Rec Sports

Colorado juvenile detention centers facing severe staff shortage

Published

2 days ago

December 22, 2025

Carissa Wallace started working at the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden two years ago because she felt strongly about helping rehabilitate young people convicted of crimes.

She loved the teens and loved the work.

But staffing shortages began to take a toll. Management routinely mandated employees pull 16-hour shifts multiple days a week because they were so short-staffed. Fewer workers meant there was nobody to respond to crises or adequately monitor the young people in their care, she said. Safety concerns mounted.

Wallace said she came home every day and cried. She went to the doctor for medication to help deal with all the anxiety the job brought.

“After two years, I was mentally broken from that place,” she said in an interview. “When I had to think about my safety every second of the day, I could no longer make a difference. I could no longer help the kids.”

Colorado’s youth detention centers are facing a staffing crisis, leading to serious safety concerns for employees and youth and low worker morale, current and former staffers told The Denver Post. The Division of Youth Services, which oversees the state’s 12 detention and commitment facilities, employs more than 1,000 employees, according to state data. Nearly 500 additional jobs remain vacant.

Some facilities, such as the Mount View Youth Services Center in Lakewood, reported a 57% staff vacancy rate, according to June figures compiled by the state. At the Spring Creek Youth Services Center in Colorado Springs, nearly 10% of its staff at one point in November were out due to injuries sustained on the job.

Current and former staff say leadership deserves a large chunk of the blame. Employees say they don’t feel management supports them or listens to their concerns. Higher-ups aren’t on the floor dealing with riots, they say, or leading programs. When situations do get out of control, staff say the brass simply looks for someone to blame.

“The administration says they care,” said Kim Espinoza, a former Lookout Mountain staffer, “but their actions say otherwise.”

Alex Stojsavljevic, the Division of Youth Services’ new director, acknowledged in an interview that working in youth detention is difficult. Retaining staff is a big priority with ample opportunities for improvement, he said. The division plans to be intentional about the people it hires into these roles, making sure that candidates know what they’re signing up for.

He hopes to sell a vision that one can make youth corrections a long, fulfilling career.

“Change is afoot in our department,” said Stojsavljevic, who took the mantle in October. “Just because we’ve done something for 20 or 30 years doesn’t mean we have to continue to do it that way.”

Critical staffing levels

Staffing shortages at Colorado prisons and youth centers have remained a persistent problem in recent years, though vacancy rates at the DYS facilities far outpace those at the state’s adult prisons.

A lack of adequate employees means adult inmates can’t access essential services like medical, dental and mental health care, according to a 2024 report from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. Education, employment and treatment programs lag.

“Simply put, because of the staff shortage, the (Department of Corrections) is not able to fulfill its organizational mission, responsibilities and constitutional mandates,” the report’s authors wrote.

Studies point to a litany of physical and mental health issues facing corrections workers.

Custody staff have a post-traumatic stress disorder rate of 34%, 10 times higher than the national average, according to One Voice United, a national organization of corrections officers. The average life expectancy for a corrections worker is 60, compared to 75 for the general population. Divorce and substance abuse rates are higher than in any other public safety profession, the organization noted, while suicide rates are double that of police officers.

The Colorado Department of Corrections has a 12.6% overall department vacancy rate, according to state figures. Correctional officer vacancies sit at 11%, while clinical and medical staff openings are nearly 20%.

Meanwhile, nearly one in three DYS positions is vacant.

The most common open positions are for the lowest level correctional workers, called youth services specialists. The Betty. K. Marler Youth Services Center in Lakewood currently has 23 vacant positions for this classification of employee out of 63 total slots. The facility is also short 10 teachers. Platte Valley Youth Services Center in Greeley has 21 open positions for the lowest-tier youth services specialist role out of 71 total jobs.

The same candidates who might work at DYS are also being recruited by adult corrections, public safety departments and behavioral health employers, Stojsavljevic said, leading to fierce competition for these applicants.

Current and former DYS workers say the staffing issues serve as a vicious cycle: The fewer employees there are, the more mandated overtime and extra shifts that the current staff are forced to take on. Those people, then, quickly burn out from the long hours and dangerous working conditions, they say.

Wallace, the former Lookout Mountain worker, said almost every day for the past year, leadership mandated staff stay late or work double shifts. This routinely meant working 16-hour days.

