Parish’s seven booster clubs merge into four

Destrehan team celebrates booster club 7U basketball championship.

St. Charles Parish’s seven booster clubs will consolidate down into four going forward, as per a recent vote by the parish’s Parks and Recreation Department and Organized Team Sports Committee.

The new clubs are divided evenly with two on the parish’s east bank and two on its west bank. The idea behind the move is to bolster overall participation, according to Parks and Recreation Director Duane Foret.

The plan goes as follows: Norco, Montz and New Sarpy residents will be in the Norco Booster Club district.  Destrehan and St. Rose will fall under the Destrehan Booster Club. On the west bank, Hahnville, Ama and Old Luling residents will be in the Luling Booster Club, while those hailing from Paradis, Bayou Gauche and Des Allemands will be in the Mimosa Booster Club district.

“The consolidation of the Booster Club structure will only strengthen our programs, allowing our youth an opportunity to participate in sports that they love.  The St. Charles Parish Department of Parks and Recreation’s mission is to provide quality recreation programs, activities, parks, and facilities that allow all residents to enhance their quality of life,” said Foret.

Foret said the move has been discussed for a number of years.

“We’ve talked about merging so we could be more consistent in some of the areas of the parish where there isn’t a lot of growth going on,” Foret said. “Sometimes, that’s led to kids being left out and left behind. We didn’t want that to happen. This gives us the ability to make more teams and for all kids to have a chance to participate, which is our ultimate goal.”

The new structure will allow for more flexibility within each area, to create more teams and therefore opportunities, Foret said.

“You’ve had occasions where, if there’s not enough spots at a club, other clubs and select teams may be too late or far along in the process to bring in those kids and get them on their teams,” Foret said. “I know our administration wants to avoid that scenario any way we can and allow as many kids as possible to be involved.”

He added the new process should help streamline the registration process for each club, and could boost clubs that have been struggling by offering the opportunity to pull children from different areas and expand their number of teams.

 

About Ryan Arena 2938 Articles
Sports Editor

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply