The Portage Pitbulls Football Club's looking back at 2016 as a rebuild of a year.

"The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves," says President Kim Miller. "They always came off the field smiling because they were enjoying each other's company. It may not have been the most successful season as we've had in the past but you win some and you lose some. We've gone pretty far into playoffs in the past. We've had teams win the championship, lose in the championship, but this year we were on the losing side of the ball more than the winning."

The Pitbulls fielded three teams last season, Crunchers, Atom and Bantam, missing out on a Peewee team because of poor numbers. Miller doesn't know if parents are worried about their child's safety on the field, but says recruitment is one of their top priorities heading into next season.

"2017 will be a hard working year to recruit players and getting the word out that football is a fun and safe program. All of our coaches have extensive training on how to be safe on the field and it's contact, but they make it as safe as they can for the players. So recruiting is a big thing we'll be focusing on in 2017."

Miller adds a lot of first-year players were thrilled to be a part of the organization, adding she never heard any negative feedback from parents or players.