“It got to the point where people weren’t answering their phones,” she said. “People were calling out sick because they were overworked and exhausted.”

Wallace estimated that 80% of the time, the facility operated at critical staffing levels or below. State law requires juvenile detention facilities to have one staff member for every eight teens, but workers say that wasn’t always the case.

Many days, staffers said, there weren’t enough employees to respond to emergencies. In some cases, that meant the young men themselves assisted staff in breaking up fights with their peers.

One night, some of the teens set off the fire alarm at Lookout Mountain, which unlocked the doors and allowed the young people to run around campus, climb on buildings and break windows, workers said. Without enough staff to rein in the chaos, employees wanted to call 911.

But they said they were told they would be fired if they did. Leadership, they learned, didn’t want it covered by the press.

“Our jobs, our lives were threatened because they didn’t want media coverage,” Espinoza said.

Stojsavljevic said the department is “acutely aware” of the mandated work problem, though he admitted that in 24-hour facilities, staff will occasionally be told to work certain shifts.

The division has implemented a volunteer sign-up list, where staff can earn additional incentives for working these extra shifts.

Since he’s been in the job, the state’s juvenile facilities have never dropped below minimum staffing standards, Stojsavljevic said.

Routine violence in DYS facilities

Staff say violence is an almost daily occurrence inside DYS facilities, which contributes to poor staff retention.

The division, since Jan. 1, recorded 35 fights and 94 assaults at the Lookout Mountain complex, The Post reported in September. Since March 1, police officers have responded 77 times to the Golden campus for a variety of calls, including assaults on youth and staff, sexual assault, riots, criminal mischief and contraband, Golden Police Department records show.

Twenty of these cases concerned assaults on staff by youth in their care.

Multiple employees suffered concussions after being punched repeatedly in the head, the reports detailed. Others were spit on, bitten, placed in headlocks and verbally threatened with violence.

Chaz Chapman, a former Lookout Mountain worker, previously told The Post that he reported three or four assaults to police during his tenure, adding, “I was expecting to get jumped every day.”

“We were basically never able to handle situations physically, and the kids knew that; they were stronger than 90% of their staff,” Chapman told The Post in September. “The ones who stood in their way would get assaulted, such as myself.”

Staff said leadership still expected them to show up to work, even while injured.

Espinoza said she injured her knee during a restraint, requiring crutches. DYS continued to put her on the schedule, she said. So the staffer hobbled around the large Golden campus through the snow and ice.

One supervisor had his head cracked open at work this year, Espinoza said. He went to the hospital and returned to Lookout. Wallace said she’s been to the doctor 20 times since she started the job due to injuries sustained at work. She said she still has long-lasting shoulder pain.

“If they’re gonna keep hiring women who can’t restrain teenage boys, people are going to get hurt,” she said. “That was an everyday thing.”

In November, 28 DYS employees were out of work on injury leave, according to data provided by the state. Spring Creek Youth Services Center in Colorado Springs had nine workers injured out of 91 total staff. The state did not divulge how these people were hurt.

Stojsavljevic said safety is the division’s No. 1 focus area. If staff are injured on the job, he said, it’s important that they’re supported.

“Staff have to be both physically healthy and emotionally healthy to do this work,” the director said.

Division policies allow injured employees to take leave if they need it. Depending on the level of injury, some staff can return to work without having youth contact, Stojsavljevic said.

‘That place takes your soul’

But workers interviewed by The Post overwhelmingly blamed management for the division’s poor staffing levels.

As staff worked 16-hour days and were mandated to come in on their days off, they said administrators wouldn’t pitch in.

“A lot of people felt it’s unfair,” Wallace said. “The people making a good amount of money weren’t truly being leaders. They were forcing us to pick up the slack, but they didn’t want to deal with youth. They wanted to sit at a desk, collect their check, and go home for the day.”

New recruits were thrown into the deep end with barely any training or support, employees said. Those new staffers quickly saw the grueling hours and how tired their coworkers were all the time. Many left within weeks of starting the gig.

“I could see their souls were literally gone,” Wallace said. “That place takes your soul.”

After safety, Stojsavljevic said the department is prioritizing quality and innovation. Leadership wants to make sure that programs and policies are actually getting better results.

The director, meanwhile, said he wants to hear directly from staff for new ideas.

