Youth Football- HS and Younger (1 Viewer)

[Chadstroma]

I don't understand why anyone would say anything negative like that about kids. Even the other team, let alone the kids teammates. They are kids.

There is a little bit of a different dynamic with my sons teams as most of his is playing with the small Catholic school where a lot of families not only know each other but are friends separate from their kids etc. but even for my sons club swim and daughters club volleyball I have never heard any parents be critical like that to other kids. Critical of coaching? Yes. Critical of refs? 100%. Critical of the other team? A little bit but more when a kid gets out of line like a hard foul or something. Critical of their own kid? All day long.

It is sad that grown adults have such little awareness and self-respect to tear down kids in some selfish attempt to build up their own kid.

Just wait til you get to the age where it's a bit more competitive for playing time. In general, parents (and grandparents) are the least capable of comprehending skill level of players. They are not there for the hours and hours of practice, but clearly their kid should be starting - and they will nit pick every other kid out there - friend or not - and find a way that their own kids mistakes aren't really their fault.

At least with football there are 22 spots... with basketball where there are only 5 starting spots, and in the more competitive high school leagues/levels maybe a 7-8 man rotation when games are tight, parents are obnoxiously toxic.

I have been lucky coaching basketball since I have only done it with this small Catholic school. I have mostly known or been around the parents to varying degrees of knowing each other. At these younger ages, we are supposed to and I try to get 'equal' time but at the same time I know I fell short of that. This is the last year of that development and starting next year it will be tryouts for A and B teams. I talk to the AD a good amount and there has been a lot of drama about the A and B cuts so they bring in coaches from the local HS and they do the assessment out of the tryouts so none of the coaches (mostly parents) are involved to try to cut off any accusations of favoritism or whatever drama. Still.... there were plenty of kids who don't make A team so then they don't play B. Which is silly. My nephew did it the right way... he requested to be on the B team as he knew he would likely make A but would not get as much playing time but on B team would get tons of playing time and be able to develop more since he came to basketball late. He did that and then has made the HS basketball team. I always thought that was a very mature and smart move on his part. I was pretty proud of him because with me at that age.... I would have gunned for A no matter what. I would not quit if I made B but I would never opt for B to get more playing time.

My coaching will stay at the elementary/JR HS level with this school. I have a ways to go before my kids grad but I likely will end up coaching there after they do. I have not yet had any issues with playing time or other issues from the parents.

For other sports, I am not the coach. Heck, the HC for football asked me what I thought where my son should be. I told him, I am not the coach and he pressed so I told him, I really like him at DE and then on offense TE. He was put in at WR.... though they really don't have a TE but when they do line up, he moves inline TE position in those formations and CB at first which I didn't think was a good use of him but I am not the coach. They moved him to OLB and not MLB and have added RB to him while still playing WR. MLB is a good use of him for sure, maybe even better than DE but I just love how he penetrates and gets in the backfield at DE. Anyways... I am not the coach. I defer to them. He didn't get much snaps at OLB in the first game until the end... I thought that was a mistake but I am not the coach.

All that being said, there are some parents that stay at the practices and we sit and chat. One has voiced displeasure about a few things about what the coaches are doing for the 3/4 team. I think they coaching staff is going a great job with them and I try to give her more perspective than just 'my son didn't play'. She has never said anything negative about another kid but I wouldn't put that beyond her.

Sigh. Some people just can't enjoy the sport and build up/support the kids.

 

[Chadstroma]

Well... that sucked again.

Lost 20 something to 0.

My son started at WR and played every snap on offense in the 1st half. Never targeted. Played a few snaps in the 2nd Q at MLB. Had put himself in position to make a tackle for loss but just blew the tackle. Their RB broke two other tackles and took it for about a 65ish yard TD. He didnt play a snap in the 3Q. In the 4th, he had a couple more snaps at MLB and then they put him at DT at the end of the game.

I did think we would be much more competitive than we are though I was ready to lose more than a couple of games this year.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

My son played Freshman and JV last night right tackle and right guard primarily, won both games 23-0 and 24-14. Same dad in our freshman game where we won 23-0 was complaining about the offensive line not blocking on the first set of plays, commented that all they do is stand there. All of our touchdown were due to runs with open holes and not once did he commend the line. It bothers me because my kid is a part of position this guy wants to single out but at the same time not give them any credit. My wife was able to come to this game and was getting pissed, this morning we talked that either we address it or grow thick skin. I don't want to make a big thing about this but at the same point I cant listen to this loudmouth for another 2 or 3 years. I think I just need to come to terms that my son plays a position that receives no glory. QB, RB, receivers get all the love on the big plays, lineman only get beat up on holding, false starts and sacks.

