Youth football program loses practice location at Las Vegas school
The Henderson Cowboys were in the middle of practice on Thursday when Clark County School District police showed up at the field to tell them to leave.
After 20 years of allowing 300 students to practice tackle football at Silvestri Junior High School, the school ended its joint use agreement with the group.
“It breaks my heart,” Coach Nick Baumert told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I have kids that sit at that school, who go to Silvestri, that wait for practice to start because they don’t know where to go until their parents get out of work at 8 p.m.”
The National Youth Sports, Nevada, partnered with the Clark County Parks and Recreation Department, which had a joint-use agreement with the school to rent out the property for afterschool activities, according to Ben Joffe, the director of operations for NYS. The Henderson Cowboys typically practiced from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., three days a week.
Scheduling conflicts
Silvestri declined a request for comment, directing the Las Vegas Review-Journal to CCSD communications. In a written statement, the school district said: “Due to scheduling conflicts and noncompliance with permit requirements, the permit was modified for student-based activities on weekdays, leaving it for non-school activities only on weekends. This change was made to avoid scheduling conflicts with school-sponsored after-school activities.”
Baumert acknowledged that people in the program had been on the field outside of permit allocations, but they were not the only ones, with many other groups also using the field.
He also questioned the school’s plans for activities after 6 p.m. CCSD did not respond to questions about the school’s plans for activities on the field.
Baumert also emphasized his desire to work with the school, and he said that over the years, they have worked to clean up the field both before and after using it. Thus far, he has not heard from the principal. Nor, he said, did he receive any warning about the permit ending.
Joffe acknowledged the need for the organization to adhere to permitted times, but said the issues were solvable.
Bigger than football
For Baumert, the issue is greater than football.
“We’re talking about at-risk youth in single parent homes. We’re talking about minority children. We’re talking about kids that don’t have a shot unless they have this program,” Baumert said.
He added that coaches paid for equipment out of their pockets and transported some students to and from practice.
“We’re spending thousands of dollars of our own money to give these kids a chance. And they’re just like, ‘Oh, you’re done,’ ” Baumert said.
Football, he said, serves as an outlet for the students and pushes them to maintain a higher level of standard in the community.
New location?
The city of Henderson agreed to provide Acacia Park, but the location — around 9 miles away from Silvestri — will be a barrier to many families, according to both Baumert and Joffe.
“A local practice location is essential — not only for the safety of the children but also to ensure participation in a sport that teaches invaluable lessons. Proximity matters, as many kids rely on walking or biking to practice,” Joffe wrote in an email.
He called the loss of the location a “significant setback” for youth football. NYS is the only youth tackle football organization in the community, and communities such as Silverado Ranch, Anthem, Inspirada, Mountain’s Edge and Southern Highlands have a “severe shortage” of practice locations.
“Silvestri JHS was the only consistent and accessible site for these families,” Joffe wrote.
Joffe’s ultimate goal is to find an equitable and long-term solution, he wrote.
The football season starts on Feb. 11, so the team is scrambling until then, Baumert said. His next plan for is to bring the issue to the Clark County School Board at the Feb. 5 meeting.
“You can’t just get 300 kids to stop doing what they’re doing,” he said.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.