“We’re more than willing to try things out,” he said. “We can’t just continue operations the way they have been just because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Wallace said her experience at Lookout Mountain traumatized her. The job prompted her to go to therapy and to start taking medication for anxiety.

When state officials emptied Lookout Mountain due to deteriorating safety conditions in August, Wallace was sent to work at Platte Valley. Leadership promised to retrain staff so they could eventually reopen the Golden campus.

But when Wallace showed up on her first day of work at Platte Valley, security never checked her for contraband, she said. Staff were being mandated to work overtime shifts. Within 20 minutes of starting, she was put alone with a young person she didn’t know.

The following day, Wallace called her boss. She couldn’t work for DYS anymore.

At the end of the day, Wallace said, it’s the young people who suffer.

“I hope they make some changes because these boys deserve so much better than what they’re getting,” she said.

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.

Link

Rec Sports

How Wisconsin point guard Nick Boyd is giving back ahead of Christmas

Published

4 seconds ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 24, 2025, 10:26 a.m. CT

Wisconsin Badgers point guard Nick Boyd gifted jackets and game tickets to children from the Madison area.
The event took place after Wisconsin’s win over Central Michigan, where Boyd also signed autographs for the children.
Boyd plans to hold two charitable events each year, using resources gained from his basketball career.

MADISON – After Nick Boyd literally scored 12 points in Wisconsin’s win over Central Michigan at the Kohl Center, the Badgers’ starting point guard perhaps scored even more figurative points with the community.

As Christmas music played through the speakers in the adjacent Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion, Boyd signed everything from Santa hats to shoes and asked children in the line questions like if they were ready for Christmas.

“There was one kid who kept coming back and asking me for autographs on his arm, his shoes,” Boyd said. “That was pretty funny.”

The humorous and heartwarming moment was part of Boyd’s efforts in the holiday season to share some of his resources from playing high-major college basketball with those who may be less fortunate.

Boyd gifted Wisconsin jackets at his own expense to children from the Madison area along with autographs and Santa hats that had his name and jersey number on them. The Boys and Girls Club of Dane County was represented along with a couple youth basketball leagues, Boyd said.

“I wanted to make an impact in Madison,” Boyd said while wearing one of the Santa hats. “I’m somebody who’s new. Let them know how them coming out to the games and the community – how important that is to keep us rolling and try to have a great year this year.”

Boyd also bought the children – “a lot of kids who’ve never been to a Division I basketball game before” – tickets for the Badgers’ 88-61 win over Central Michigan. There were 30 kids and 50 total people when counting accompanying adults in the Boyd-funded seats, according to a team spokesman.

“I tried to put myself in their shoes,” Boyd said. “When I was a kid and my first time coming to a college basketball game, I know my eyes were wide open. And on top of that, to meet the players is just inspiring. … Topping it off with a jacket was awesome.”

It is part of Boyd’s ongoing efforts to give back in his sixth season of college basketball. During the offseason, Boyd hosted a free youth basketball camp in Boca Raton, Florida. Each attendee received a T-shirt, autographed item and lunch during the three-hour camp.

It was held at Boca Raton Community High School, which was walking distance from where his college basketball journey began. Boyd’s first four years were at Florida Atlantic, where he was a key part of the Owls’ improbable 2023 Final Four run.

“There were 100-plus kids in there, which was awesome,” Boyd said. “A place that’s special to me – I was able to have a lot of success there down at FAU.”

Fast-forward to Boyd’s charitable efforts in Madison, and the tickets and jackets were “the best way to do it with the reason right in full swing.”

“My uncle came up with the jacket idea,” Boyd said. “The jackets come in handy. I grabbed one for myself, I ain’t going to lie.”

The jackets came in various colors and had Wisconsin’s iconic motion W logo on the right side and the Under Armour logo on the left.

“We were just thinking, ‘Did we want to put my name on it?’” Boyd said. “What’s most impactful in the community? Just giving them a jacket they could wear with the W – you know how much Wisconsin means to the Madison community. So that’s what we came up with.”

Nick Boyd made the jackets through his uncle’s contact at Under Armour rather than using the team’s connections as one of the apparel provider’s top college programs.

“My uncle’s a basketball coach,” Boyd said. “He has a basketball team, so they buy Under Armour gear for their team. And he was like, ‘Hey, I can get in touch with Under Armour, and we can try to get some jackets made?’”

