There are times in sports when things don’t come down to winning or losing.

How the game is played is just as important.

Playing hard, being good teammates, good students and good kids are just some of the many characteristics that exemplify every player in the Lawrence Youth Football organization.

For the Lawrence Youth Football Chops, these attributes may have been developed twice as much.

The Chops have played this season a little shorthanded, having far fewer kids out for football than other teams.

Due to the low turnout, the Chops’ players have had to practice and play out of their designated age group. For example, members of the Chops third-grade team have to play on the fourth-grade team, and players on the fifth-grade team have to play on the fourth-grade and sixth-grade teams.

Chops third-year coach Jim Whitchurch said this shuffling has been difficult for both players and coaches.

“It’s a challenge for coaches to coach four different teams,” he said. “And it’s a challenge for them to perform at a higher level of maturity than what they’re ready for.”

Chops fifth-grader Brandon Eddy plays on his fifth-grade team and also on the sixth-grade team.

He said playing for both teams has its advantages.

“I think it’s good because it’s another opportunity to play football,” he said. “And football is my favorite sport.”

At such a young age, one might think having a fifth-grader on the team may not be the best of things. But that is not the case with the Chops.

Sixth-grader Jordan Cuttell said the fifth-graders have been a great addition to the team.

“I like the fifth-graders,” Cuttell said. “They help us a lot. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t have backups.”

The Chops’ special teams unit is mostly made up fifth-graders, and coach Whitchurch noticed the difficulties in match-ups, both at games and at practice.

“It’s been a challenge for us to find 11 players to play 11 (-man football),” he said. “We just don’t have enough players to scrimmage.”

Being short on numbers, when the Chops do practice, it is not uncommon for the younger kids to have to go up against the bigger kids, which is something that doesn’t always sit well with Cuttell’s mother, Amy.

“My mom worries about us that we’re gonna get hurt because we’re so much smaller than everybody else,” Cuttell said.

But despite the differences in the size of the players, Cuttell seemed glad to just be on the field.

“It’s just really fun to just play football,” he said.

The Chops fifth-grade team defeated the Gorillas last week and next play the Baldwin Bulldogs. Coach Whitchurch said the players’ hard work is a reflection of them as people.

“They practice hard, they try hard,” he said. “We have a great bunch of kids.”