re all very proud to be part of this community,†he said. “We’re all about the kids, I think that’s why the majority of us voted the way we did.â€
All seven board members voted unanimously on the change.
This year the OHYFL will hold two registration sites. One will be at the Holland Happening Festival, April 30 and May 1. The second will be held at Wal Mart June 4 and 5. Forms will soon be available at 7-11, Big 5 and on the league Web site at eteamz.active.com/oakharborfootball/.