Link

Rec Sports

Cowboys 2025 rookie report: Youth movement tested in L.A. meltdown

Published

8 minutes ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The game ended, that’s the best thing we say about the Dallas Cowboys final game at home where the L.A. Chargers got an impressive victory. But how did the Cowboys rookie class perform during the defeat. Let’s break it down.

OG Tyler Booker

(Game stats- Snaps: 58, Pass Blocks: 38, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 1, Penalties: 0)

Booker quietly put another piece of solid tape in the loss to the Chargers, even while the offense stalled out around him. Dallas allowed just nine total pressures all game and one sack on 30 dropbacks, compared with the 14 pressures surrendered by Los Angeles, which tells you the Cowboys’ protection wasn’t the primary reason the game got away from them.

On the field, Booker’s night looked like what we’ve come to expect, a mostly clean performance. Inside, Booker and Cooper Beebe did a reasonable job keeping the A and B gaps from collapsing. There were no penalties on Booker, the key holding call that stalled a promising Cowboys drive was charged to Tyler Smith on the left side, which knocked off an unbelievable catch by Flournoy in the endzone.

The fairest conclusion is that Booker played well in a mediocre offensive performance. The Cowboys didn’t leak much pressure overall, but Booker was charged with the sole sack during the game. Against the Chargers he wasn’t the problem, instead he looked like a long-term answer at right guard in a game where the scoreboard makes everything else look worse than his individual tape.

DE Donovan Ezeiruaku

(Game stats- Snaps: 39, Total Tackles: 2, Pressures: 3, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0)

Ezeiruaku’s night against the Chargers was more about flashes than full-game impact, and it came inside a defensive performance that never really got Justin Herbert uncomfortable, which is most concerning. On the stat sheet he finished with two combined tackles, one QB hit, zero sacks, zero tackles for loss and no takeaways, contributing one of Dallas’ five quarterback hits in a game where the defense failed to register a single sack. Herbert went 23-of-29 for 300 yards and two touchdowns and was never sacked, while the Chargers piled up 152 rushing yards at 4.6 per carry, underlining how little consistent disruption the front managed overall.

His best moment came on a third-down sequence where Ezeiruaku and Markquese Bell collapsed the edge and chased Herbert into a hurried, off-platform throw that ended in an incompletion and a field goal instead of a touchdown. That rep showed exactly why Dallas is excited about him with his good get-off, disciplined pursuit and enough closing speed to finish the play even when he doesn’t get the sack. Outside of that, though, his impact was muted. The Chargers’ quick passing game and efficient run script meant Ezeiruaku spent most of the night squeezing the pocket and setting the edge rather than producing splash plays.

Through this week, PFF has Ezeiruaku at a 77.7 overall grade with 34 total pressures on 554 snaps, ranking third on the team in defensive grade, not bad for a rookie. Against the Chargers Ezeiruaku was active and technically sound, but not a game changer. He added a notable pressure on a key drive and one of the few clean shots on Herbert, stayed out of the penalty column, and continued to look like a high-upside rookie.

CB Shavon Revel Jr.

(Game stats- Snaps: 55, Total Tackles: 9, PBU: 1, INT: 0, TD Allowed: 2, RTG Allowed: 145.4)

Revel’s night against the Chargers was really rough, and it showed up both in the box score and in how the game felt. He was effectively a full-time starter on the outside, logging 55 defensive snaps, tied with Malik Hooker for the most on the team. On paper he finished with nine total tackles, which led the team which is telling on how the game script went. But that volume says as much about how often the ball found him and the issues that went on up front in the trenches.

The defining play was the first-quarter touchdown to Quentin Johnston. Revel was in tight coverage down the right sideline, but never truly played the ball. Johnston went up and made a spectacular one-handed grab for a 23-yard score. Revel looked in phase on the play but never got his head around quickly enough to contest the catch point. Later, he was singled out again for two more costly moments – failing to force Tre’ Harris out of bounds, allowing extra yards after the catch, and missing a tackle on KeAndre Lambert-Smith on third down, extending what turned into a 16-play, eight-minute Chargers drive. When you layer that on top of Johnston’s final line of four catches on five targets for 104 yards and a touchdown, with Herbert posting an insane 132.8 passer rating

All of this, however, has to be viewed through the lens of his health and development. Revel is less than a year removed from a torn ACL that ended his final season at East Carolina, and he missed the first 10 weeks of his rookie year rehabbing before being activated in mid-November. Even this week, he only cleared the injury report on Friday after being limited earlier in the week with a knee issue.