The cool thing is that the team sees that my son has raw skills, being that he played only two years so the coaching they are providing is excellent. There is no yelling and screaming, they pull a player aside and provide guidance on what the players need to do on a particular play to make it more successful. Last night one of the varsity lineman came to watch the games and he spent both games next to my son talking to him. You could tell he was offering guidance on some of his blocking to help during the game, as well they likely just talked about odds and ends. For a freshman that has to be pretty huge to have an upperclassman offering that guidance.

I guess if the worst thing is dealing with a crappy parent in the stands I can get beyond that and just enjoy my son's growth this season and in the future. This Friday is our varsity game against a rival school, my son will dress for varsity but we will see if he plays.

 

[acarey50]

My son played Freshman and JV last night right tackle and right guard primarily, won both games 23-0 and 24-14. Same dad in our freshman game where we won 23-0 was complaining about the offensive line not blocking on the first set of plays, commented that all they do is stand there. All of our touchdown were due to runs with open holes and not once did he commend the line. It bothers me because my kid is a part of position this guy wants to single out but at the same time not give them any credit. My wife was able to come to this game and was getting pissed, this morning we talked that either we address it or grow thick skin. I don't want to make a big thing about this but at the same point I cant listen to this loudmouth for another 2 or 3 years. I think I just need to come to terms that my son plays a position that receives no glory. QB, RB, receivers get all the love on the big plays, lineman only get beat up on holding, false starts and sacks.

The cool thing is that the team sees that my son has raw skills, being that he played only two years so the coaching they are providing is excellent. There is no yelling and screaming, they pull a player aside and provide guidance on what the players need to do on a particular play to make it more successful. Last night one of the varsity lineman came to watch the games and he spent both games next to my son talking to him. You could tell he was offering guidance on some of his blocking to help during the game, as well they likely just talked about odds and ends. For a freshman that has to be pretty huge to have an upperclassman offering that guidance.

I guess if the worst thing is dealing with a crappy parent in the stands I can get beyond that and just enjoy my son's growth this season and in the future. This Friday is our varsity game against a rival school, my son will dress for varsity but we will see if he plays.

Sucks about that parent, but yes, there will always be parents bemoaning this, that or the other. It's easy to criticize from the stands, and people forget that these are kids still learning the game. But basically that dude is a jackass.

Interesting that your state allows kids to play on different levels in the same day. In California, it's a CIF violation, so it's why almost always the Freshman and JV teams play one day, then varsity another, so that they can dress kids from Frosh/JV for varsity.

And kudos to that upperclassman talking with your son. That sort of thing needs to be commended. If you can, I'd try make it a point to find his parents at the varsity game and let them know that him being there is not going unnoticed.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

My son played Freshman and JV last night right tackle and right guard primarily, won both games 23-0 and 24-14. Same dad in our freshman game where we won 23-0 was complaining about the offensive line not blocking on the first set of plays, commented that all they do is stand there. All of our touchdown were due to runs with open holes and not once did he commend the line. It bothers me because my kid is a part of position this guy wants to single out but at the same time not give them any credit. My wife was able to come to this game and was getting pissed, this morning we talked that either we address it or grow thick skin. I don't want to make a big thing about this but at the same point I cant listen to this loudmouth for another 2 or 3 years. I think I just need to come to terms that my son plays a position that receives no glory. QB, RB, receivers get all the love on the big plays, lineman only get beat up on holding, false starts and sacks.

The cool thing is that the team sees that my son has raw skills, being that he played only two years so the coaching they are providing is excellent. There is no yelling and screaming, they pull a player aside and provide guidance on what the players need to do on a particular play to make it more successful. Last night one of the varsity lineman came to watch the games and he spent both games next to my son talking to him. You could tell he was offering guidance on some of his blocking to help during the game, as well they likely just talked about odds and ends. For a freshman that has to be pretty huge to have an upperclassman offering that guidance.

I guess if the worst thing is dealing with a crappy parent in the stands I can get beyond that and just enjoy my son's growth this season and in the future. This Friday is our varsity game against a rival school, my son will dress for varsity but we will see if he plays.

