RUSSELLVILLE - It's something Russellville superintendent Jerry Hobbs has wanted for a long time.
Hobbs was waiting for a parent-led group to start a football program at the Russellville schools, and when Zach Hackett, a parent of an elementary student, called Hobbs, he was excited to help.
"I told him that I've been waiting for parents to approach me with interest in football in order to get that grassroots effort," Hobbs said. "When I told the board, we talked about this several years ago that it really wouldn't be beneficial for me, as the superintendent, to try and push this unless we had parents of kids who really wanted to be involved in the program."
Hackett moved to the Russellville area four years ago from Colorado and quickly found out his new home didn't have a football program. From that point on, Hackett and other parents have been laying down the foundation to start one.
The process has picked up in the past eight months, as the parents leading the group made presentations to the school board and were approved earlier this month to move forward with the program.
But during the past three years, they've started flag-football teams that compete in Jefferson City and are looking to join a league in Camdenton. The kids started in the first grade and have been moving up levels as they grow.
"I was really trying to lay the groundwork with the students, with the kids," Hackett said. "We're working with the grade levels we have children in."
Their children are now in fourth grade and they're trying to start a Missouri State High School Activities Association team for Russellville in 2018, when the kids are in the seventh grade.
"They had kids playing in Jefferson City in leagues and they wanted to carry that through the school," Hobbs said. "We had to decide how and when to implement the program. Because the kids are already playing, they're going to have the knowledge and skill entering that middle school team."
With the program moving forward, Hobbs will act as an advisor and share plans with the school district, which built the track and field complex with the idea of a football field being added eventually. Hobbs said it was cheaper to have that in place, as opposed to making adjustments down the road when it might be more expensive.
But for now, the parent group has some work to do.
"The main goal is fundraising and getting as many kids involved in whatever form of football they want to participate in," Hackett said. "There's a lot of local, good football camps that we want to promote and get the kids involved in and learn some fundamentals."
Hackett said the minimum they'll need to start a middle-school program is $20,000. That will buy goalposts, equipment and uniforms.
"We're hoping we can get some stuff donated," Hackett said. "We need goalposts and we need a scoreboard. We have zero funds now, so it'll take a few years to generate some."
Hobbs recently purchased $967 worth of used equipment he will donate to get the program started. That will be used until the program can generate enough money to purchase new equipment.
"Obviously if we had it a couple of years later, it'd probably be better, but we didn't want to pass up this opportunity," said Hobbs. "I just wanted to give that support before I retire so people will know that I'm in support of the football program here."
While the financial situation might be an uphill battle, Hobbs said there might be concerns with other parent groups.
"We do know that if and when the football program starts, fall baseball will go away," Hobbs said. "We have parents that are afraid that we're going to go in a hole and it's going to cost the district just to keep that going. In our research, that's not the case at all.
"Then you'll have some parents that believe it's just too dangerous of a sport. Any sport you play, there's going to be risks of injury. That's just part of the game."
But there are some benefits to having a football program, including a potential increase in student enrollment.
"Some parents have children that are second or third string and they can come out here and be starters and excel," Hobbs said. "We've had some parents over the past years come in, look around and ask, "How's your football program?' And we have to say we don't have one yet. Some of those parents decide to go to other schools because a football program is what they're looking for.
"Another thing that we did look at is the cost of getting it set up. All of the schools that we've talked to said the football program actually supports itself. It also generates enough money to help support the other programs."
The football talk excites Lucas Branson, the Russellville athletic director and head baseball coach.
"Getting people excited to have a football game on a Friday night, that's something they've never been a part of," Branson said. "I've not been at a school that's had football either, you know. It would be a new experience for me. It's a long way off - we're talking several years from now - but it's something to set as a big goal and see how far we can get with it."
Hackett and the parent group will host a town-hall type of meeting at 5 p.m. May 3 at the middle-school cafeteria where anyone interested can voice their opinion on the matter and potentially help move the program forward.
"It's going to be an uphill battle, but I hope the community can get behind it," Hackett said. "The community always does a great job getting behind school activities and school functions, so we want them to view this as a school activity. Hopefully they'll get behind it and support financially and emotionally."