Crestview Area Youth Association gets new board members

CRESTVIEW — Less than a week after the Panhandle Youth Football Association suspended every Crestview Area Youth Association team, CAYA has new board members.

William Shingles and Derrick Walker take the place of Terry Jackson and Jennifer Jackson as CAYA president and secretary, respectively, after concerns arose between CAYA teams and the president of PYFA.

After two Crestview parents shared their safety concerns, PYFA President Cornell Tinner suspended the Crestview teams, which affected more than 250 CAYA athletes ranging from 5 to 12 years old. According to Tinner, CAYA was slandering the PYAF “to justify a loss.”

Three players on a Crestview team were injured during an Aug. 26 game. Two received concussions and the third has a badly sprained arm. All three were injured during plays involving a Niceville player who allegedly failed the initial weigh-in that would have prevented him from running the ball.

Ryan Hardy and John Contri, both of whom coached the injured boys, said they watched one of Niceville’s players weigh three times, finally stripping down to his underwear to make weight.

According to Jackson, Tinner posted a list of rules on PYFA’s Facebook page for CAYA to follow before he would remove the suspension.

According to the post, CAYA had “exactly 72 hours” to produce another president or area representative to continue in PYFA. Also, the cheer competition would be removed from Crestview as a host “to ensure [PYFA] girls get the chance to compete [in] the most pleasant situation.”

In the post, Tinner said, “The demands must be met or the PYFA will continue the fun of Little League football without the distractions.”

Jackson said less than 24 hours later, Tinner added new demands to the list. Hardy was to step down as the coach for the age 9-10 team; Jennifer was to resign as secretary; and Jackson’s two children and the children of Hardy would not be able to play with CAYA anymore.

According to Jackson, remaining board members convinced Tinner to allow the children of Jackson and Hardy to play, and Tinner complied.

When contacted by a News Bulletin reporter, Tinner said he had no time to comment on the matter as of this writing.

"We had to step down for the kids to be able to play," Jackson said. "So [myself], the secretary and the 9-10 coach decided we'd go ahead and step down without any arguing so that way these kids could get back on the field."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Area Youth Association gets new board members