Sucks about that parent, but yes, there will always be parents bemoaning this, that or the other. It's easy to criticize from the stands, and people forget that these are kids still learning the game. But basically that dude is a jackass.

Interesting that your state allows kids to play on different levels in the same day. In California, it's a CIF violation, so it's why almost always the Freshman and JV teams play one day, then varsity another, so that they can dress kids from Frosh/JV for varsity.

And kudos to that upperclassman talking with your son. That sort of thing needs to be commended. If you can, I'd try make it a point to find his parents at the varsity game and let them know that him being there is not going unnoticed.

Here we have a quarter limit, not sure the exact rule but there are limits. We usually have JV/Frosh on one day, than later in the week is Varsity, I suspect, can't say for certain, that my kid is getting the extra work to get ready for more varsity action and less freshman play. Again only a suspicion. As far as the varsity kid, yes I agree wholeheartedly, I was going to try and speak with the kid last night and personally thank him for working with my son on the side but I could not find him after the game. You raise a good point that I should introduce myself to his parents and commend them on their son.

As far as the parent thing, I have seen all kinds through my kids sports endeavors, I make sure to remind myself not to be that parent. As far as this guy goes, I am just going to let it go, and know that my kid is developing he will make mistakes and this guy can yell and scream it will not change anything as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Gally]

Severs Disease by any chance? Pretty common at this age during growth spurts, usually presents as very similar to Plantar Fasciitis or Achilles Tendonitis if it's affecting the ankle/heel area or like a patellar tendinitis if it's affecting their knee. Basically it's what happens when their bone structure is growing so fast that the tendons and ligaments can't keep up and are in a constant state of tension/inflammation.

My son had this starting in late 7th grade and into 8th grade. It completely zapped all of his quickness and mobility which killed him for basketball. He was one of the best players around with ball handling and shooting skills and played great defense. Going into his 8th grade season he just couldn't move because of the pain in his heals and knees. It was sad to watch. He still was more skilled than most but he just couldn't move to keep up so he was basically useless on the court.

Once he started growing up (between 9th and 10th grade) all the pain went away and he was able to get his quickness back. By then it was too late and he had given up on basketball. Now he is 6-1 and I would be interested to see him try and play basketball in HS.

ETA: The most frustrating part was there was no fix to the pain. Just rest and grow. It sucked for him.

 

[Gally]

As someone whose two kids are now playing college sports I will throw in this…being big at a young age can be a curse…in many sports you develop a “false game” because you are big for a young age but really aren’t big for the long haul…it is amazing how many kids I coached that were small that turned out big and how many that were big that are not anymore and do not get much better in sports because it catches up to them very quickly……work on the skills and fundamentals…if they work hard and have some talent it will get figured out.

Someone did a study about this situation dealing with soccer clubs. Basically it was that kids that grew/matured faster ended up using their size/strength to excel in their younger years and lacked the development of actual footwork skills because they didn't need it to get by and they plateaued even when given the opportunity to go to advanced club teams with better training because they never developed the creativity/footwork needed to be elite as they got older. The kids that were smaller and had to develop those skills at an early age ended up being part of the elite teams in their mid 20's more often because as they grew the skills flourished and they were able to put the two together.

It makes sense when you think about it but it wasn't something that I had thought about before. I have known a bunch of kids that dominated early with size but never developed skill and petered out even at the HS level.

 

[Gally]

I saw my first ever youth (younger than HS) tackle football game over the weekend. It was the middle youth group (11 year old range). I was watching a friends grandson's team play. It was painful to watch. I don't know how those coaches could have the patience to deal with these kids with the complicated aspects of meshing line play, etc that it takes for football.

 

[Andrew74]

I saw my first ever youth (younger than HS) tackle football game over the weekend. It was the middle youth group (11 year old range). I was watching a friends grandson's team play. It was painful to watch. I don't know how those coaches could have the patience to deal with these kids with the complicated aspects of meshing line play, etc that it takes for football.

Having coached 11-12 yo football, I can verify it is a great test of patience.

 

[Chadstroma]

I saw my first ever youth (younger than HS) tackle football game over the weekend. It was the middle youth group (11 year old range). I was watching a friends grandson's team play. It was painful to watch. I don't know how those coaches could have the patience to deal with these kids with the complicated aspects of meshing line play, etc that it takes for football.

