by
posted 04/12/2009 A reminder that the online YAC Football registration will commence on Thursday, April 16th and close on Sunday, May 31st. Please note that there will NOT be any late registrations accepted so please sign-up on time if you want to play during the 2009 season. In addition to the online registration, there will be two walk up dates on Thursday, April 16th and Tuesday, April 21st in the Crompond Elementary School Cafeteria from 7:00 to 9:00pm. This is a great opportunity to raise any questions you may have about the program.
The goal of the YAC Football program is to teach young athletes about the fundamentals of tackle football both, from a physical and mental perspective. We all enjoy winning, but I am more concerned with teaching the kids how to compete week in and week out then I am about wins and loses. I believe that it is important to emphasize that Football due to the physical and sometimes violent nature of the game is not like the other YAC sports programs. There is no such thing as tackle football with training wheels and there is no place to hide a kid who doesn't want to be on the field during practice and games. The program for the 3rd & 4th grade is primarily an introduction to football; by 5th grade the level of play and intensity starts to pick up considerably and when you reach the 6th, 7th or 8th grade levels, most of the kids have been playing for 3 to 5 years and the level play and the intensity of physical contact starts to become noticeable.
Football is the ultimate team sport and, although it may not be the most glamourous part of the game or what you would expect to see on Sports Center highlights, the most important and selfless aspect of the game is blocking and tackling. Ultimately on offense, only one of the eleven players on the field is carrying the ball which means that the other ten players are expected to block for the benefit of the team. On defense, the players work as a team to put themselves in the best position to prevent the opponent from gaining yardage.
YAC Football across the board requires a significant commitment by both the players and parents:
- Starting on August 3rd, YAC Football launches the 2009 season with a voluntary (although highly recommended) football camp. The camp is comprised of 4 days of 3 hour per day intense physical training and is designed to satisfy the league mandated 10 hours of non-contact conditioning before a player can practice in full pads and have contact. Players who do not attend the camp will not be able to start practicing with their respective teams until they complete the mandatory 10 hours. As this is an issue of safety, there are NO exceptions
- Each team will have a minimum of 3 practices days per week (2 weekday and 1 weekend). Practices during the preseason will generally run 2 1/2 to 3 hours as there is a significant amount of training and teaching to be done before the first scrimmage/game. During the season, teams will practice twice during the week and the weekend practice will generally be a walk through (helmets only) to review the game plan, special teams assignments etc. Players are expected to attend every practice. If a player misses two practices during a week, they will NOT be allowed to dress and play in that weeks game. Players who consistently miss practices during the year should not expect a significant amount of playing time during the games. A player who misses significant practice time puts both themselves and their teammates safety at risk.
- The football season runs from August 3rd through at least October 24th (see below dates). YAC Football is part of the Candlewood Valley League (CVL) and includes local teams as well as teams from Connecticut, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. Games can be played on Saturday or Sunday depending on field availability. Rest assure, there will be a few away games where the travel will be in excess of an hour so, the fact that you may have to travel a distance for certain games should not come as a surprise.
Player safety is a primary concern of the YAC Football Progam. Clincs, camps and practices are carefully scripted to ensure players are properly conditioned, taught the proper way to block and tackle as well as understand their offensive and defensive responsibilities. YAC Football joined the Candlewood Valley League (CVL) in 2007 (7th & 8th grade) and 2008 (3rd thru 8th) for a number of reasons including:
- In 2007, YAC Football participated in 4 different leagues (7th & 8th grade in the CVL, 5/6 travel in the Tri-County, 5/6 eight-man in a 4 town 10 team league and 3/4 eight-man in a 7 town, 21 team league. This became a logistical nightmare for the program so far as scheduling home and away games and did not expose all the players to 11-man football.
- The Tri-County and other leagues were very disorganized, played by an archaic set of rules that for all intent and purpose discouraged the bigger player from participating. As an example, if you weighed over 125 lbs, you were considered an X player and only 1 X player could be on the field at a time. Last year, we had no fewer than 12 players at the 5th/6th grade level that would have had their playing time restricted.
- The level of competition across the 4 leagues was very inconsistent as each town adhered to a different set of rules when selecting their respective teams. This resulted in very few competitive games during the course of the season which win or lose is not a lot of fun nor in the best interest of player development.
- The CVL is a single grade, no weight or position restriction league. Grade and age are the two biggest safety factors in youth football and the CVL addresses both these concerns. The CVL is also an extremely organized and well established league that is governed by an independent board that meets monthly with representatives from all league organizations. Although the football season spans 4 months, the governing body and the representatives from each program are focused for 10 months on improving the program for the benefit of the players.
- The CVL has a minimum play rule that is monitored by the opposing team:
- 3rd Grade - 15 plays per player
- 4th through 8th Grade
- 31 - 36 players - 4 plays
- 25 - 30 players - 6 plays
- Under 25 players - 8 plays
CVL Schedule:
Nov 21 - NE Region Championship
Nov 14 - NE Region Semis
Nov 7 - CT State Championship
Oct 31 - CVL Championship - Bowl Finals
Oct 24 - CVL Playoffs - Bowl Play-in games
Oct 17 - Week 8
Oct 10 - Week 7
Oct 3 - Week 6
Spt 26 - Week 5
Spt 19 - Week 4
Spt 12 - Week 3
Spt 5 - Week 2
Aug 29 - Week 1
Aug 22 - PreSeason Games
Aug 15 - End of Wk 2 practice
Aug 8 - End of Wk 1 practice
Aug 3 - 1st Practice
Rgds,
Joel Forbes
Joe DiCanio
