Can you tell me about Middle School Football?

[MaeFlowers]

My ds has become obsessed with football. He really wants to play. We have some rec teams through the county and I have thought about signing him up next summer. I considered it last year but the schedule was too much for us. Practice is four nights a week and then there are games on the weekend. I don't honestly think we would be able to get him there four nights a week. So, I am wondering about ps football. Does anyone have any experience with this? I don't know anything about school sports. Neither dh or I ever played school sports so I'm on new ground here. What are there schedules like? Do the kids have to try out at the middle school level? When are the tryouts? What else do I need to know?

 

I am really in the initial stages of all of this. I have concerns about him playing football. I have concerns about putting him back in ps, too. But, I don't want to automatically dismiss it.

[Word Nerd]

You would need to ask the school(s) you're considering most of those questions, as the answers wouldn't be the same at every school. Our local PS teams don't require try-outs at any level for any sport, but larger schools nearby do. However, you can be reasonably certain that any school team will have a strict practice schedule every day of the school week and is a big time commitment. Skipping them isn't an option if he doesn't want to be benched or kicked off the team, so scheduling issues wouldn't be any different from the rec teams in that regard.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Word Nerd

[CinV]

At my local Jr. High (in FL), there are tryouts and it is intense.  Practices are 2x a day until school starts, every school day after that until games start, then 4 days a week after that.  Football is all consuming during the season (even at the Pop Warner level, which starts at 5) it fills the months between August 1 through late October/early November, depending on if your team made playoffs.

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[Nan in Mass]

I can understand your son's wish to do a sport.  My children did gymnastics pretty intensively at that age.  They really craved the physical training and constant excersize.  With football, though, I'd worry about head injuries.  The information coming out now is really scary.  Can you find a flag football league?  That would avoid the problem of brain damage.  Maybe it has a less intense practice schedule?  There was a significant sacrifice of family time when we were doing lots of practices.   And maybe flag football wouldn't involve public school.

 

Nan

[Storygirl]

My fourth grader has been wanting to play football, and we've put it off for a couple of years. DH was a very talented football player (recruited for college play), but he has mixed feelings about letting our kids participate, as well.

 

We have compromised by signing DS10 up for flag football. It meets once a week, with a one-hour practice followed by a one-hour game, and only lasts for about six weeks, so it is a short term commitment. Have you looked into flag football in your area? It might be a way to dip your toes in and see if football will work for your family, but it lacks the intensity of a peewee or school football team.

 

Around here, flag football goes through about age 13.

[MaeFlowers]

You would need to ask the school(s) you're considering most of those questions, as the answers wouldn't be the same at every school. Our local PS teams don't require try-outs at any level for any sport, but larger schools nearby do. However, you can be reasonably certain that any school team will have a strict practice schedule every day of the school week and is a big time commitment. Skipping them isn't an option if he doesn't want to be benched or kicked off the team, so scheduling issues wouldn't be any different from the rec teams in that regard.

 

The scheduling issues with rec team is that we would have to be present the whole time (at least I am assuming). With a school team, this wouldn't be necessary so it would be more feasible. Still, I don't know how ds would handle such an intense schedule.

 

At my local Jr. High (in FL), there are tryouts and it is intense.  Practices are 2x a day until school starts, every school day after that until games start, then 4 days a week after that.  Football is all consuming during the season (even at the Pop Warner level, which starts at 5) it fills the months between August 1 through late October/early November, depending on if your team made playoffs.

.  

 

We live in the south, too. (GA) Football is serious business around here and I am assuming there are tryouts. I will call the school this week as WordNerd recommended. Do you know if the tryouts are in typically in the spring?

 

I can understand your son's wish to do a sport.  My children did gymnastics pretty intensively at that age.  They really craved the physical training and constant excersize.  With football, though, I'd worry about head injuries.  The information coming out now is really scary.  Can you find a flag football league?  That would avoid the problem of brain damage.  Maybe it has a less intense practice schedule?  There was a significant sacrifice of family time when we were doing lots of practices.   And maybe flag football wouldn't involve public school.

 

Nan

 

Believe me, I know. I just read a story about a football player from UNC who died last week (IIRC). It worries me. I have tried to get him interested in other sports but my dh's family is all about football and I think that heavily influences him. I havent come across any flag football teams but I will do some more digging.

[MaeFlowers]

My fourth grader has been wanting to play football, and we've put it off for a couple of years. DH was a very talented football player (recruited for college play), but he has mixed feelings about letting our kids participate, as well.