Now imagine doing flag football with 6 and 7 years olds.

 

[Chadstroma]

Football day... HOCO for the school.

First up my little guy. We played the same team (broken down into 4 separate teams that play their 4 separate teams) as we did on our first game. We did MUCH better (at least in my game). We even went 3-3 on passes with one of them a TD which was really surprising as I don't think we have ever completed a pass in practice scrimmages. It is much more about corralling the kids than teaching football. We started 8 vs 8 but then I would have to ask them to go to 7 v 7 or 6 v 6 because someone cried because... I really don't know.... or someone had to go tell their mom something so they just run off or a couple of times getting a little banged up on a play. Much more progress but still have to explain almost everything to almost everyone on almost every play. The kids had fun though so that is good.

Then my older son. They revamped their offense and defense which made sense as we were getting killed in the first two games. They basically went to a wishbone offense. I am not sure what the change on D was. For the first time ever in any sport, my son played less than half the game... in fact, he didn't play a single snap in the 4 quarters. There was a 5th quarter where they play kids that didn't get time and he played there as MLB and had a great hit (best in the game) on a kid near the end zone to save the TD. Knocked the ball out which would have been a fumble if he didn't knock him out of bounds on the hit. It was surprising to me as I watch the practices and he is in at WR, RB and MLB constantly and often with 1st team. I told him to go to the coach and ask him what he needs to do to earn more time. I am hoping this generates more of a work ethic on his part as he is so use to just showing up and being one of the better players at whatever sport because of his athleticism. I told him whatever the coaches say to work on that I was willing to work with him on it but I wasn't going to make him. We shall see if he does or he just wants to play video games still on all his free time. As for the game, we lost 0-13 which is a lot better than our previous games of 0-20something.

 

[Chadstroma]

As someone whose two kids are now playing college sports I will throw in this…being big at a young age can be a curse…in many sports you develop a “false game” because you are big for a young age but really aren’t big for the long haul…it is amazing how many kids I coached that were small that turned out big and how many that were big that are not anymore and do not get much better in sports because it catches up to them very quickly……work on the skills and fundamentals…if they work hard and have some talent it will get figured out.

Someone did a study about this situation dealing with soccer clubs. Basically it was that kids that grew/matured faster ended up using their size/strength to excel in their younger years and lacked the development of actual footwork skills because they didn't need it to get by and they plateaued even when given the opportunity to go to advanced club teams with better training because they never developed the creativity/footwork needed to be elite as they got older. The kids that were smaller and had to develop those skills at an early age ended up being part of the elite teams in their mid 20's more often because as they grew the skills flourished and they were able to put the two together.

It makes sense when you think about it but it wasn't something that I had thought about before. I have known a bunch of kids that dominated early with size but never developed skill and petered out even at the HS level.

I think it is true of most sports and I think it is really tied into the work ethic. For the kids that don't have the size for basketball or football especially for them to compete, they have to work harder- they have to focus on their technique while those with more size early can use that and don't need to work harder or work on the technique as much. You can't coach size but for the kids that really work hard and develop their skillsets and THEN get their growth later that is a huge advantage for them versus a kid who relies on their size and athletic ability and don't hone their skills and develop habits of working hard. It is my biggest fear for my boys.

 

[Andrew74]

The odd saga of this year continues. Not going to bore everyone with details, but I’ve come to the conclusion the coach is flying by the seat of his pants and that why nothing makes sense. My son seems happy so I’m going to be happy with him. I think he’s learned some things and matured and that’s always a win in middle school.

Team lost their first game this week in a crazy 38-22 affair. Lot of scoring for 7 minute quarters. The other team had a big, fast kid at RB. He looked like a high school kid out there. More like Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson. Every time we got close, he’d bust out a 60 yard TD. My son played OLB quite a bit on D due to an injury. Proud dad moment when the RB tried to cut an inside run to his side and my son attacked the LOS, hit him with all he had and drove the feet. Stood him up and some teammates helped finish him off.

Evidently the team coaches don’t do the all-stars/post-season, so I got asked to help out. I had to say yes; it’s just fun.

