Upcoming Dates

10/1 -Rosters due at MyAYF 

10/2- Regional Champ locations announced 

10/5 - Contender and International post season commitments due to AYF HQ 

10/15 - AAA applications are due to Conferences 

10/15 - Regional Championship brackets due to AYF HQ 

10/15 - AYF branded Wilson football available 

10/20 - Wild Card interest due to AYF HQ

11/15 - Under Armour AYF All Star nominations are due  (AYF & AYC)  

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Joe Galat

President

Chairman of the Board 

Jessica Abramovich

Executive Director

Dee Grayer

Football Commissioner

Elizabeth Bray

Cheer Director & Member Communications

Arielle Krieger

Director, Marketing Operations

Craig Heitczman

Director, Social & Marketing Communications    

Shannon Shy

Director, New Membership

Kristin Walker

Director, Events 

Kerry Lorenca  

AYC Technical Advisor 

Diedrea Willis

Step Coordinator

AYF Regional Reps     

New England  - Rick Pelletier
Big East  - Craig Karahuta
Atlantic  - Mike Fairfax
Southeast  - Orlando Gudes
Midwest  - Mike Bell
Southwest - L.E. Chamberlain
Desert Pacific- Rikki Kinsfather
Mountain Northwest- Mike Piha  

 

School of the Legends (SOTL.com) is the creator of Legends in Training, a high-def online football training designed specifically for the student football athlete, coaches and parents consists of over 35 classes covering all 22 positions on the field taught by legendary NFL player-instructors including: Jerome Bettis, Jason Witten, Michael Vick, Tony Gonzalez, Darren Sharper, Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson and DeAngelo Williams. 

 

 SOTL introduces a unique fundraising program exclusively for AYF members - check it out! 

WIN IT! Have NFL Pro's come to you!  
To get started call us at 877-611-SOTL (7685) or www.schoolofthelegends.com/ayf

 

School of the Legends is also a unique social community that provides football fans, athletes, coaches and parents the opportunity to connect with thousands of current and former NFL players in a safe and secure online environment. In addition, SOTL.com offers a vast array of football-related content including NFL news, stats, unique team fan groups for all 32 NFL teams, plus player profiles and exclusive video content featuring NFL players.

Regionals are right around the corner!   

Beyond our Borders - AYF takes on the world  

Looking for AYF Scholarships?  

Please be sure to check out MyAYF for all current scholarship, essay and coach of the month programs. All AAA nominations and Regional Scholastic nominations are due by November 30.  Please do not delay, download your forms and please complete them in their entirety. Please direct all questions or inquires to  Elizabeth Bray. 

Brains, Braun and Ballin' 

• For more details click here. 
• Send all essay submissions to Arielle Krieger by November 30. 

KRAFT Huddle to Fight Hunger:  AYF Update

Who Wants A $1,000.00 GRANT? By placing a logo on your website, you can get entered into the lottery to win a $1,000  grant.

How do you post the logo? (download step by step instructions here) 

1.  Please click to download the Kraft Huddle to Fight Hunger LOGOS.

2.  Select one or more of the LOGOS to place anywhere on your websites.

3.  Link the logo to http://www.facebook.com/KraftFightHunger  

CFYFL KRAFT HUDDLE TO FIGHT HUNGER Challenge!

• NJ AYF
• Inland Valley Conference
• Dutchtown Youth Football and Cheer Conference
• Central Florida Youth Football and Cheer Conference
• Central Massachusetts
• San Diego AYF 
• NorCal AYF
• Pacific Coast Conference
• Columbus Day Stars
• Phoenix AYF
• Tucson AYF
• MO-KAN AYF
• Greater Charlotte Youth Football Conference
• LAKOTA AYF
• San Antonio AYF

• Joe Montana, Trent Green, Anthony Munoz, Priest Holmes, and Jordan Sparks have all participated in Huddle to Fight Hunger AYF Challenge Events! 
• WELL OVER 1 TON OF FOOD has been collected for Feeding American Food Banks
• Tens of Thousands of people in AYF communities have been exposed to The hunger awareness initiatives by AYF and AYC members.
• Nearly 190,000 have 'liked' the Kraft Fight Hunger Facebook page 
• Check out some photo and video highlights 

The Circle of Giving Back Keeps Turning  

Other youth sports organizations have reached out to join forces with AYF to keep the The Giving Back circle growing! We have received many wonderful donations from people just hearing about our program and wanted to Give Back as well.  

