Welcome to Tiger Football!

Thank you for registering your son in the Loveland Youth Football program. I am very excited about the upcoming season and I look forward to getting to know each player and his family. I promise you that I will make every effort to see that this is a fun, positive experience for everyone involved!

ASSISTANT COACHES
If you are interested in being an assistant coach, please contact me at your earliest convenience. All dads are encouraged to help, but technically are not allowed to “coach” the kids unless they are recognized by the league as an Assistant Coach. This is a league rule that is in place to maintain compliance with the LYF insurance policy.

COACHES CERTIFICATION CLASS
In order to be an assistant, you must be certified by the league. A class will be held only one day in July, and will be mandatory for all coaches and assistants. I will email those interested as soon as the league gives me a date.

TEAM MOM
We need someone to volunteer to be the Team Mom. This person will be responsible for putting together the registration books, organizing parent volunteer assignments, organizing snack schedules, and other Team Mom type stuff. If you are interested, please contact me at your convenience.

TEAM PHILOSOPHY
Although I am very competitive by nature, winning every game is low on my priority list for an instructional age football team. My objectives this season will be to make sure every player:

• Learns the rules of football
• Enjoys his football experience
• Has a positive experience as a member of a competitive team
• Finishes this season a better player than he was when he started
• Wants to play football again next year

I hope that every parent and assistant coach will join me and commit to the achievement of these goals.

DISCIPLINE
Football is a very different game from soccer, baseball, and other sports. Because of the physical nature of the game, it is extremely important that the kids learn proper football skills. These, along with proper physical conditioning, will increase the likelihood of an enjoyable, injury-free season.

In the event a player is frequently disruptive or unmanageable, we as coaches may ask him to run a lap, do some push ups, or do some other form of “less than desirable” activity. If that player continues to be disruptive, we will ask for parental involvement and will expect your support.

When teaching, a coach might hold a facemask while talking with a player, but under no circumstance will I tolerate any coach or parent grabbing a player by his facemask while reprimanding him. This has been done for as long as there have been facemasks in football, but will not be done on this team. It is dangerous and demeaning, and has no place with 6 and 7 year old kids.

PLAYER POSITIONS
Again, football is very different from other sports. In soccer, baseball, and basketball you can rotate positions and give each kid a chance at just about every position. In football, many positions are very specialized requiring a great deal of knowledge that is very different from all other positions. For this reason, by the time we get to the first game we will probably settle on just 2 Quarterbacks and 2 Centers, and 4 to 6 Running Backs.

That being said, your son’s position in the first game is not necessarily his position for the entire season. If we feel he may be better suited at another position, we may move him to that position. Throughout the year we may try kids at different positions in practice in effort to find a job that is best suited for each individual.

TIGER SQUADS
On this team of 18 players, every one of them will be part of both an offensive and defensive Tiger Squad. We will run a Black and an Orange team on both sides of the ball at every game, using one as a means for the other to get a break.

PLAYING TIME
I cannot guarantee equal playing time for every player on the roster, but I will commit to giving every player the opportunity to be part of a squad that gets a lot of playing time. No child should be out of a game for more than two quarters. If this happens, it will be an oversight on behalf of the coaching staff and should be brought to our attention. Please feel free to direct any concerns in this area directly to me. The only thing I request is that these issues be raised in private and at least 24-hours after the occurrence.

KEY DATES

************************************************************
June 18th – Equipment Pick-up (details to follow)
July 12th to 15th – LHS Football Camp (application attached)
July 19th – Player Physicals (details to follow)
July 25th – First day of conditioning (details to follow)
August 13th – Pictures (details to follow)

************************************************************

LOVELAND HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CAMP
Dave Bibb is the new Varsity Head Football Coach at Loveland. He brings a great deal of enthusiasm and is quick to recognize that LYF is the future of his program. He has been at many of our board meetings and has asked us to encourage all of our players to attend his camp. His demonstration of commitment to our youth program tells me that he will do a very good job at Loveland, and I have similar high expectations for his football camp. Please make an effort to enroll your son this year. If you have financial challenges that make it difficult for your son to attend, please let us know. Dave will have the fees paid for families that need assistance.

CONDITIONING PERIOD
For those who might be new to football, regulations require every player to go through a 3-day conditioning period before the first full equipment practice. This period will start July 25th. If you are on vacation then, your son can attend practice but will not be able to dress in pads until he has participated in at least 3 practices.

During this period the boys will need the following items:

• T-shirt and short (Orange, Black, Grey, or White)
• Helmets with chin strap and mouthpiece
• Lots of water
• Football Cleats

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns. I look forward to a safe and successful season in 2005!