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Youth Football FAQ and Details
What is the purpose of the Youth Football Clinic?
Our clinic is a highly competitive 8 week season at Greenville High’s football facilities, geared towards helping kids learn the game of football. The goal is to learn football in a holistic, hands-on way in a challenging, yet encouraging and safe environment.
Does my son have to be zoned Greenville High?
At this point the intent is to play for the Youth Program you are zoned for, or the closest one if you are zoned for a school not currently served by a City Youth Sports Youth League.
What position will my son play?
Each player will learn at least 2 offensive positions and at least 2 defensive positions. Our first two practices will help our coaches evaluate each player and begin determining what positions each player will play in the fall. The player will find out on Sundays what position he will play in the coming week. The players will gain experience by playing their various positions on the field throughout the 8 weeks.
What if my son wants to play Quarterback?
Quarterback is the only position that has try-outs.
Can my son play another sport or participate in another activity while participating in the football Clinic?
We would encourage you to commit seriously to this activity and every practice and game within these 8 weeks. This is for two reasons…1. Your son will be placed in a position and on a team each week. If he should miss a day both he and his teammates will suffer. 2. Your son will be tired and sore the day after practices and games. We would encourage you to let him have some time off to recover. Studies show when an individual is working out intensely, recovery is every bit as important as the workouts themselves. We will not tell you what activities your son can or cannot do. But we would strongly encourage you for these 8 weeks to only do the Red Raider Youth Football Clinic. We are confident this activity will be enough on its own.
What if my son is sick?
Please notify the coaches but keep him away so we don’t pass illnesses to the entire group and their families.
What if I am not sure I want my son to play high school football?
If at this point you are not confident as parents that you will let your son play tackle football at the high school level then this Clinic is not for you. We ask that you please turn this invitation down until you can confidently say “I will let my son play tackle football in high school if he wants to”. Also, if you do not feel like your son is physically mature enough to handle tackle football at this point in his growth there is no problem with waiting and considering this for him for future years. Turning down this invitation for 2020 does not mean your son will lose the opportunity to do it in the future should your views on him playing football change. Unlike flag football and other tackle programs in the upstate, the purpose of this clinic is to prepare your son to play high school football. Your son will be coached with that expectation.
What Grades are allowed to play
- 4th through 6th graders are allowed to play Red Raider Youth Football.
- 7th and 8th graders who are zoned for GHS are allowed to play Red Raider DTeam Football.
With 4th through 8th Graders in the Clinic how will grade levels be broken up?
The clinic will exist for and be broken up into three loose grade groupings: 1. 4th/5th graders, 2. 5th/6th/7th graders, and 3. 7th/8th graders. Based on physical maturity and/or ability your son will be placed in one of these groups. His group is assigned at the discretion of the coaching staff, but we will speak with you about it beforehand should we think a move of grade grouping is best at some point in the Clinic’s 8 weeks. The goal is for every player to be challenged, but not overwhelmed. That is a fine line that we coaches monitor very closely as a group. No coach acts alone. We hold both safety and fair competition in high regard. Again, the goal for each player is “challenged, but not overwhelmed”.
What precautions do you take to prevent injury?
Football is a physical, contact sport. The purpose of this Clinic is to train boys in the proper fundamentals and techniques of football at each position. When players use the correct technique and fundamentals, injuries can be avoided. However, when you play the physical, contact sport of football you sign up for bumps and bruises. Hopefully that is all our players will experience. However, we cannot guarantee avoiding injury while playing the game of football. All we can promise you is this – We have team doctors available should a need arise. And in concerning the matter of concussions, we take the utmost precaution. Should our coaches and/or doctors have a suspicion of a head injury for a player, the player is removed from the practice or game immediately and is not allowed to re-enter that day’s practice or game. A full medical evaluation is required by an attending physician not affiliated with Red Raider Youth Football for the player to return to competition in future practices and games.
I have heard Red Raider coaches are intense. Why is this?
Most people know this – football is an intense game. And your son will be coached intensely. Will coaches raise their voices? Absolutely. Part of this is practical: with more than 50 youth players on a field at one time all wearing helmets, coaches will have no choice but to raise their voices in order to be heard and keep the practice organized and moving. However, we have assembled a group of coaches who know how to create an intense environment that is positive and encouraging. Athletes want to be coached hard. It may take time for your son to adjust, but if you will trust us with your sons they will respond and be better for it. (Plus they will sleep really well at night! haha) Know this – in our inaugural 2016 season we had 57 players begin the Clinic and 57 players finish. Not one player quit. Our Clinic is an intense environment. But your son will love it. He may not end up loving the sport of football. But we take pride as coaches in creating an environment that boys want to be around.
I have heard the Clinic tries to impart life lessons. Can you explain?
As coaches, we love the game of football and believe strongly that it can be used to help grow boys into men this world needs. Part of each of our 8 weeks will be used to emphasize to the players key attributes to leading productive and happy lives as boys and men in the future. Throughout practices and games we will talk about attributes like hard work, toughness, accepting responsibility, teamwork, good communication, leadership, etc. The goal is to use football to create a community of boys that lead in their schools and peer groups and are a positive influence wherever they go in childhood and adult life. We encourage parents to ask your player about our “Words of the Day” after practices and games!
Why doesn’t Red Raider Youth Football compete in a Rec League?
We believe entering our players in a league actually limits our players’ development as football players. By controlling the competitive environment we place development, technique and fundamentals ahead of trying to get our players ready to face a different opponent each week.. In a Rec League, there is no way to promise a player will be matched up against an opponent of similar physical maturity and ability. By not entering a league, we can create an environment that again is “challenging, yet not overwhelming.” This creates a safer environment and a better teaching environment. The focus is on training, learning, and development. Often, competing in a league distracts from that.
If you do not play in a league, how do you have games?
Our games are intrasquad games against each other. We will have 7 over the course of the clinic. We do keep score and have weekly winners and losers. We believe character can be developed by keeping score and by both winning and losing. Life is about winning and losing – often on a daily basis. We want the boys to learn those types of lessons in our intense, competitive, yet encouraging environment. If you ask any player from last year’s season they will tell you our games are fun. It doesn’t matter to them that the games are not in a Rec League.
DETAILS:
- HOW OFTEN – 3 weekday evenings only per week for 8 weeks straight. DTeam (rising 7th and 8th graders zoned for GHS) will play for 11 weeks
- WHERE – Greenville High School football facilities for Red Raider Youth
- COST – we are working on nailing this down, but it will be around $300.
DO NOT LET COST KEEP YOUR SON FROM PLAYING! Scholarships are available, email here for details.