Football for the Family......
Parents,
Thanks to you & your children, we have had a tremendous interest in playing football with the Craven Jaguars for the 2009 season. So much so that about two weeks ago, we began to search for solutions to place the over 30 kids who wanted to play with us, but couldn't within the regulations of Pop Warner.
We approached American Youth Football to find a solution. AYF is the largest football & cheer organization in the country. Backed by the NFL, the NCAA & Under Armour, joining the AYF allows us to expand our football program to accommodate more players at a lower cost.
As President, I believe it is my responsibility to try to ensure that as many kids as possible who want to play football with us can play & by joining AYF we can clear our wait list & sign up everyone.
Here is a recap of the changes:
1) We will play against teams from Cove City, Kinston, Havelock, Morehead City, Beaufort & Cape Carteret. We will have 4-5 games in New Bern & the rest in most of the above towns. Since we are the largest organization in the league, the vast majority of our games will be played in the same town (no more travel across eastern NC trying to see siblings play in Jacksonville & West Craven on the same day.)
2) Our first practice will start Monday 7/27 at 6:00 PM. We will then practice each Tuesday & Thursday at 6:00 PM until the end of the season. We will practice each Saturday in August at 9:30 AM until 11:00 AM until our first game on Saturday 8/29. Our actual schedule will be released the week of 8/13.
3) Teams will be primarily age based. We will have 3-4 teams for 8 year olds & under (U8), 2 teams for 10 year olds & under (U10) & 1-2 teams for 12 years old & under (U12). Kids over 85 lbs in U8, 110 lbs in U10 & 135 in U12, can participate with their age groups but strictly as offensive or defensive linemen.
4) Each team will be composed of 16-20 players so each kid will get a greater amount of play time than we could afford them in Pop Warner. We can field 6 teams with AYF for the cost of one team with Pop Warner.
With the amount of players we had signed up, under Pop Warner, we would be fielding teams of 25-30 players. Most kids would be sitting out over half the game in order to allow everyone to play.
Now under AYF, we can have more, smaller teams & each kid will be able to have far more playing time than we were ever able to afford them under Pop Warner.
5) Cheerleading: AYF is much more flexible with their cheer regulations. We will now be able to accommodate all sisters of all brothers who want to play & cheer. As an example, Pop Warner was not going to allow an 8 year sister to cheer the game of her 6 year old brother. This move will allow us the ability to have different age sisters cheer the games of either their older or younger brothers.
6) General equipment distribution will now be on Monday 7/27 & Tuesday 7/28 during practice. We will come around & pull out boys during practice to try on their gear. For the first two practices, have your sons wear shorts, a t-shirt, cleats & their mouth guard. The third practice of Thursday 7/30 will be in full pads & the Saturday 8/1 will be our first day of full contact.
7) We will not need to complete new registration forms. Certification in this league is much simpler & certification day (TBD on some practice day in August) will be much quicker.
We are making this move to improve the experience your children will have playing & cheering with us. We believe the more kids that play with us, and the more that each kids plays in each game, will allow us to increase the enjoyment of your children. There are important lessons of discipline, respect & perseverance to be taught via football/cheerleading. I am confident this change will enhance our ability to instill these qualities.
If you know anyone who would like to play/cheer with us but have not signed up, please send them my way.
I have included links for both the National AYF website & the Coastal Carolina AYF (our new league) at the bottom of this email. Finally, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Regards,
Ed Reno
Craven Jaguars
817-739-0516
www.ccayfl.com
www.americanyouthfootball.com
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