Throwing a rehabbing rookie corner into full-time duty against a hot quarterback and big, explosive receivers is exactly the kind of trial that can either accelerate his growth or dent his confidence if the staff aren’t careful.

LB Shemar James

(Game stats- Snaps: 50, Total Tackles: 5, TFL: 0, Sacks: 0)

James finally got a real defensive workload against the Chargers after DeMarvion Overshown went out, and he looked like exactly what he is right now, a young, fast linebacker who’s still learning but didn’t look out of his depth. Once Overshown left, James’ snap count climbed sharply compared with Minnesota, where he was exclusively a special-teams body. You could see Matt Eberflus trust him more as the game went on, rotating him into the nickel and dime looks rather than just keeping him for base or obvious run downs.

On the field he did the things you want from a backup suddenly pushed into a bigger role. He flowed to the ball, triggered downhill quickly against the run and finished a couple of tackles in space that easily could’ve turned into extra yards. In coverage he was mostly asked to handle underneath zones and running backs out of the backfield. The Chargers completed some short stuff in front of him, but he kept a lid on explosive plays and didn’t have a clear “that’s on James” bust on any of the big gains.

Overall, it was a promising, if unspectacular, step. For a rookie who’d been living on special teams the last few weeks, that kind of steady, next-man-up performance is exactly what you want as a foundation going into next year.

DB Alijah Clark

(Game stats- Snaps: 13, Total Tackles: 0

*Snap count are all special team snaps*

Clark’s night against the Chargers was as low-impact as it gets, simply because he never got a chance to affect the game. He didn’t play a snap on defense and logged 13 snaps on special teams, where he finished without a tackle and without showing up on any of the major special teams swing plays. In one sense that’s neutral rather than negative, but in a game where Dallas needed a spark in the third phase, he was essentially anonymous. For a depth safety still carving out his role, this was more of a placeholder outing than any kind of statement.

CB Trikweze Bridges

(Game stats- Snaps: 26, Total Tackles: 1)

*Snap count include special team snaps*

Bridges had a low-key but meaningful rotational outing against the Chargers, splitting his work between defense and special teams. He logged 17 snaps on defense, which is enough to count as part of the game plan but still very much in a depth role, coming on as an extra defensive back rather than a full-time starter. With that kind of snap count, his job is mostly about being assignment-sound and holding up in zone landmarks.

On special teams he added nine snaps and made his one contribution with a tackle on a kick return, a classic do-your-job play for a back-end corner trying to cement a role on game day. Taken together, 17 defensive snaps and nine on special teams with a solid kick-coverage tackle paints the picture of a depth defensive back who handled his assignments and quietly justified his place on the active roster, even if his name never showed up in the headline moments of the night.

RB Jaydon Blue

Inactive

OT Ajani Cornelius

Inactive

DT Jay Toia

Inactive

RB Phil Mafah

Injured reserve

WR Traeshon Holden

Practice squad

TE Rivaldo Fairweather

Practice squad

LB Justin Barron

Practice squad

Link

Rec Sports

Chelsea missed opportunity to sign Antoine Semenyo for just £2m six years ago – Paper Talk | Football News

Published

40 minutes ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The top stories and transfer rumours from Wednesday’s newspapers…

PREMIER LEAGUE

Manchester United are hopeful that Bruno Fernandes will return from injury before their clash with Manchester City on January 17, meaning the captain would miss only five matches – The Times.

Chelsea could have signed lifelong Blues fan Antoine Semenyo for just £2m six years ago – The Sun.

Antoine Semenyo’s release clause at Bournemouth is only active for the first 10 days of the January transfer window – BBC.

Roma want to sign Chelsea defender Axel Disasi on loan – BBC.

Manchester United are set to appoint Newcastle’s head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley to the same role at Old Trafford – Daily Mail.

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Robert Lewandowski will sit down with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick at the beginning of 2026 to discuss his future – Sport.

Monaco will not convert Ansu Fati’s loan move from Barcelona into a permanent deal – El Nacional.