If you or other teams are in need of cheerleading uniforms please contact Elizabeth Bray for colors, sizes and shipping details. We currently have two sets available for cheer league recipients. We are in great need of FOOTBALL donations. Before you toss any practice gear please consider donating it and help us continue to Give Back.

Help your fellow AYFers - The equipment van for Premier Youth Football in Michigan was stolen and they lost all of their team's equipment.  If you have any uniforms you can donate - contact Elizabeth Bray.   

Joe's Presidents Corner

Many psychologists agree, parents who want their children to have a better childhood than they had, are actually doing more harm than good.  When a child fails, this generation of parents are quickly there to pick up their children before the child can process what happened and why.  Of course, a parent needs to protect their child from harm, but according to most child psychologists, parents find it difficult to distinguish the difference between real danger and experiencing failure.  Failure is an important stage of the learning process for children.  Perhaps that is the reason so many parents and parent coaches have issues with anything less than their child's total success.   

Perfection is elusive in the sports world.  A pro-baseball player batting .300 is good.  But what about the seven out of ten non-hits?  A Pro Quarterback is completing over 50 percent of pass attempts is above average.  But half of those passes are not completed!  Hey - coaches and parents who can't accept a mistake - Get Real!   

Division I Universities do not scout youth games looking for their next head coach and only one in many thousand children will ever get paid for playing a sport.  Football and cheerleading teaches us that everyone makes mistakes.  But how you come back after a mistake is the mark of a winner.  Ask the leaders in your community how they achieved 'instant success.'  You may be surprised that their success was not instant or easy.  Abraham Lincoln failed to be elected to public office over 20 times, yet he didn't quit.

The courage to pick yourself back up is what drives our great country.  Remember our historical struggles in wars and economics that America endured, yet we always came back better and stronger.  Maybe those child psychologists would find comfort in seeing the example some adults set for their children when disaster strikes.  Today, life in America is so convenient that we can go days without any obstacles in our way.  Suddenly - natural disasters strike like the flooding in New England, the tornadoes in the Midwest, wild fires in California and Texas and the stock market dives again.  As adults, we are left with no option but to pick up the pieces and rebuild.  That good example helps their children persevere in the battles they face in youth sports and make them appear more manageable.  

Coaches berating players, parents wanting to live in the reflective glory of their child is sadly commonplace.  Many times, coaches are involved because of their children's participation.  Fathers and mothers who coach have the most difficult job in sports - at any level.  These parents face double-edged challenges.  One is to understand that failure is a part of learning and the other is to treat their child like the other members of the team or squad.  Any 'special' treatment by a parent is quickly perceived by everyone.  Teammates will quickly resent this and hold a grudge against the 'special' child, which can result in the child resenting the sport.  Both the child and the parent are victims of this downward spiral.   

What to do?  Associations need to address common pitfalls in youth sports.  Overzealous parents, daddy ball and abusive coaches are all too familiar to us.  American Youth Football clearly states our expectations on our website and MyAYF.com User Panel.  Yet locally, we find that an association or conference that provides a written contract, requiring a return signature is the first step.  The contract clearly outlining what is expected of coaches, participants and parents is a valued precaution if Board of Director disciplinary rulings become necessary.  Year-end Board of Directors evaluations alert everyone of your intentions to stay on course.

The child psychologists advice taken on a positive note.  America's Got Talent, many of your kids have the X-Factor - they are soon to become leaders in your community.  Facebook is full of Teams with Dreams.  Some will fail, some will pick themselves back up.  Momentum is a wonderful, magical thing that happens to teams with chemistry.   

I wish your conference/association the best in the telling days to come.   When the going gets tough - the tough get going!

OK, OK, I know you're busy.  Good luck - THIS GLORIOUS SEASON IS UPON US!