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Batavia Youth Football to take over Rotolo Middle team

Batavia Youth Football is going to take over running the Rotolo Middle School eighth-grade football team.

The school board approved a two-year contract with the organization Tuesday night.

Anton Inglese, the district's chief financial officer, said declining participation in the program, and the fact other schools are disbanding teams, were factors.

The district's athletic directors and coaches recommended partnering with BYF.

BYF already offers teams for children in first through seventh grades. Inglese said the organization is aligned with the vision and values espoused by the football program at Batavia High School. BYF was started in 2003 by former Batavia High head football coach Mike Gaspari and current head coach Dennis Piron.

The district will pay BYF $12,000, to help pay for coaches. It also will give equipment for the seventh- and eighth-grade teams to BYF. The league will offer members of the Batavia Education Association the right of first refusal on four coaching positions for the two years.

Inglese said BYF also agrees to charge participation fees similar to those the district charges for middle-school athletics.

BYF is an affiliate of the Batavia Park District and USA Football. Children in first and second grade play touch football; third- through sixth-graders play flag football; and seventh- and eighth-graders play tackle football.

The Rotolo team will continue to play other schools' teams. With the change, though, it will practice and play in Bulldog Stadium at Batavia High School, instead of at the middle school.

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