K.E.Becker
Cub Reporter

The inaugural season of Highline School District’s middle-school tackle football season ended  Thursday afternoon, June 11,  on the sunny gridiron of Highline Memorial Stadium when the Pacific Middle School Vikings overran the Sylvester Middle School Tomcats 14 – 0.  Highline middle schools haven’t had tackle football since 1978 when the programs were cancelled due to a levy failure.
 
Asked why she brought back middle school tackle football, Highline District Athletic Director Terri McMahan said that when she came to the Highline School District it was obvious that some of the high school athletic programs were lagging behind in participation, safety, and results.  She wanted improvement and had a model from a previous district, the Edmonds School District, where two high football programs, Edmonds-Woodway and Meadowdale, went from solid programs to state  playoff  contenders after middle school tackle football was implemented.  Teaching players to tackle and block safely when they were just beginning their football careers was a great benefit to reducing injuries and keeping them active in the programs.  In addition, many of the middle school coaches are associated with high school football programs which increases participation as the players transition from middle school to high school.
 
Director McMahan said she assembled a committee of 40 to look into the benefits of upgrading middle school athletics.  The committee was broadly based including teachers, coaches, administers, and  Highline School Board member, (and former high school star athlete) Tyrone Curry.   When presented with the committee’s findings,  Highline School District Superintendent Susan Enfield, a longtime supporter of school athletics,  approved moving ahead with enhanced middle school tackle football.
 
The league has 5 teams, Cascade, Sylvester, Chinook, and Pacific middle schools in the Highline School District, and Showater Middle School in the Foster School District. Games are on Thursdays, starting at 3:45PM, with games at Highline Memorial Stadium and Foster Stadium  with one of the five teams having a bye.
 
Asked how she got the money for the tackle football program, Athletic Director McMahan said that the typical school district athletic budget is 2.0 to 2.5% of the total budget.  When she came to the Highline School District the athletic budget was 0.49%.  When given the committee’s recommendation, Superintendent Enfield simply approved the budget.  The cost of the middle school uniforms was about $50,000 for 50 sets of gear (200 in all) for the four middle schools.  They gear was delivered to Olympic School campus where director McMahan invited a group to unwrap all the gear and deliver it to the middle schools.  A big job, but it was fun for all to unwrap the gear and get the  the new football gear  smell(is it like the smell of a new car?).
 
Athletic Director McMahan was scheduled to retire this spring after the end of the school year. She’s been such a positive influence on the experience of Highline School District student-athletes that Superintendent Enfield asked her to stay on and enjoy seeing the benefits of her vision first hand.  Thankfully for Highline School District athletes and  fans, she agreed; seeing the kids succeed keeps one  young.