Villages Football Association (VFA) is pleased and proud to announce that it will
be affiliating with American Youth Football (www.americanyouthfootball.com
) beginning with the 2010 fall tackle football and cheerleading season. American
Youth Football is the largest youth football and cheer organization in the world.
After several weeks of very careful deliberation and investigation, the Villages
Football Association Board of Directors voted unanimously to join the North Florida Youth Football and Cheer Conference
(NFYFCC), an American Youth Football affiliate based in the Jacksonville area.
The VFA board is composed of parents of VFA participants from the 2009 season. The
Association is committed to bringing the best football and cheer experience possible
to the kids of the World Golf Village and Palencia area. VFA primarily services
kids of the Nease High School district and works closely with the Nease Football
Program and Head Coach Danny Cowgill. The decision to affiliate with AYF was discussed
in depth with and is wholeheartedly endorsed by Coach Cowgill.
“We are excited to have a youth football program that enables us to consolidate
all of the future Panthers in our school district under one roof. The American Youth
Football program is all inclusive, so we no longer have to worry about turning away
kids that don’t fit into a specific template. We will also have more freedom as
a coaching staff to be involved with the participants of the youth program and begin
teaching them the Nease way at an early age. We are looking forward to a very bright
football future and are excited to continue working with the Villages Football Association.
We would love to see all of our future Panthers playing for the Villages Football
Association and wearing the green and gold this fall.” said Cowgill.
There are many reasons that were fully vetted before the VFA Board made the decision
to go with American Youth Football, all of which were based around improving the
program offering and broadening the market to which the program is offered. Some
of these reasons include:
- The program is ALL INCLUSIVE. Kids will no longer be turned away due to reasons
such as not fitting into pre-determined weight categories.
- Not only is American Youth Football the largest youth football and cheer organization
in the country, it is also the fastest growing. The North Florida Youth Football
and Cheer Conference doubled in size from its inaugural season in 2009. The conference
expects to have 8 to 10 member associations for the 2010 season. We expect this
growth to continue well into the future.
- The teams are grade-based. In other words, kids in the same grade will play at the
same level. No more than two grades are combined at any one level. This allows participants
to play on a team with kids that are at their same maturity level and that they
go to school with every day.
- The grade-based system is safer for the players. Clinical studies exist concluding
that the most important factor in enhancing youth football safety is age, not size.
The grade-based system is supported by national youth football governing bodies
such as USA Football. Some leagues exclude kids altogether and place others in a
no-win situation. For instance, there are leagues where some eleven year old players
have no other choice but to compete against fifteen year olds. An eleven year old
is not only less physically mature than a fifteen year old, but he is also in a
completely different level of mental maturity. The AYF system eliminates that situation.
- Expansion of the opportunity for participation in grade based program by being able
to register participants in the entire Nease High School district. For the most
part, VFA due to boundary restrictions, was unable to register players that reside
on the east side of US-1 during the 2009 season. Kids that live in Palencia, Kensington,
Walden Chase and other communities in that general vicinity will be free to register
with VFA in 2010. In addition, any kids in surrounding areas that are unable to
play competitive football in their area due to the league restrictions currently
in place will now have a place to play competitive tackle football.
- Increased opportunities for participants to be a part of national championships
in Orlando, Florida. In 2009, AYF invited of 200 teams to its National Championship
event in Orlando, Florida. AYF also offers a Conference All-Star tournament
which allows players who are in their last year of youth football and are not on
a team that is participating in the tournament already a chance to participate in
the tournament on a conference all-star team. AYF also has an East vs. West
All-Star game that is played in conjunction with the Under Armor High School All-Star
game each season.
American Youth Football continues to grow nation wide. In VFA's investigation
of American Youth Football we found many nationally prominent organizations that
have switched to American Youth Football. One such organization is Oak Grove
Youth Football (www.ogyf.com)
in San Jose, CA., a 14 time Pop Warner National Champion. Oak Grove is one of the
largest youth football associations in the country and elected to join American
Youth Football in 2009. Click
here to see a letter that OGYF distributed to its membership on the reasons
they elected to join American Youth Football. VFA contacted Oak Grove leadership
for feedback on their inaugural season with American Youth Football and the response
was very positive.
Below is a map of the current game sites for the NFYFCC. More associations
and sites will likely be added before the 2010 season begins.
Check out these highlight videos of the 2009 American Youth Football National Championships
as aired on the Versus channel: