There’s a concept in sports called the “pipeline.”

Athletes at the varsity, college and professional level don’t just spring up out of nowhere — they must be nurtured, taught and encouraged to go where their talents lead.

That’s one of the things that the South Whidbey Youth Football League does, and its efforts were much in evidence Saturday at the high school football field.

Starting at 9 a.m., three Falcon teams — Juniors (ages 11-12), PeeWees (ages 6-8) and Midgets (ages 9-10) — got the chance to play before family and friends on the field they hope to play on for the high school team some day.

“We’re glad people came out to see the future of South Whidbey football,” said league president Jean Streitler. “Besides offering a great experience, we’re a kind of pipeline for island football. Many, if not most, of these kids will be on Cougar and Falcon teams.”

Of course, the kids and coaches have their work cut out for them.

The Juniors lost their game to Oak Harbor 46-0 and have yet to win their first contest.

“The Junior Falcons were a lot more competitive against Oak Harbor than they have been in their past four games,” said coach Ken Griffen. “The touchdowns scored against the juniors were the results of offensive and defensive errors that Oak Harbor capitalized on. But it was a great learning experience.”

The Junior defense held Oak Harbor to three first downs the entire game, with standout performances from Devon Lebron, Kris Watson and Tyler Dow.

Offensively, Charlie Patterson, Cody Russell, Shawn Williams and Anthony Eveland were able to move the ball against Oak Harbor and several times found themselves in Oak Harbor’s red zone, but were unable to score.

Things went better for the PeeWees, who pulled off a late fourth-quarter drive for the only touchdown of the game, beating Oak Harbor 6-0.

Quarterback Gabriel Eck and running back Ty, twins at age 8, spearheaded the effort.

“My brother handed off the ball and I ran to the left,” Ty recalled. “There were two or three guys after me, but I knew I was going to score when they grabbed and missed.”

Gabriel said playing football is exciting for the brothers.

“We talk about what we’re going to do before a game, but mostly we do what the coaches tell us to do,” he explained.

Coach Wes Crain said his team, undefeated at 5-0, takes pride in wearing blue and silver.

“The kids have learned to give it their best and play hard on every play,” he said.

“This has led to some exciting games this year; we run as a team, hit as a team, tackle as a team and play as a team. Teamwork and accountability is the foundation of our program.”

Finally, the Midgets (2-3 for the season) lost to Lynden 13-0.

While most of the day’s action was on the field, there was a good deal of excitement on the sidelines as fans of all ages lined up for photos and autographs from Seattle Seahawk Sea Gals Gwen McCall and Michelle Wittenberg.

The women were on hand to sell calendars and raise money for the youth football program.

“We really need to buy new equipment, since a lot of the gear is many years old,” Streitler said. “Shoulder pads, helmets, practice pants and shirts are in short supply.”

“We’re trying to stay with the times.”