 

[Chadstroma]

I told my son that if he wanted to play more then he needed to go to the coach and ask him "How can I get more playing time". After practice yesterday, I asked him if he did and he said yes that the coach said "try hard all the time in practice, pay attention and don't make mistakes"

So.... translating from coach speak that tells me that last weekends game was a message to him due to his effort and focus in practice which tracks. I know at times during practices he is more about being with the guys than about getting better. Though I do watch a lot of his practices, it is too far off for me to really see what he is or isn't doing but I can see some drills where he clearly isn't going 100%. I am sure he is joking with friends too. When I coach him at basketball, I see the same, so it isn't surprising.

After practice, he usually wants to stay and play with the whatever kids stay (some just hang out a little longer after practice some have older brothers in the older team to wait for) and I have to either pull him off or just let him stay.... yesterday, right after practice he came to the car and was ready to leave. It was a cooler day but he looked sweaty so maybe that message got to him and he was working harder. Hopefully. I keep trying to get him to understand that if he wants to be really good, he needs to do work harder.... at practice, on his own, etc.

 

[Jayrod]

I told my son that if he wanted to play more then he needed to go to the coach and ask him "How can I get more playing time". After practice yesterday, I asked him if he did and he said yes that the coach said "try hard all the time in practice, pay attention and don't make mistakes"

So.... translating from coach speak that tells me that last weekends game was a message to him due to his effort and focus in practice which tracks. I know at times during practices he is more about being with the guys than about getting better. Though I do watch a lot of his practices, it is too far off for me to really see what he is or isn't doing but I can see some drills where he clearly isn't going 100%. I am sure he is joking with friends too. When I coach him at basketball, I see the same, so it isn't surprising.

After practice, he usually wants to stay and play with the whatever kids stay (some just hang out a little longer after practice some have older brothers in the older team to wait for) and I have to either pull him off or just let him stay.... yesterday, right after practice he came to the car and was ready to leave. It was a cooler day but he looked sweaty so maybe that message got to him and he was working harder. Hopefully. I keep trying to get him to understand that if he wants to be really good, he needs to do work harder.... at practice, on his own, etc.

Great lessons to be learned early.

My son struggled his first year of youth football, but got better over the years and learned how to work hard. Served him well until puberty delays caused him to fall behind physically. Now he is finally catching back up and outgrowing some of them and has the work ethic and practice habits already in place. No one (child or adult) really learns how to work if all they experience is success. Failure and struggle make us better.

This season, playing on the JV team, he has become the go-to WR over the past 3 weeks. They figured out he can win most jump balls thrown his way and has had 5 catches in the end zone (2 were 2-pt conversions) over those weeks. He did misplay a ball last night, but made 2 very tough catches and drew a DPI as well.

While yes, I'm absolutely bragging, he is an example of someone who didn't give up after 2 tough years of barely playing in games. Last year he was a backup JV receiver with zero catches all year and that was after ending his Freshman season with a dislocated hip (as brutal as it sounds) playing as a backup running back with zero TDs on the season.

 

[nirad3]

My son caught his first pass this past Friday night. He typically just plays defense (linebacker) but since his team was up pretty big they gave him more offensive snaps. In the past if he got in on offense it was just at RB and they'd just have him run a little route that would never see the ball. But Friday they had him split out kind of in a tight end spot and he ran a little drag route, QB threw him the ball and somewhat surprisingly to me immediately turned upfield and got some extra yardage before getting his flag pulled and running into another kid and fell to the ground. Very proud of him!

 

[Chadstroma]

I told my son that if he wanted to play more then he needed to go to the coach and ask him "How can I get more playing time". After practice yesterday, I asked him if he did and he said yes that the coach said "try hard all the time in practice, pay attention and don't make mistakes"

So.... translating from coach speak that tells me that last weekends game was a message to him due to his effort and focus in practice which tracks. I know at times during practices he is more about being with the guys than about getting better. Though I do watch a lot of his practices, it is too far off for me to really see what he is or isn't doing but I can see some drills where he clearly isn't going 100%. I am sure he is joking with friends too. When I coach him at basketball, I see the same, so it isn't surprising.

After practice, he usually wants to stay and play with the whatever kids stay (some just hang out a little longer after practice some have older brothers in the older team to wait for) and I have to either pull him off or just let him stay.... yesterday, right after practice he came to the car and was ready to leave. It was a cooler day but he looked sweaty so maybe that message got to him and he was working harder. Hopefully. I keep trying to get him to understand that if he wants to be really good, he needs to do work harder.... at practice, on his own, etc.

Great lessons to be learned early.

