[Husker] Youth football sucks

[Quinn Coldiron]

My 3rd grade son played tackle this year, after 2 years of flag.  The league he's in is called the EVW and is part of USA Football, an NFL league.  Former Husker Aaron Graham coached one of the 4 Pee Wee (3rd/4th grade) teams in our town.

http://www.evwfootball.com/

Some key rules:
- each age division has an upper weight.  Past that they are "stripers" and can not carry the ball and must play interior line.  They get a stripe around the helmet, thus the name.
- each kid must play a min of 8 player per half.
- 3rd-4th grade do not punt.  Automatic 30 yards if they choose to punt.  They can kick field goals/PATs.  We had a 4th grader that could hit from the 20.

It all depends on the coach, but we had it pretty good.  If the kid was not a striper our coach tried to get the ball his direction at least a few times and we only lost 3 games all year.  We did travel all over, but seriously, not as much as we do in baseball.

My 2 oldest kids hated soccer.  We tried.  No go.  

After 2 years of flag my middle son was bored with it and begged to play tackle.  The growth I saw in him this year was amazing.  He started out scared to hit and by the end of the season was diving at players.  He made a sweet play at corner in the last game, diving for and hitting the receiver just as the ball hit the receiver's hands.  He hit him hard enough that the kid went down and the ball went flying.

I see where soccer can help, but not all kids like soccer and in most places, flag stops at a young age.  If we did not have tackle football we'd probably be playing fall baseball, not soccer.

Q

-----------------------------
Quinn P. Coldiron



--- On Sat, 1/2/10, Jon Johnston <jon.johnston at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Jon Johnston <jon.johnston at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Husker] Youth football sucks
> To: "Roger" <suerog2 at att.net>
> Cc: "'Husker'" <husker at tssi.com>
> Date: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 8:55 PM
> I thought it was interesting that Suh
> talked about how playing soccer at an early age helped him
> develop his footwork. I hope that point hit home with a lot
> of parents. 
> 
> Where I live, (Chaska, MN), they now have 3rd graders
> playing tackle football, which has to be the dumbest thing
> I've ever heard of. Football is so complex to try to teach
> kids that age, and I've seen what they do with the kids that
> aren't "skill" players - they dump them into the offensive
> and defensive lines and then don't bother to teach them a
> damned thing because they don't consider the positions that
> important. 
> 
> I've been involved in coaching both. Soccer is a wonderful
> sport, and I wonder how many kids get ruined for football
> because it's no fun being run over while being told you need
> to get tougher. 
> 
> Thoughts? 
> 
> Jon Johnston
> 
> On Jan 2, 2010, at 6:15 PM, Roger wrote:
> 
> > His father did accompany Suh, his mother and sister to
> one of the award shows I watched.  My poor memory
> doesn't permit me to state which award show that was. 
> He (father) was a soccer player as I recall, and was much
> smaller in stature than Suh.
> > 
> > Roger Lohr-Mpls
> > -------------- Original message from "Don Rietsch"
> <drr at livgenmi.com>:
> -------------- 
> > 
> > 
> >> 
> >> I know it's none of my business but I couldn't
> help noticing that Suh's 
> >> father was not at any of his award events or
> games. The TV always shows 
> >> only his mother and sister. Does anyone know why?
> Deceased, divorced, 
> >> etc., etc.??? What a class act Ndominant is. 
> >> 
> >> Don Rietsch 
> >> (Native Husker held hostage in Michigan for the
> last 40 years.) 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security,
> version of virus signature 
> >> database 4738 (20100102) __________ 
> >> 
> >> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. 
> >> 
> >> http://www.eset.com 
> >> 
> >> 
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