Southern Marin

Playing Football at Southern Marin

1. What safety issues are there with playing youth football?
2. Can a child who has never played football before play youth football with Southern Marin?
3. Are there team tryouts?
4. What are the age and weight classes?
5. Which team will my child play on?
6. When will my child receive their equipment? What will its condition be? What must a parent provide?
7. What is the practice schedule for the 2009 season?
8. Is it critical that my child be at practice for the month of August?
9. What can I do to prepare my child for August?
10. What other resources are available for learning more about football?
11. What is the game schedule for the 2009 season?
12. How much play time will my child receive?
13. Are there playoffs after the season?

Cheer at Southern Marin

1. Why did Southern Marin Youth Football suspend its Cheer program in 2006?
2. What would it take to restart the Cheer program?

Player Registration

1. What territory does "Southern Marin" encompass? What if a player's family lives outside of this area?
2. How do I sign up my son or daughter for Southern Marin Youth Football for the 2009 season?
3. Why did registration fees increase 18% this year?
4. Why do I have to register and pay online?
5. I've just been told that my child is on the waiting list for a roster slot. What does this mean?
6. Can I get a refund after paying the registration fee if I decide my son or daughter is unable to participate?
7. Does Southern Marin Youth Football offer scholarships for athletes who cannot pay the full registration fee?
8. Who do I notify if my athlete is unable to participate in football for the current season?
9. What documents do I need to send in before the start of practice?

Parental Involvement

1. Do you have guidelines for parental behavior?
2. How can parents volunteer to help out their child's team?
3. What fundraising activities can I participate in this year?

Association and League Information

1. What conference are we in? What teams are in our conference?
2. What is the history of Southern Marin Youth Football?

Technical Issues

1. I'm having problems with the Southern Marin Youth Football website. What can I do?
2. I don't have an Internet connection at home. How can I register my child?

At Southern Marin Youth Football:

• Athlete safety has the highest priority for all of our coaches.
• Weight and age classes provide coaches with an important tool for matching athletes on the playing field with competitors of similar size, ages, and skills.
• We have made a significant investment in new equipment, especially high-end helmets, to protect our players.
• All helmets are professionally re-certified in the off-season.

Even so, it is important for you to know that injuries can occur, and you will be required to sign a release (as part of the Parent/Player Contract) on the first day of practice in August.

Yes. For our youngest division, the Mitey Mites, most of our players are first-year athletes. But even for our older divisions we have athletes who have never played organized football before. First-year athletes who succeed generally have a strong desire to play football and attend 100% of August practice, when each team is taught the fundamentals of playing football.

No. Southern Marin Youth Football assigns players to teams by age and weight, and rosters are filled based on a "first come, first served" basis. (Returning players are allowed to pre-register.) We do not turn away any athlete as long as a doctor certifies their fitness to play and we have room on the appropriate 36 player roster. And no athlete will be cut from the team unless there are behavioral issues with the child or parent, or the athlete specifically asks the coach to be removed from the team.

The following table lists the age and weight classes for 2009. The weight classes make it possible for boys of comparable size to line up against each other on the field. These classes are mandated by our conference; we cannot make exceptions. If you are the parent of an athlete who is still 7 years old on August 1st, we strongly recommend that you reconsider registering your athlete for Southern Marin Youth Football. 7 year-old athletes just won't match up well in terms of size and skill when the bulk of our Mitey Mite team is made up of 8 and 9 year-olds.

Division Name	Age	Certification Weight Range
Mitey Mite (older/lighter)	7-8-9 N/A	45 to 90 lbs N/A
Junior Peewee (older/lighter)	8-9-10 11*	50 to 114 lbs 50 to 94 lbs
Peewee (older/lighter)	9-10-11 12*	60 to 129 lbs 60 to 109 lbs
Junior Midget (older/lighter)	10-11-12 13*	80 to 144 lbs 80 to 124 lbs
Midget (older/lighter)	11-12-13-14 15*	90 to 169 lbs 90 to 149 lbs

Notes:

• A child's age on July 31st determines his or her age for the season.
• Ages followed by an asterisk (*) in each division allow for "older but lighter" players (with more stringent weight restrictions, as shown in the table).
• Players may not weigh more than 3 lbs. under or 6 lbs. over the weight limit for a division at the start of practice.
• There are no more allowances for a 1 lb. per week weight gain during the season. In general, we will not assign athletes to a team where they are within 5-7 lbs. of the maximum weight at the start of the season.

