(Atlantic) The Atlantic Junior Sports Association (namely the Little Trojan Football group), the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, and the Atlantic Football Coaches are announcing that they will be joining forces to offer a systematic and coordinated effort to bring the very best football experience to area youth. The three groups have been meeting the last two months to discuss ways that each can bring their own individual strengths to offer a youth football program that will benefit youth and families and develop a safe and seamless program.
Over the last two months, the three organizations have discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the three different programs. They have come together to bring area youth the American Development Model or ADM for short. This program allows for safe modified tackle options for all ages and implements consistent skill development. USA Football is using this model as well as many other youth organizations such as baseball and hockey. The new group is early in its work and details are still being worked out but some of the concepts are as follows:
- Kindergarten & 1st Graders will continue with flag football as normally run by the YMCA using parent volunteers and age-appropriate skill development provided by Atlantic Coaches. All area kids may participate in mixed teams.
- 2nd & 3rd graders will play flag football using Atlantic football coaches and high school football mentors to lead drills and skill development. All area kids may participate in mixed teams or area school districts may field their own teams to play in an area league.
- 4th & 5th graders will play an intermediate modified program using flags to indicate a tackle. Even though these kids are using flags to indicate a tackle, these athletes will wear helmets and shoulder pads. Physical tackles are not allowed. This will help young players learn to maneuver in helmets and pads without tackling. This provides safety while allowing for physical and skill development for all athletes. All area school districts may participate by developing their own teams with their own coaches and playing in the group league. This allows athletes to learn their school’s plays and not others. LIMITED CONTACT: this category begins to teach new principles and helps coaches introduce contact while reducing the overall amount of athlete to ground contact. This will feature smaller fields with fewer players and introduce skills of blocking and defeating blocks. Players will learn how to properly tackle by wrapping up without taking opponents to the ground or force to the head or neck area. There will be various tackling and blocking equipment options like the tackle bar, heads-up blocking, and tackle wheel. All options will be implemented in practice to help athletes learn the game with proper techniques but less contact. The games will then be padded flag to use these techniques in a limited contact format. All of this helps prepare them for their 6th-grade year.
*6th graders will move to the next level of full pads and helmets while tackling. This group will continue skill and physical development preparing them for plays and formations that their perspective teams will use in their Jr high and high school programs. All area school districts may participate by developing their own teams with their own coaches and playing against each other. This age group will likely join one of the area’s tackle football leagues. The best league to join is yet to be determined.
*Games and practice on a shrunken field along with the above tackle modifications will allow youth to grow into the game without having to play a version of the game they are not ready to navigate.
The basic structure of the new youth football program is outlined above. There are many details to work out however we believe that this structure will allow youth to become involved in a safe and developmentally sound and progressive football program. The three local groups have reviewed the data and agree with the findings of Chris Snyder, Director of Coaching Development from United States Olympic Committee, and Dr Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, as they are quoted below…….
“Shrinking the field and having modified tackle programs allows young athletes to grow into the game without having to play a version of the game they are not ready to navigate,” says Chris Snyder, the USOC’s director of coaching development. “This philosophy fits very well with football, and allows athletes to opt-in at later ages without being put at a major disadvantage.”
“What the ADM means is you should be doing sports in an age-specific and developmentally sound manner, not just physical but emotional and mental development,” Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer and a former member of the USOC Sports Medicine Committee, told the Associated Press. “When the most important aspect is followed — when kids are introduced to the sport and to safety and that they should be having fun, the likelihood they will remain engaged in sport and healthy activity far exceeds from when they’re involved in early specialization and simply are focused on winning. It improves the ability to develop athleticism.”
The group is excited about how this new collaboration of programs can help develop kids in a developmentally appropriate but most importantly fun and safe environment. We believe that the side effects of this structure will also allow us to develop mentoring skills with our high school players, provide a mentor for our young athletes, and allow an environment that more kids will feel comfortable participating and build a foundation for lifelong fitness and wellness.
The YMCA will use their established advertising, registration, and insurance platforms to support the entire program. A combination of parent volunteer coaches, area coaches, and high school football mentors will provide onsite technical expertise, and AJSA will provide fundraising options and current equipment. As of now, this is the information we can provide. We feel this gives everyone the opportunity to grow football as a group in the younger ages and at the individual district level as they get older. The group will continue to meet to iron out the other details. If you have questions, you can certainly reach out to anyone listed below from the partner organizations.
Mike Brown Dan Haynes Joseph Brummer
Atlantic Junior Sports Assoc. Nishna Valley Family YMCA Atlantic Football Coach
712-304-4438 712-243-3934 712-243-5358
