Questions, Questions, Questions...

As president of the Great Vally Youth Football Patriots, I am often asked questions about our program from perspective parents.  I think that these questions provide insight into what goes through a parent's mind when deciding to sign up for football.  So here goes a few of them:

My son is already 11 (or 9 or 12, you get the point), is it too late to start?

My response to this is that it's never too late to start.  Kids are ready for different experiences at different ages.  Some want to start playing tackle football at 7.  For others it's not until middle school or high school.  Does it help to start earlier - sure, the more practice and experience the better you're going to be.  But what's the alternative to starting now - waiting until he gets to high school where the sizes of the boys have really begun to diverge?

My son is only 11 (or 9 or 12, you get the point), is it too early to start?  This is probably the one sport that we really get it from both sides.  And it really is different for different kids.  At 12, some aren't really ready to pay attention for 2-3 practices / week.  Or sit on the sideline ready to go in.  Or learn the plays.  Others are ready at 7.  The same holds true for the physical part of the game - you know your son best is what I tell them.

Who is going to be the coach?  This is one that shows the level of importance families place on the experience their child will get on the football field or cheerleading. I rarely hear that question asked before registering for basketball or baseball, but I do hear it often enough about football.  I guess it's the extra time spent with the kids and the physical nature of the sport.  We always try to make sure we have the best coaches in place.  But I also try and point out that not every experience in life is going to be a good one and if things didn't work out because the child didn't click with the coach, that's not a reason to give up on the sport.  It's just another learning opportunity.  More about what we do to train our coaches next week.

My son is close to the weight limit.  What happens if he doesn't make weight?  The great part about youth football with weight limits is that it keeps kids who are relatively the same size together.  However it often puts pressure on the boy who's bigger than some of his classmates to decide whether to move up to the next age group or manage their current weight.  Again this is a decision that needs to be made by the family but I try to ask a few questions?   First how close is he?  I never encourage a kid who's growing to lose weight.  However if they are 1-2lbs over the limit with a few weeks/months to go, watching the ice cream intake and participating in a few summer practices can go a long way.  How important is it for the child to play with classmates?  Can they handle the increased competition if they move up a division?  Lots of questions to consider but we always will work with the family to figure out what's best.  And of course if they register him and he ends up being too big and not wanting to move up a division, we can always process a refund.

So what questions do you hear from other parents?  Let me know and we'll try and get them on the next one.