GET RID OF THE WEIGHT LIMITS AND LET THE KIDS PLAY REAL FOOTBALL!

KEEP WEIGHT LIMITS IN YOUTH FOOTBALL. YOU STATE THAT SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR AND THAT YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT KIDS GETTING HURT. BUT YOU GO ON TO SAY THAT COACHES ARE NOT FULFILLING THEIR RESPONSIBILITY BY NOT PLAYING THE "NATURAL RUNNING BACK" REGARDLESS OF SIZE! WHEN THAT NATURAL PLAYER RUNS OVER A SMALLER DEVELOPING PLAYER WHETHER HE IS INJURED OR NOT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT THE SMALLER PLAYER WILL JUST STOP PLAYING THE GAME. YOUTH FOOTBALL SHOULD BE DEVELOPEMENTAL, TEACH THE PLAYERS HOW TO PLAY AND ENJOY THE GAME, AND HAVE FUN. LET THEM LEARN AND GROW UP TO PLAY THE NO HOLDS BARRED TYPE OF FOOTBALL IN HIGH SCHOOL.

WHEN YOUNG PLAYERS THAT,HAVE NOT PHYSICALLY MATURED, ARE CHASED AWAY FROM THE GAME EARLY IN THEIR YOUNG CAREERS, WE ALL LOSE. WHAT COACH OUT THERE HAS A CRYSTAL BALL AND KNOWS EXACTLY WHICH YOUNG PLAYER WILL BE A HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE STAR IN THIS GAME?

OUR PROGRAM IS FOR 7TH AND 8TH GRADERS ONLY. WE HACE TWO WEIGHT DIVISIONS. LIGHT 70 TO 125 LBS AND HEAVY 126 TO 200 LBS. EACH DIVISION HAS A BALL HANDLING LIMIT. LIGHT IS 110 AND UNDER, HEAVY IS 150 AND UNDER. THE INTENT OF OUR PROGRAM IS TO ALLOW EVERY PLAYER TO LEARN THE GAME. WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR 33 YEARS.

AN EXAMPLE OF A SINGLE MINDED COACH MAKING A DECISION ABOUT A SMALLER GANGLY PLAYER. HE DECIDED THE PLAYER AS A 7TH GRADER IN THE LIGHT WEIGHT DIVISION WOULD PLAY LINE, AND HE ADVISED THE FATHER THAT MAYBE THIS PLAYER SHOULD FIND ANOTHER SPORT, AS HE BELIEVED HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE A FOOTBALL PLAYER. THIS PLAYER THE NEXT YEAR UNDER ANOTHER COACH IN THE HEAVY WEIGHT DIVISION WAS ALLOWED TO TRY AT QB. HE WENT ON INTO HIGH SCHOOL, AND COLLEGE AS A QB. HE THEN WENT TO THE PRO'S AS A QB WITH THE REDSKINS, TOOK THE TEAM TO THE SUPER BOWL AND WAS NAMED THE MVP. MARK RYPIEN MIGHT NEVER HAVE HAD A CHANCE IF A PROGRAM WAS NOT THERE TO ALLOW ALL THE KIDS A CHANCE TO LEARN AND HAVE FUN.

HOW MANY PLAYERS DID THE NATURAL PLAYER RUN OUT OF THE GAME ON HIS WAY TO 40 TOUCHDOWNS AND A CITY CHAMPIONSHIP? THAT PLAYER WILL ALWAYS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY IN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT A SMALLER YOUNGER DEVELOPING PLAYER MAY NOT GET THAT CHANCE. WHERE DOES OUR REPONSIBILITY LAY AS COACHES, WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS OR DEVELOPE PLAYERS FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS WONDERFUL GAME?