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

Celtic goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi is attracting interest from clubs in England and Europe – The Scottish Sun.

Hearts are set to sign defender Jordi Altena is set to be their first January signing after beating off competition from the MLS – The Scottish Sun.

Link

Rec Sports

Westbrook among West Virginia First Foundation grant recipients | News, Sports, Jobs

Published

48 minutes ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

(Photo Illustration – MetroCreativeConnection)

CHARLESTON — Westbrook Health Services in Parkersburg was awarded two of 76 grants announced Tuesday from the West Virginia First Foundation.
The WVFF named the recipients of the Momentum Initiative Grant (MIG), which is nearly $18 million, to support high-impact initiatives addressing substance use disorder, prevention, recovery, and workforce and system capacity across West Virginia, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
WVFF Grant Awards
Approved by the WVFF Board of Directors earlier this month, MIG represents a landmark opioid abatement investment and reflects a revolutionary, nationally distinctive model for stewarding settlement dollars, one that combines objective evaluation and local expertise. Funding was awarded to 76 projects spanning statewide and regional target areas, reflecting both community-driven priorities and statewide needs.
Wood County is a part of District 3 within the WVFF which also includes Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt, Calhoun, Roane and Jackson counties.
Westbrook Health Services received a $125,000 grant focusing on Youth Prevention through the Westbrook Health Services Thrive Together Project and a $250,000 grant focused on the Westbrook Health Services Workforce Development Project to help with Behavioral Health & Workforce Development.
Other recipients in Region 3 include: $224,000 to Hope House Ministries Inc. for Recovery Housing; $58,329 to TEAM for West Virginia Children Inc. for Youth Prevention; and $113,554 to The Bomar Club Inc. for its On the Road to Success: Expanded Wraparound and Reentry Services as part of its Day Report Centers & Reentry Programs.
There were four statewide awards given to help with foster care and non-parental caregivers. Those awards include: $954,469.45 to the National Youth Advocate Program Inc. for the Foster RISE (Recruitment, Intervention, Support and Expansion) program; $974,751 to Pressley Ridge for the Pressley Ridge Treatment Kinship Care Statewide Services program; $975,000 to the West Virginia CASA Association Inc. for its Continuum of Care for Children & Families Impacted by the Opioid Crisis program; and $947,916 to West Virginia Wesleyan College for its WVWC & WV CASA Capacity Building Initiative program.
MIG investments will support a broad range of efforts, including foster care and non-parental caregiver initiatives, youth prevention, recovery housing, behavioral health and workforce development, and reentry and diversion programs, the press release said. Collectively, these investments are designed to strengthen systems of care, expand access to services, and promote long-term, sustainable impact for West Virginians, the release added.
“We were intentional in building a structure that reflects both feedback and best practices,” said Greg Duckworth, WVFF Board Chairman. “What emerged is a landmark opioid abatement model, distinct from any other foundation of its kind, made possible by volunteer board members and expert panelists dedicated to serving West Virginia.” To support consistency and objectivity, the WVFF review process followed a structured, multi-step approach, the press release stated. This first-of-its-kind model engaged local expert panelists, statewide leaders in their fields, neutral and objective data-driven specialists, and the full Board of Directors (both locally-elected and appointed). Independent, outcomes-based scoring was conducted and focused on program design, feasibility, and potential impact, the release said.
“The Momentum Initiative Grant reflects a new way of responding to the substance use crisis; one grounded in evidence, shaped by local expertise, and guided by accountability,” said Jonathan Board, WVFF Executive Director. “We traveled the state, listened to those holding the line in their communities, and answered the call to honor the lives lost by putting these resources into the hands of those ready to create real, lasting impact for West Virginia.”
For more information about the Momentum Initiative Grant, visit wvfirst.org/MIG.

Link

Rec Sports

Roundup of news from Hull’s wide world of sports — The Hull Times

Published

56 minutes ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Compiled by Matt Haraden

• The Hull High Boys Basketball team’s next game is on the road against the Academy of the Pacific Rim in Boston at 2 p.m. on Friday, January 2, followed by a return to the home gym on Monday, January 5 against Falmouth Academy at 5 p.m.

