WHAT DOES IT COST TO PLAY FOOTBALL AT PONDEROSA?
The cost of this program is not insignificant, and we do our best as a booster club to mitigate as much of that burden as we can. The school participation dues ($200/player) and booster club fees Varsity/JV (approx. $200) and Freshmen (approx. $250) are set and due when the season starts in the fall. During the summer we also launch a campaign to sell “Pondo Cards” that acts as our main source of fund raising for the entire program. Each household will be given 20 card packs to sell (each pack contains 2 cards and some additional paper coupons) for a total of $30/pack. We ask that the funds from these cards be turned in relatively quickly. The total amount to be turned in is $600 and we expect everyone to participate in this program. Again, the expectation is that $600 will be offset by the sale of the cards to cover that amount.
WHAT GEAR IS REQUIRED AND WHERE CAN I GET IT?
Required gear for all players consists of: white practice jersey, white practice pants, girdle, mouth-guard, cleats, game socks, and game-day polo shirt. We will provide a location (Team Store) to purchase these items at a discounted price. The practice jersey, practice pants, mouth-guard, girdle, and cleats can be purchased elsewhere if you desire. Cleats must be white, black, cardinal, or gold.
IS THERE A SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULED?
Yes. There will be a two-week camp during the summer. JV/Varsity dates July 19 - July 29. Freshmen camp dates are July 19-23 and July 26-28.
IS THERE A SUMMER WORKOUT PROGRAM?
Our strength coach (Patrick Nolan) is not a teacher in the building – he is an outside Strength and Conditioning specialist that we have on staff to run all things S&C for the school. During the summer he runs training sessions for both JV/V and Freshmen. The Freshmen program brings the freshman up to speed on the program slowly. If your son has traveled to Ponderosa from Sagewood to participate in Coach Nolan's after-school sessions, then you should be familiar with his program. The Freshmen have their own session during the morning summer workouts. This program is expected to run from June 1 through July 27 with a break on July 5th and 6th. The fee for this session is $150 for the summer.
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL WEEK LOOK LIKE?
Practice typically runs from 3:30-5:30 each day after school but is modified in season. Check the calendar weekly - it is updated by Sunday evening. Freshmen games are on Thursday or Saturday each week. Please note that Fall break will still be a game week for the Football program.
HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE?
Each week you should expect an email from the team parent with information on that upcoming week detailing if there are any changes in the practice or game schedule, an update from the coach, or anything else pertinent to that week’s activities.
Also, each player will need to download the Hudl App if they don’t already have it. This is the main form of communication for the coaches directly to the players.
Also, each player will need to download the Hudl App if they don’t already have it. This is the main form of communication for the coaches directly to the players.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
The bulk of this program is supported by parents volunteering to help out. This could mean acting as the team “parent” that is the liaison between the head coach and the rest of the parents. Or helping with field prep and the sideline chains at home games, putting together sandwiches for the bus ride to the away games, helping with the banquet, etc, etc. None of these are required (except the field prep/chains) but the season runs much smoother and is more enjoyable if we can get a lot of folks to help with these jobs.
WHEN IS THE FOOTBALL BANQUET?
The banquet will take place some time in early November (Freshmen) or early December (Varsity/JV). We will need 1-2 people to head a committee to gather the team awards, get the banquet room set up/torn down, set the menu, etc. We have several folks in the program that could act as a resource to help answer any questions you might have.