M&J Catfish Wars Encourages Youth Involvement
“We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
Young people are naturally curious. When their young minds are challenged by learning new concepts they grow, adapt, and learn. An excellent place to learn new concepts is in the outdoors with Mother Nature during a catfish tournament.
Blake Sasser, Chandler Highnote, and Joshua Peterman are three young anglers that participate regularly in the M&J Catfish Wars events. Their parents understand that the challenge of competition and the experience of tournament catfishing is preparing them for their personal futures. The youth, in turn, contribute to the growth and success of the trail. It is truly a two-way street.
Success in catfishing is often a fleeting target. Continued success requires the ability to change your approach to the conditions at hand. Success in life is similar. If learned, this lesson alone will benefit youth anglers for years to come. Add the many more life lessons that can be gleaned and it becomes obvious that attracting youth to catfishing is good for them and is good for the sport.
The future of any sport is always changing and uncertain. As older competitors retire younger ones are needed to replace them. Tournament angler and regular competitor on the M&J trail, Allen Shepard, recognizes the need and is outspoken on the necessity for new blood in the sport.
“I believe tournament trails should give more emphasis to youth anglers,” declared Shepard. “They could do more upfront advertisement to welcome families and younger anglers to participate on the competitive level.”
“For example, not enough local trails have youth categories within an event,” continued Shepard. “Few of the local events I know of have designated youth divisions. I believe that giving young anglers the opportunity to be in the limelight will encourage the parents and the youth to stay the course and participate.”
Shepard believes that organizers and adult competitors can contribute a lot by being creative. They can target young anglers by providing inducements just for them.
“We have to keep all participants involved, especially the youngsters,” concluded Shepard. “Things like taking the time to offer youth drawings, acknowledgments such as pictures with top anglers, and other creative things that give accolades to the youngsters who are the future of our sport. I just believe that by thinking outside the box there are encouraging ways to build up great future anglers.”
The M&J Catfish War Tournament describes their trail as “by the Angler for the Angler.” They encourage anyone interested in catfishing to participate. They further describe the trail as family-oriented and welcome children to participate. They happily challenge young minds to grow, adapt, and learn.
Editor’s Note: For a story related to Blake Sasser and his dad Brandon see the February 2022 issue of CatfishNOW. Chandler Highnote and his dad, Marty are featured in this issue (March 2022). Joshua Peterman and his dad Nathaniel have a story in the April 2022 issue. These families represent the best of reasons to promote more youth in the sport of catfishing.