Southern Marin Youth Football will place athletes on the youngest/lightest division for which they qualify. This insures that our players are on the team where they will be the most competitive. An athlete's age on 7/31 is used to place them in their division. An athlete's first official weigh-in by Southern Marin Youth Football, generally on 7/31 or 8/1, will also be used to place them in the correct division. (We form rosters before the season based on weights given to us at registration. Rosters will be adjusted on the first day of practice based on our official weigh-in.)

During the first week in August, players practice without pads (non-contact). After the first week, provided a player has completed ten hours of conditioning, they are eligible to receive their gear and begin contact training in practices. Southern Marin Youth Football provides:

• A youth football helmet. Every player receives a helmet that is either brand new or has been recertified for the current season.
• Hard (high strap only) chin strap
• Game (home and away) jerseys.
• Game pants with navy web belt.
• Shoulder pads.
• 1 pair of Broncos game socks. These socks are white on the bottom, navy on top, with an orange band in the middle. Extras can be purchased at T&B Sports in San Rafael for approximately $5.00 plus tax.
• Equipment bag.

Parents are expected to purchase the following equipment from T&B Sports (415.453.2433, directions):

• Personalized Southern Marin Broncos practice jersey.
• TAG 7-piece pad set (2-thigh, tail, 2-hip, and 2-knee)
• TAG or Under Armour 5-pocket pad girdle. Do not buy the Under Armour girdle with built-in pads.
• TAG white practice pants and a navy web belt.
• Shock Doctor gel mouthguard. This is important for player safety. Please choose the appropriate mouthguard: either for braces or not, and either youth or adult sized.
• Black football cleats. (Many players opt for "hightop" football cleats for ankle protection.)
• Practice socks. (Any color socks can be worn to practice.)
• Athletic supporter (hard or soft cup) or compression shorts. Note that the Under Armour girdle comes with a pocket for a hard cup.

Players may optionally wear:

• Forearm pads.
• Rib protector.

Southern Marin Youth Football spends tens of thousands of dollars each year replacing damaged equipment and making sure all equipment is in good condition and safe. All equipment provided by Southern Marin Youth Football must be returned clean and in good condition (minus normal wear-and-tear) at the end of the season.

Our practice schedule (based on conference rules) for the 2009 season is:

• Practice starts on Monday, August 3rd, at 5:30 pm at Friends Field in Mill Valley (directions). We will practice Monday through Friday, 5:30 pm to 7:40 pm from 8/3 to Friday, August 21st.
• Practice will be at Friends Field, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, from 5:30 pm to 7:40 pm from Monday, August 4th until Friday, August 21st.
• After August 21st, teams will split up and practice at either Redwood High School, Marin Catholic, Tamalpais High School, or Martin Luther King Park in Sausalito. (We are currently trying to determine practice field locations.) For the 2 weeks starting August 24th, each team's head coach will determine which days of the week the team will practice (generally 3 to 5 days for the week).
• After Labor Day, we practice 3 days per week for 2 hours per day. Each team's coach will determine which 3 days of the week the team will practice.

Yes, especially for first-year players. We realize that many families schedule vacations for the month of August, but this month is critical for the conditioning work we do early in the month, and the teaching of football fundamentals we do the entire month, especially after each player has accumulated 10 hours of practice and is able to start contact drills in pads. Players who miss parts of August practice have a hard time catching up to their teammates, especially if they are forced to complete their 10 hours of conditioning while the rest of the team is in pads performing contact drills or scimmaging. The highest dropout rate for players is for athletes who miss August practice and are trying to catch up to the rest of the team.

If you must miss part of August practice, you will need to gain the approval of the team coach, who may ask you to move to the team's waiting list or come out for football the following year. Please notify Southern Marin Youth Football immediately with any scheduling conflicts during August practice.

Most of our athletes start August practice physically fit and have no problems drilling for 2 hours per day, 5 days per week. Athletes who have spent the summer with little physical activity will have an incredibly difficult time during August practice. Make sure your child is physically active during the summer months so that he or she is not surprised by all of the running and calisthenics we do starting the first day in August.

There are football camps available during June and July. These camps are optional and are not run by Southern Marin Youth Football. We will teach all players the skills they will need to play football starting with August practice. Every player will be given a playbook and will be taught how to play their position(s) on the team by our coaches.

There are many resources about football on the Internet and at bookstores. Here are a few:

• The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Football is a good starting guide to football fundamentals.
• The Wikipedia Entry for American Football, with links to other websites, can be found here.
• Check out the website http://www.winningyouthfootball.com for one coach's strategy for managing youth football.

