For as long as he can remember, YMCA program director Wayne Scott says, Vicksburg’s children have gotten their introduction to tackle football through the organization’s youth football program.

“I played in this league in 1963,” he said. “Tackle football at that age has been around for 50 years.”

Scott hopes it will be around for 50 more. Vicksburg’s next generation of children, however, will have to wait an extra two years to play it.

In a major change, the Vicksburg YMCA is changing its third- and fourth-grade league from tackle to flag football for the 2016 season. It’s a move designed to increase player safety, help with skills development, and spur participation.

The switch will make two of the YMCA’s three youth divisions flag leagues. Its K-2 league will also be flag, while the fifth- and sixth-grade league will remain tackle.

“We didn’t make that decision lightly,” YMCA executive director Phillip Doiron said. “We did a lot of research. It’s about skill development and participation, and at that age they need to be concentrating on skills instead of hitting.”

Doiron added — and emphasized — that there are no plans to change the fifth- and sixth-grade league to flag football.

“This is not some first step in a grand plan to get rid of tackle football,” Doiron said.

A number of youth football organizations around the country such as Pop Warner and USA Football have taken steps recently to reduce tackling and the injuries associated with it. The moves have been focused mainly on concussions and their long-term effects.

Doiron said the national YMCA sets certain guidelines, but leaves it up to individual chapters to set their own rules. The switch to flag, he said, was made with an eye on the larger national trend of reducing contact in games.

“There’s a time for hitting, and we felt they could wait a little longer,” Doiron said. “The Vicksburg Y strongly supports its football program. We’re doing it because, as much as we love it, the safety of the kids comes first.”

Scott, who oversees the Y’s football program, said feedback about the change has ranged from positive to accepting. Registration for the 2016 season is open until Aug. 29, and the numbers have remained steady from last year, he said. He’s hopeful that for every parent who doesn’t sign up because of the change, there are many more who will because of it.

The YMCA league had 340 players and 18 teams in 2015. Scott expected similar numbers this season.

“I’m not sure how good of a gauge it is, but on our Facebook page, 90 percent of the mothers were ecstatic about this,” Scott said. “Number one was the expense of the equipment that they don’t have to buy now. Number two was they’ll get to participate. And number three was they’re not worried about the possibility of getting injured.”

The tackle-to-flag switch isn’t the only major change for the YMCA’s leagues. The K-2 league will go to an instructional model based on the Y’s teeball and Biddy Basketball programs. Instead of a traditional team-oriented league, it will now meet every Monday for a general instructional session focused on teaching fundamentals. After the practice, the players will be split up to play a game.

Another new rule should be a crowd-pleaser, or at least a player-pleaser. No player in the flag leagues will be allowed to run with the football more than once every four downs, and everyone on the team must carry the ball at least once in the game.

In flag football, teams start drives at the 10-yard line and have four downs to reach midfield for a first down. After that, they have another four downs to score.

The new rule for ball carriers has several purposes, Scott and Doiron said. It should keep one player from dominating a game, and will also teach children about the sport by exposing them to different positions as other players take turns getting the football.

“Every kid in every league wants to run the ball, and a lot of kids can’t understand why they don’t get to. We had weight limits, and now it doesn’t matter,” Scott said. “It’s going to be hard to keep up with, but what we want is for the same kid not to carry the ball two times in a row.”

While the Vicksburg YMCA is reducing its tackle football offerings, it is increasing its emphasis on player safety for the remaining tackle league. A concussion protocol modeled after the one used by the Mississippi High School Activities Association has been in place for about five years. This year, for the first time, a preseason clinic will be held to instruct volunteer coaches on proper techniques.

The clinic will be held Sept. 10 and be led by former Vicksburg High School coach Alonzo Stevens and former Porters Chapel Academy coach Randy Wright.

“It’s something new we’re trying to add,” Scott said. “All of our coaches are volunteers. The only skills they have are what they were taught when they played, and the game has changed tremendously since then.”