Let My Son, Wesley, Play 6th Grade Football!

I was recently informed that my son Wesley Strange will not be allowed to play 6th Grade football. Wesley was born premature, and due to his health and cognitive learning issues was held back in school a year. Now, the Central Arkansas Pee Wee Football Association (CAPWFA) has said Wesley can't play football this year because he turns 13 just nine days prior to the league's October 1 cutoff. Please sign my petition to ask (CAPWFA) to let Wesley play!

Wesley is a twin. He and his brother Matthew were 6 weeks premature. Matthew was a healthy 5 lbs, Wesley was 3 lbs and required 2 weeks in NICU. Due to their prematurity, they both had health issues requiring hospitalization. They also were developmentally delayed in speech and cognitive learning. At the advisement of professionals and due to these developmental concerns, we did not start them to school until they were 6.

Even given this delay, Wesley still had severe delays and after meeting with his principal, teacher, counselor and speech therapist, it was decided that holding Wesley in Kindergarten another year was vitally important for his education and learning needs. His brother proceeded on to 1st grade.

This was an extremely hard time emotionally for Wesley to be held back and split up grades from his twin brother. He worked extremely hard and eventually graduated out of his IEP (Individual Educational Plan) by 3rd grade. He wanted to play football in 3rd grade, but due to his continuing health issues, we decided to wait until he graduated out of IEP.

Wesley started playing peewee football in the 4th grade and he has excelled, made friends, became part of a family and done so well in every developmental, and academic aspect of his life. He loves his coaches, the players, their families. The league is separated by grade only, and Wesley has played for the last 2 years with the same team and no one ever said he was too old to play with this grade level.

We were recently notified that Wesley was declared ineligible to play football due to the fact he turns 13 on September 22, 2015, which is 9 days prior to the league's October 1st cutoff. This date is mid-season and they will not even allow him to play until his birthday. Also, the Arkansas Athletic Association's guidelines state their cutoff is September 1st.

Wesley has to be in 7th grade before he can play for his school. He can't go to another town to play, because his father and I commute an hour each way to work which makes it almost impossible to have him in another town for practice. Plus, Wesley played on this team for the past 2 years. He just wants to stay with his coaches and friends.

I feel Wesley is being discriminated against due to the fact that he was held back through no fault of his own. He has no unfair advantage due to his date of birth. In actuality, he has 1 year less time than the other boys in his grade as he didn't start playing until a year after the other boys. He is not a big, huge star athlete who makes all the plays and wins all the games. He is just part of a team, a boy that has endured so much in his short little life and has found an outlet to fit in and love life, and love the sport (the only sport he plays). For this to be taken away from him, for him to have to sit out and watch his team and not get to participate, is such a crushing thing to someone who has already endured so much.

I thank you so much for your reconsideration in this matter and I beg that you think how you would feel if this was your child, grandchild, nephew, or relative. What you would want for them? Please sign this petition to let the league know that there are exceptions to every rule and this should be one of them.