Iowa youth football program makes changes after parent fight

TIFFIN, Iowa (KCRG) - A youth sports program in eastern Iowa has made changes after a fight broke out during a tournament earlier this month.

Sunday, kids from across Iowa were in Tiffin to play in a tournament hosted by the program Iowa 7 v 7 Football.

It was a very different kind of day than July 6 when a fight broke out between parents at a game in Cedar Rapids.

“It just casts kind of a negative light on all the good we’ve been doing,” said Trevor Bollers, President of Iowa 7 v 7 Football.

Bollers said some of the impacts of the fight have been easy to measure. “We lost some sponsors,” he said. He added there have also been more emotional impacts.

“People were really worried about, you know, their safety at events.”

Bollers put changes in place to make sure people feel safe and to ensure that expectations are crystal clear.

“Some of the changes we’ve put in place—we had all of our parents review our Code of Conduct and sign it for this event. We had our full age verification system put in place,” said Bollers.

The age verification system requires parents to share their kids’ birth certificate information with coaches. That’s been protocol for Iowa 7 v 7 events, but not necessarily at games that partner organizations hosted under the brand’s name.

“It’s going to be for all of them if they’re going to be under our umbrella,” said Jenn Bollers, Vice President of Iowa 7 v 7.

The program has also changed how it distributes wristbands that identify registered players.

“It’s so interesting that we live in a day and age where these things now become so paramount, right?” said Trevor Bollers. “And it’s quite the change from what it has been before.”

Tim Kasparek, Mayor of Tiffin, was at Sunday’s tournament, and he put a finer point on it.

“I think the event that happened a couple of weeks ago, truthfully, that says a lot more about the state of youth athletics than it ever does about. Iowa 7 on 7,” said Kasparek.

Iowa 7 V 7 leaders made all these changes, but TV9 asked, ‘How can you control parents?’

Jenn Bollers said, ultimately, they have to rely on them to be mature.

“Remember what we’re here to support, you know, and it’s always about kids,” said Jenn Bollers.

Even as organizers say they have to trust parents to behave, they’ve gone ahead and changed the rules of the game.

“We have to now do these things. It’s a different world. And it’s a sad world, but it’s the one we live in,” said Trevor Bollers.