The 2009 season schedule should be available before the start of practice. In general we start with a football Jamboree the weekend of August 22nd/23rd and then play every subsequent weekend until the beginning of November. Playoffs for qualified teams last up to (but not including) Thanksgiving weekend. There may be an inter-conference championship game this year Thanksgiving weekend.

Every player is guaranteed a minimum number of plays, depending on the number of players on a team's roster. The minimum number of plays is 12 for 16-25 player rosters, 10 plays for 26-30 player rosters, and 8 plays for 31-3 player rosters. A typical game has around 35 - 40 plays for each offense.

The Mitey Mite Division always go to the Mitey Mite Bowl, generally the week after the last regular season game, usually in early November. The older divisions participate in the conference playoffs if they are one of the top 4 teams. The conference playoffs are generally the first 2 weekends in November. If a team becomes conference champion, they participate in AYF conference playoffs and championships, with the potential of going to Florida for the AYF national championships.

There were several factors that led to the suspension of the Cheer program:

1. Southern Marin had only 2 cheer athletes signed up after 6 weeks of our 2006 registration drive . (We had 140 football player sign-ups in that same 6 weeks.)
2. Sign-ups for Cheer have been dwindling for years.
3. Southern Marin did not have the personnel (coaches, board-level administrators, and other volunteers) to manage a Cheer program.
4. The Board of Directors for Southern Marin Youth Football lacked a successful plan for recruiting Cheer athletes in Southern Marin.
5. In lieu of an organized, thriving cheer program, the Board of Directors decided that athletes interested in Cheer would be best served by joining Central Marin Cheer.

Southern Marin would need a group of individuals with the skills and desire required to organize, recruit, and coach cheer for our association. If you know of such a group please contact our President, Curt Hagfeldt, with their background in cheer and plan for recruiting cheer participants in Southern Marin.

Southern Marin's official territory encompasses all towns in the Tamalpais Union High School District with the exception of Fairfax, Forest Knolls, Lagunitas, Nicasio, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, and Woodacre. Any athlete whose primary residence is in Belvedere, Bolinas, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Marin City, Mill Valley, Ross, San Quentin, Sausalito, Stinson Beach, and Tiburon is invited to play youth football at Southern Marin.

If an athlete's primary residence is outside of Southern Marin's territory, your athlete should play with the local youth football organization. For example, athletes living in San Rafael should play with Central Marin Youth Football.

Click on the Register menu item at the top of this page.

This is our first registration fee increase since 2005. And it is becoming more expensive to run our program. Field use fees are skyrocketing. And in order to provide the best equipment for our athletes, we have been aggressively buying new helmets, pads and other gear. Our current registration fee of $425.00 does not allow our program to be break even for the year. We are dependent on our team fundraisers to push us into the black with regard to our finances. In 2008 we ran a $10,000 deficit due to smaller donations to our program. Southern Marin cannot afford to continue operating at a deficit.

Registering online helps us handle sign-ups in the most efficient way possible. Otherwise, registration becomes a huge task for a group of unpaid volunteers. For example, your online registration information will go directly into each team's certification book and will not be re-keyed. Similarly, online payment is the most efficient way for us to match a registration with a payment, and allows us to easily move funds to our bank account. (The old way of collecting 175 checks, matching them by hand to a registration, and making sure the fees were deposited into the proper bank account was onerous.)

Online registration and payment will become a requirement of all sports teams in the next few years.

Conference rules allow us to have 36 players on each roster for each of our 5 teams. We are not allowed to have practice squads, nor carry more than 36 players for each team during the month of August practice and can only certify 36 players for each team during the season. Once we have a roster of 36 players, registered athletes who qualify for one of our teams will be placed on a waiting list. If a roster spot opens up during August, players will be moved from the waiting list to an active roster and immediately allowed to practice with their team. Last year we had a couple of roster spots open up for each team during August practice. This year, we may or may not have the same sort of attrition in August.

Any athlete who is placed on our waiting list will have the full registration fee refunded if a roster spot does not become available.

Southern Marin Youth Football needs to know immediately if a player is going to drop out of football for the season, so that wait-listed athletes can be notified promptly.

Southern Marin's policy is:

• All but $50.00 of the $425.00 registration fee will be refunded if an athlete drops prior to June 1st.
• No refunds will be given if an athlete drops after June 1st. By June 1st, we have organized our rosters and ordered all equipment.
• Any athlete placed on a waiting list will be given a full refund if a roster spot does not open up by the beginning of the season.

For 2009 we are not making exceptions to this policy. Period.

Southern Marin does not currently offer scholarships for the 2009 season.