• The Girls Varsity Basketball team is 0-3 on the season after falling to the Carver Crusaders, 59-29, on Friday, December 19. Gianna Thorne scored 10 points, while Addison Littlefield had 6 points and 5 rebounds, and Bella Walsh scored 6 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots. During the holiday break, the team will play in the Scituate Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, December 30 at 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday, December 31 at 11 a.m., then travels to the New Heights Charter School in Brockton on Monday, January 5 at 4:30 p.m.

• The Cohasset-Hull Cooperative Hockey team’s next games will be on Saturday, January 3 against Boston Latin Academy. Puck drops at 4 p.m. The team then heads down the Cape to take on Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School at the Tony Kent Arena in South Dennis on Monday, January 5 at 6 p.m.

• The Hingham-Hull Cooperative Gymnastics squad is 1-0 on the season, winning its opening matchup over Marshfield, 130.4 to 121.3, on December 19. The next competition will be against Whitman-Hanson Regional High School at the Massachusetts Gymnastics Center in Hingham on Wednesday, January 7 at 8 p.m.

• The next meet for the Boys and Girls Indoor Track teams will be against Carver on Monday, January 5 at 4 p.m. at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

• For the full schedule for each Hull High team, visit www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=10611.

• Registration is under way for Hull Pirates In-Town Youth Basketball. Programs include a skills and drills co-ed session for grades 1 and 2, a co-ed program for grades 3 and 4, as well as an open gym program (also co-ed) for grades 5-8. The season runs from January 10-March 14 on Saturdays at the Jacobs School gym. For more information, visit http://hullbasketball.leagueapps.com/camps.

• A combined Girls 3/4 travel basketball team is on the court this season, competing at the fourth-grade level, and has a record of 1-2. The team’s most recent game was a 36-5 loss to Weymouth on Saturday. Next up is Hingham on Sunday, January 4 at 3 p.m. All games are played at Indian Head Elementary School in Hanson, so fans have to travel to take in a game. The full schedule of game times and weekly opponents is at this link: www.oldcolonybasketball.org/team/hull/4/1.

• Registration is open for Hull Youth Lacrosse – two travel teams and the in-town programs – through January 22. For more information, visit www.hulllax.com or email hullyouthlax@gmail.com if you have any questions.

• Coaches, league organizers, and superfans – We need your help to report the scores and results of the latest events in Hull’s sports world! Please send local sports news and photos to sports@hulltimes.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon. When providing details of the games or races, please be sure to include the sport/team, the players’ full names, and the final scores. When sending photos, names of those pictured are greatly appreciated, as well as who should get credit for taking the photo.

Thank you for your help!

Link

Rec Sports

2026 Seahawks NFL FLAG regional tournament to be hosted in Everett

Published

3 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

A boy playing flag football. (Photo courtesy iStock)

The 2026 Seahawks NFL FLAG Regional Tournament has been awarded to Everett, the Snohomish County Sports Commission announced. The regional tournament will be on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Kasch Park. Youth and high school flag football teams from across Western United States will have the opportunity to win their division and advance to the NFL FLAG Championships Presented by Toyota.

This regional tournament is the last “ticket” for flag football teams to qualify for the NFL FLAG championships. YMCA and Pop Warner Football teams are eligible to participate in the regional tournament. There are scholastic entries for high school teams. The 14U boys and high school girls’ teams have the largest number of flag football teams participating in the tournament. The tournament divisions are from 8U coed to high school girls.

Registration is open. Learn more here.

“Everett is the perfect host for the Seahawks NFL FLAG Regional Tournament,” said Ramon Nunez, tournament manager at RCX Sports. “This event represents a critical pathway to the NFL FLAG Championships, and we’re excited to bring teams together from across the region in a community that’s deeply invested in youth sports. Hosting in Everett allows us to deliver an exceptional experience for athletes, families, and coaches while continuing to build a clear, competitive pathway within the NFL FLAG ecosystem.”

“We are excited to be hosting the Seahawks NFL FLAG Regional Tournament next June and look forward to welcoming the teams and their families to Everett,” said Tammy Dunn, Snohomish County Sports Commission executive director. “With the growth of flag football recently, especially with the high school girls, hosting this regional tournament will create more exposure for flag football in the Pacific Northwest.”

A non-contact program available to girls and boys ages 5-17, NFL FLAG is an NFL-licensed property of more than 2,000 locally operated leagues and over 765,000 youth athletes across all 50 states.

Link