As you register for Fall Tackle football, it is important for parents and players to understand the commitment that will be required over the coming months. Football is a preparation sport, not a pick-up sport, and these requirements will ensure the safety of your child and teammates, as well as ensuring the best possible experience and competitiveness for our players:
1. Pre-season practice starts on Monday, August 14th for all Tackle grades. It consists of 10 sessions over a two-week period and it is expected that your athlete will be present at all 10 practices. We understand there may be circumstances that make this difficult and should there be a conflict, you need to contact FYF Tackle Coordinator, Joe Corselli (Tackle@fairfieldgiants.com) immediately so that he, along with the Grade Head Coach, can assess whether your child will be able to play and compete safely. The pre-season preparation will culminate in a Jamboree, which will include all of the teams in the FCFL. During the Jamboree, we will play three 30 minute scrimmages against other FCFL teams. If your child has not attended our preseason, or has not had enough days of live tackling drills, he will not be eligible to participate in the Jamboree.
2. Fall practice starts August 28 and will be 3-4 nights per week (including a film night) plus a game during the season. Attendance at all practices is mandatory.
Tackle football is a contact sport! Injury risks do exist, especially for players at the 7th and 8th grade levels, where they and the athletes they compete against, begin to get faster, bigger and stronger. We do not have ‘cuts’ or ‘A & B’ teams but we do have to field athletes who can practice and play safely. Should there be an injury risk concern for your child, your Grade Head Coach will be in contact about opportunities to continue to practice with the team until that safety concern has been rectified or alternatively to develop in our FYF Flag program
3. Commitment is more than just attending practice. Players are expected to show respect and discipline – listening and learning from coaches. Furthermore, playing tackle football includes work that needs to be done at home. We expect each player to take time at home to review their playbook and watch the game tape that we will provide each week. We expect our players to show respect and discipline on and off the field to their teammates, coaches, opponents, teachers and members of their community.
4. Finally, tackle football is not a sport to combine with another Fall sport. As you can see from the above, the commitment is significant, and this should be your child’s primary sport for the Fall season. As we mentioned earlier, football is a preparation sport. It is, however, difficult to prepare when a player does not attend every practice, or attends only some practices and some games - or worse, when a player cancels their attendance at a game at the last minute.
Tackle football is a big undertaking. We recognize this. However, we feel it is important that both parents and players understand what is expected of them from the outset. If you are unable to make this level of commitment, or if your child faces a safety concern, we hope you consider competing in our grade specific flag programs.
COSTS FOR FALL SEASON:
$550 + $50 town field fee before June 1, 2023 - take advantage of Early Registration and save $150 (**FLASH EXTRA $50 off if registered prior to May 8th!**)
$700 + $50 town field fee from June 1 thru July 2 2023
$850 + $50 town field fee from July 3 2023
REGISTER HERE:
GRADE 5 TACKLE REGISTRATION
GRADE 6 TACKLE REGISTRATION
GRADE 7 TACKLE REGISTRATION
GRADE 8 TACKLE REGISTRATION
Sibling Discounts: A $100 discount will automatically be applied to all registrations for families with multiple players. The players must all reside in the same household for the discount to be applied.
You will be asked the players grade TWICE. Please follow directions when entering grade information so that we can keep the database correct-- look at the school year that the grade question is referring to.