If your plans have changed and your athlete cannot participate in football, please let us know as soon as possible by sending an email to registrar@SouthernMarinFootball.com with the first and last name of your athlete.

Click on the Documents menu item at the top of this page.

All coaches and board members are unpaid volunteers. Our coaches contribute more than 120 hours just to practice and game time during August and the season, and give many more hours in preparation for practice or a game and in the off-season. Our unpaid volunteers are doing this for the benefit of the athletes in our program. Please keep this in mind when you are interacting with coaches and board members from our association.

Parent participation is crucial to the overall success of the season. We need the assistance of participants' parents in a wide variety of activities ranging from announcing the games to filming the game. In an attempt to provide parents with a sense of what each role entails, please read the following list of Team Volunteer Job Descriptions and talk to your child's team coach to volunteer:

1. Team Parent (all season) - The team parent is the coach's "right-hand" and runs all of the volunteer efforts. This can include pizza parties, get-togethers, fund-raising events, etc. The team parent coordinates all of the volunteers at least a week before each game and confirms with a telephone call the day before each game.


2. PAR or Play Allotment Requirement (all games) - Conference rules stipulate that each team, based on the total number of players active for a game, must play each player a minimum number of plays. This minimum number of plays must be completed in the 4th quarter. If any player or players have not met his or her PAR requirement, that individual or individuals will start the fourth quarter and play until he or she has completed PAR. In order to track this participation at all games, two parents are required to work with two parents from the opposing team. These two sets of PAR Monitors record on preprinted forms the number of plays that each player has appeared in until all PAR requirements have been met. A game will not begin until PAR Monitors are present and on the sidelines. This is an important function and more than two people should undertake this responsibility for backup purposes.


3. Game Day Snack Parent (multiple parent responsibility that rotates on game-by-game basis) (all games) - This is a revolving game day responsibility that is assigned by the Team Parent. It entails insuring that cool drinks are available for halftime fluid replenishment and that a snack is available immediately after the game.


4. Weigh Master (all games) - The weigh master helps weigh every player in all games in the home team's locker room to meet the weight requirements specified by the league.


5. Chain Crew or Gang (home games) - This group of parents will be assigned by the Crew Chief to work Home Games. Two people will be required to move the chains that indicate first down yardage requirements and one person will be needed to move the down marker. The down marker indicates down and is placed along the chain so that it approximates the line of scrimmage.


6. Parents in the Press Booth (home games) - Two parents are needed in the Press Box for each home game. The three duties that they will perform are: an announcer who provides game commentary over the Club's loudspeaker system; and one person who will operate the official scoreboard clock and act as a spotter for the announcer.


7. Game Film/Video Parent (varies per team) - This parent(s) will be responsible for filming the game from the roof of the press booth. Only actual plays are filmed and it is the responsibility of each head coach to tell the filming parent what to look for and emphasize.

Southern Marin counts on fundraising events during the season to raise money for our programs:

• For the football teams, Southern Marin Youth Football will run a Punt, Pass, and Kick competition and fundraiser for all 5 teams. You will be provided more information about this event in August.
• We will also sell Southern Marin Youth Football athletic wear (sweatshirts, tee shirts, hats, etc.) throughout the season.

In addition we are always looking for financial contributions from organizations and individuals that can provide us with the resources to make our program even better. Please contact our President, Curt Hagfeldt, if you wish to make a donation or know of an organization that can.

Southern Marin Youth Football has joined the American Youth Football Conference which consists of 12 teams. More details about the conference will be available in the future.

The Southern Marin Youth Football Program has been in existence for decades. We are proud to have provided both football (and, in the past, cheer) experiences to thousands of boys and girls. Our all-volunteer organization consists of board members, coaches, and game day volunteers.

If you are having problems with the Southern Marin Youth Football website, here are a few things you can do:

• Make sure you are running the latest web browser for your platform. This is important, not only from the perspective of accurately rendering our website, but also for your security surfing the Internet. Many spyware and virus programs exploit security holes in old web browsers. You should be running one of the following web browsers:
  • Windows XP and Vista: Internet Explorer 7 or Mozilla Firefox 3
  • Mac OS X: The latest version of Safari for your OS X version
  • Linux: Mozilla Firefox 3
• Make sure you have JavaScript enabled in your web browser. Most browsers have JavaScript enabled by default.
• If you are making an online payment to Southern Marin, make sure you have cookies enabled in your web browser.
• If you are still having problems with our web site, please contact our Webmaster.

If you don't have a suitable computer for registering online, please find a computer-savvy friend who can help you register your child via their computer. Another option is to go to the local public library; most now offer computer access to the Internet.