My son struggled his first year of youth football, but got better over the years and learned how to work hard. Served him well until puberty delays caused him to fall behind physically. Now he is finally catching back up and outgrowing some of them and has the work ethic and practice habits already in place. No one (child or adult) really learns how to work if all they experience is success. Failure and struggle make us better.

This season, playing on the JV team, he has become the go-to WR over the past 3 weeks. They figured out he can win most jump balls thrown his way and has had 5 catches in the end zone (2 were 2-pt conversions) over those weeks. He did misplay a ball last night, but made 2 very tough catches and drew a DPI as well.

While yes, I'm absolutely bragging, he is an example of someone who didn't give up after 2 tough years of barely playing in games. Last year he was a backup JV receiver with zero catches all year and that was after ending his Freshman season with a dislocated hip (as brutal as it sounds) playing as a backup running back with zero TDs on the season.

It is a fear of mine for sure. Last year, he had nothing but success... football = undefeated, basketball = championship, soccer = second place and swim = made regionals in 50 free. After our first loss I was talking to another Dad and were lamenting how badly we got beat but then I told him 'it is actually a good thing though- knock them down a notch and remind them they have to work for success'. I think my son has enough natural athletic ability that if he works hard then he can go pretty far (I guess I will define that as playing after HS) in whatever sport he decided on but he doesn't have that much athletic ability that he can just coast on it and not work hard.

One thing that I have noticed and that I am very proud of is that whether in defense or offense, I have noticed my son correcting other kids on where they are supposed to be. So mentally, he seems to be on top of things but just needs to keep engaged physically and stop taking drills off or half rearing it at times.

It is awesome to see that his perseverance paid off. You can see a lot of kids give up in sports because they don't get a ton of playing time or are not the star or whatever else. If you don't love the sport then I guess that makes sense... who wants to work hard for something you don't like. But if you do like the sport and quite because you don't get what you want then I think that is a bad life lesson.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son caught his first pass this past Friday night. He typically just plays defense (linebacker) but since his team was up pretty big they gave him more offensive snaps. In the past if he got in on offense it was just at RB and they'd just have him run a little route that would never see the ball. But Friday they had him split out kind of in a tight end spot and he ran a little drag route, QB threw him the ball and somewhat surprisingly to me immediately turned upfield and got some extra yardage before getting his flag pulled and running into another kid and fell to the ground. Very proud of him!

It is funny to me how many plays in flag football end up with tackles as the kids try to get the flag. We had a couple of times that our kid goes to grab the flag but grabs like extra part of the belt hanging out and just held on for dear llife as the other kid tried to get away.

 

[nirad3]

My son caught his first pass this past Friday night. He typically just plays defense (linebacker) but since his team was up pretty big they gave him more offensive snaps. In the past if he got in on offense it was just at RB and they'd just have him run a little route that would never see the ball. But Friday they had him split out kind of in a tight end spot and he ran a little drag route, QB threw him the ball and somewhat surprisingly to me immediately turned upfield and got some extra yardage before getting his flag pulled and running into another kid and fell to the ground. Very proud of him!

It is funny to me how many plays in flag football end up with tackles as the kids try to get the flag. We had a couple of times that our kid goes to grab the flag but grabs like extra part of the belt hanging out and just held on for dear llife as the other kid tried to get away.

Yeah there ends up being a fair amount of "contact" in these games and even at practice. I guess it's kinda-sorta getting them prepped for the "real thing".

 

[Chadstroma]

My son caught his first pass this past Friday night. He typically just plays defense (linebacker) but since his team was up pretty big they gave him more offensive snaps. In the past if he got in on offense it was just at RB and they'd just have him run a little route that would never see the ball. But Friday they had him split out kind of in a tight end spot and he ran a little drag route, QB threw him the ball and somewhat surprisingly to me immediately turned upfield and got some extra yardage before getting his flag pulled and running into another kid and fell to the ground. Very proud of him!

It is funny to me how many plays in flag football end up with tackles as the kids try to get the flag. We had a couple of times that our kid goes to grab the flag but grabs like extra part of the belt hanging out and just held on for dear llife as the other kid tried to get away.

Yeah there ends up being a fair amount of "contact" in these games and even at practice. I guess it's kinda-sorta getting them prepped for the "real thing".

Funny thing is almost all the time they don't mean to tackle but they have better form than most of the older kids in tackle football because they go for both flags and end up wrapping up