Go Raiders! My father would cringe if he heard me say that….only because growing up the Oakland Raiders were one of our family’s least favorite teams. But the Raiders I cheer for these days is the organization two of my sons played for many years ago; the Maple Valley Raiders.
I drove by Tahoma Middle School the other night and the full parking lot reminded me that it’s once again Raiders football season. Thought I’d re-publish this post from last year:
Originally published, 8/31/2008:
The leaves are beginning to fade into yellow on my Dogwood and Maple trees so I know football is just around the corner.
When my 3 guys were little, they couldn’t wait to play football. They had seen pictures and football cards of their Grandpa when he had played and they were just chomping at the bit to suit up and get out on the field. Fortunately for them, Maple Valley has a very popular Junior Football Program, the Maple Valley Raiders which was established in 1978.
The Raiders program offers little guys the opportunity to play by age & weight class from as young as age 7. I will never forget the night my son Graham received his equipment and helmet for the first time…when I woke him up for school the next morning I saw he had slept with his helmet right next to his pillow! The program is pretty time intensive, but the kids have a great time. Last fall at a few of the Tahoma Bears Varsity games, the Raiders 89ers and Sweet Peas took the field at half-time to scrimmage under the lights. They were absolutely adorable!
Ultimately my guys turned out to be too big for their age groups (they would have had to play “up” against boys who were years older) so they didn’t play many years with the program, but we have many fond memories of watching them out on the field at the old Jr. High.
The Maple Valley Raiders Cheerleading program is also very popular and runs concurrently with the football program.
In case you’d like to check out a game this fall, you can view their schedule here.
Go Raiders!
Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990 but specializes in the Maple Valley Washington area. .She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400
Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser
