OT - I'm at my 7 y/o's first football practice/camp
- Thread starter Stronso
- Start date
NashDishesDimes
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2008
- Posts
- 1,840
- Reaction score
- 556
What kind of football can they play at 7? Is it an actual organized game? My little brother is 6 and i want to make sure he starts early too haha.
I was on the chain crew when my son played YAFL and I got to see all the plays right at the line of scrimmage. It was really great.... I loved it.
The highlight of the year for me was when he took the hook and ladder to the house for a TD. The rest of the year was dropped passes and missed blocks...lol
The highlight of the year for me was when he took the hook and ladder to the house for a TD. The rest of the year was dropped passes and missed blocks...lol
JeffGollin
ASFN Icon
The important thing - Is he having fun?
- Joined
- May 14, 2002
- Posts
- 10,077
- Reaction score
- 0
And I'm emotional mishmash. I'm so excited for him, I want him to do extremely well, I wanna be out there, I'm dyin when he drops the ball. And he's having fun
This is so cool lol
Children playing football.
Isn't that being defined as bordering on child abuse in some quarters these days?
They call the little guys Bobble Heads because they look like the Bobble Head dolls because the helmets are so big compared to the rest of the kid and weigh so much their heads wobble.
Most people now are starting their little ones in NFL flag football until about 9 or 10 then moving to tackle.
Help your team out and spend about $75 on 14 of these:
http://www.footballamerica.com/Foot...E_SESSION_ID=28dc5590c0a8324042c042c0371bb668
One of the best things the kids can have. Vests even better. Some scrimmages my son was in were just Chinese fire drills because the players couldn't tell who was on O or D once the ball was put in play. Plenty of poor kids got lit up because of it.
We would have 11 for the guys on the field and 2 on subs and 1 or 2 not being used in case they wanted to switch a player from one side to the other.
We found it just takes too long for the little guys to change vests with each other.
Yes - very much lol
My son is excited to play because he wants to hit people and get hit. I'm telling him to play LB so that he can tackle people
Just to let you know Stronso. You are entering one of the best times of your life. I still remember my son Jason playing Pop Warner and Little League. I think dad's get as much out of it as their sons do.
If you get a chance, volunteer to help with anything involving the team. If you are married, get you wife to volunteer also. With the whole family involved, it will create memories none of you will forget.
You might want to invest in a good movie camera if you don't have one. It's well worth the cost.
Playing Pop Warner? Your son played youth football WITH Pop Warner.
Don't you remember? I was the Defensive Coordinator and you were in charge of bringing Oranges.
nice. I loved playing D when I was a kid even though I was among the lightest kids in the league
NashDishesDimes
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2008
- Posts
- 1,840
- Reaction score
- 556
I always found it interesting how many fathers live throught their children (persay) as far as sports go. Im only 23 so im sure i have a lot of maturing to do. For me however, i was a basketball player my whole life and have just begun to realize how much better football is than basketball. Im so bitter that i never played football that i would nearly be jelous of my own son if he played football haha.
I watch as much football as anyone but its really dissapointing having never played and experienced a game. None the less, im pushing my 6 year old brother to play football over basketball...
I watch as much football as anyone but its really dissapointing having never played and experienced a game. None the less, im pushing my 6 year old brother to play football over basketball...
JeffGollin
ASFN Icon
Thanks for These Memories...
- The way your sneakers or cletes would get damp from the early morning dew.
- The youngest peewee teams represented local elementary schools. Unis (to use Bidwillian terms) were not "busy" - simply red & white, blue & gold, green & white etc. My team's unis were black & white with gold helmets. From the eye-level view of an hero-worshipping 5 or 6-year old, they were the coolest looking things I had ever seen. I think our coaches wanted to emulate the championship war-time (Blanchard & Davis) Army teams - aka "the Black Knights of the Hudson."
- Helmet Painting (it was fairly easy to spray-paint leather helmets, but the paint just beaded off the new-fangled plastic helmet my folks bought for me).
- Drawing up exotic plays in study hall.
- Riding our bikes from home to the playing field with helmet and shoulder pads on the handle bars.
- Chafed thighs from having to wear a cup.
- How much harder it was to hang onto a forward pass when you wore shoulder pads than when you were running around in shorts playing touch football.
- A handful of legendary ballcarriers with (at least from the viewpoint of a tiny 10-11 -year old) exotic names - Speedy Glass, Lex Smith, Ricky Benfield, the McEldowny Brothers, Pete Schulte, Kevin Reynolds
- Pete Kernan, a mauler who was too big for eligbility as a ballcarrier so they made him the deep guy on kickoffs (where anyone can touch the ball). Kernan's other claim to fame was when he ran onto the high school field the first time as Water Boy only to trip (he went one way, the water pail & water went the other) to the delight of the crowd.
- Playing against a team coached by my girlfriend's father.
Good times (the best!). Fortunately, no one ever got seriously hurt. (I think my worst injury was a bruised tailbone which took a week to heal. 60-years later, I'm still looking for the dude who clipped me).
I'm guessing most of us have similar memories.
- The way your sneakers or cletes would get damp from the early morning dew.
- The youngest peewee teams represented local elementary schools. Unis (to use Bidwillian terms) were not "busy" - simply red & white, blue & gold, green & white etc. My team's unis were black & white with gold helmets. From the eye-level view of an hero-worshipping 5 or 6-year old, they were the coolest looking things I had ever seen. I think our coaches wanted to emulate the championship war-time (Blanchard & Davis) Army teams - aka "the Black Knights of the Hudson."
- Helmet Painting (it was fairly easy to spray-paint leather helmets, but the paint just beaded off the new-fangled plastic helmet my folks bought for me).
- Drawing up exotic plays in study hall.
- Riding our bikes from home to the playing field with helmet and shoulder pads on the handle bars.
- Chafed thighs from having to wear a cup.
- How much harder it was to hang onto a forward pass when you wore shoulder pads than when you were running around in shorts playing touch football.
- A handful of legendary ballcarriers with (at least from the viewpoint of a tiny 10-11 -year old) exotic names - Speedy Glass, Lex Smith, Ricky Benfield, the McEldowny Brothers, Pete Schulte, Kevin Reynolds
- Pete Kernan, a mauler who was too big for eligbility as a ballcarrier so they made him the deep guy on kickoffs (where anyone can touch the ball). Kernan's other claim to fame was when he ran onto the high school field the first time as Water Boy only to trip (he went one way, the water pail & water went the other) to the delight of the crowd.
- Playing against a team coached by my girlfriend's father.
Good times (the best!). Fortunately, no one ever got seriously hurt. (I think my worst injury was a bruised tailbone which took a week to heal. 60-years later, I'm still looking for the dude who clipped me).
I'm guessing most of us have similar memories.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 14, 2002
- Posts
- 10,077
- Reaction score
- 0
Many is the time I did bring oranges.
In my younger days, I played baseball and basketball. Never did play football, so obviously I didn't do much coaching. When Jason signed up, the local Pop Warner was in an extreme financial bind. They hadn't bought new uniforms in almost a decade and all their equipment was out of date and shouldn't have been being used. The people running it gladly turned it over to Bonnie and myself. Bonnie went out and got sponsors, we started having candy sales and we personally donated a significant amount to get new equipment and get the program back on track.
The one thing the program did have was great coaches. They really loved it when their kids got new and updated equipment. They didn't like it so much with me roving the sidelines checking scorecards to make sure every kid got the right amount of plays, but eventually got used to it. A few of the kids went on to play college ball and one or two even got into the NFL.
Great story 40.
+1
Chopper0080
2021 - Prove It
I loved football, loved it. I have so many memories, and also got great joy out of coaching it as well.
I hope my sons decide they want to play, but I am cautious not to try and push them into it too much.
I hope my sons decide they want to play, but I am cautious not to try and push them into it too much.
CtCardinals78
ASFN Addict
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2006
- Posts
- 7,256
- Reaction score
- 2
That's awesome. I too was a basketball player growing up and never played football either. I wanted to in the worst way. My town was too small though and didn't have a team. I would have to go to a neighbouring town to play, but my mom was a nurse and dad was a fireman and they both thought it was too dangerous to play.
I live in a bigger town now and at 33 I just signed my six year old up to play. We start at the end of July and he's looking forward to it as much as I am. I'm not quite sure he understands what's he's getting into with the pads, helmet and all. One thing is for sure out of all those sports I played growing up I have never seen a sport that requires so much commitment from the parents and children. The whole month of August we have practice 5 days a week, 2 hours a day. Then when the season starts we have it three times a week for two hours a day plus games on Sunday. That's hardcore.
In my football playing years I experienced every position on the field except QB. By far the most fun for me, and what I ended up being the best at was LB. Seek and destroy!