 

We have compromised by signing DS10 up for flag football. It meets once a week, with a one-hour practice followed by a one-hour game, and only lasts for about six weeks, so it is a short term commitment. Have you looked into flag football in your area? It might be a way to dip your toes in and see if football will work for your family, but it lacks the intensity of a peewee or school football team.

 

Around here, flag football goes through about age 13.

 

I just looked and the county does have flag football for ages 6-11. I am going to have to call this week and see what I can find out.

 

[CinV]

 

We live in the south, too. (GA) Football is serious business around here and I am assuming there are tryouts. I will call the school this week as WordNerd recommended. Do you know if the tryouts are in typically in the spring?

 

 

 

Tryouts here are held a few weeks after school ends, but homeschoolers have to have all kinds of additional paperwork in to the coach in early spring.

[livetoread]

I think we are just starting to understand the problems caused by repeated blows to the head, whether they cause concussions or not. Football means head blows, from the repeated jostling that all experience, to major blows short of a concussion that most experience, to concussions that some experience. I'm glad you are looking into flag football. I'm sorry if I'm being controversial, but I think it is still worth saying, and you did acknowledge you were concerned enough about it to reconsider😀.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

Being in Georgia, are you in one of the counties that by chance doesn't have middle school football?  Several around the Atlanta metro area actually have junior football, which is essentially the same thing (play for high school district in which you reside), except the teams are not officially affiliated with the school system.

 

If so, you can actually play for the junior programs without attending the middle school. You also would not be required to be at practices either, although they often run a but later in the afternoon/evening as the volunteer coaches have other jobs.

Edited December 6, 2015 by ChocolateReignRemix

[MaeFlowers]

Being in Georgia, are you in one of the counties that by chance doesn't have middle school football? Several around the Atlanta metro area actually have junior football, which is essentially the same thing (play for high school district in which you reside), except the teams are not officially affiliated with the school system.

 

If so, you can actually play for the junior programs without attending the middle school. You also would not be required to be at practices either, although they often run a but later in the afternoon/evening as the volunteer coaches have other jobs.

Our middle schools do have football. I looks like they are not funded by the school board, though. Not sure how that works. I did finally find the rec. League website. It looks like he could play next year but then would age out.

[MaeFlowers]

I think we are just starting to understand the problems caused by repeated blows to the head, whether they cause concussions or not. Football means head blows, from the repeated jostling that all experience, to major blows short of a concussion that most experience, to concussions that some experience. I'm glad you are looking into flag football. I'm sorry if I'm being controversial, but I think it is still worth saying, and you did acknowledge you were concerned enough about it to reconsider😀.

I don't think you are being controversial. I think it is a very real concern and is definitely one I have. I would much rather him play flag football especially after reading the max weight for his age is 145#! That seems huge to me for that age. Ds isn't even 100 lbs and that's more than I weigh.

[purplejackmama]

Try to talk him out of it :) kidding. Sort of. Football is a beast!! It's a major time suck and physically grueling. It was way more than my family could handle. Well my son loved it, but he understood the stress it added to our family.

 

So the compromise we found was a flag football league. It's only one maybe two practices a week. He loves it! I'm happy with the time commitment. Win/win.

 

Also, side note: there are so many ex-professional players that don't allow their children to play. That was an eye opener for me.

 

All my humble opinions and experiences.

Edited December 6, 2015 by purplejackmama

[Storygirl]

I don't think you are being controversial. I think it is a very real concern and is definitely one I have. I would much rather him play flag football especially after reading the max weight for his age is 145#! That seems huge to me for that age. Ds isn't even 100 lbs and that's more than I weigh.

 

The weight thing is a big deal. DH was always much bigger than the other kids his age -- big overall, not heavy (he is 6'5" as an adult). When he was in peewee football, there were weight limits, and before each game the opposing coach could call out members of the other team to be weighed in to make sure they did not go over the limits. DH was weighed every time. He would take off his extra padding, etc., before standing on the scale. No one wanted to play against him.

 

It's entirely possible that there will be players who are at the max weight on a team.

 

[SebastianCat]

I don't think you are being controversial. I think it is a very real concern and is definitely one I have. I would much rather him play flag football especially after reading the max weight for his age is 145#! That seems huge to me for that age. Ds isn't even 100 lbs and that's more than I weigh. 

 

 

If your siggy is up to date and your DS is 11, this would be my concern as well.  Most of the middle school boys I know have hit a major growth spurt at 12 or 13, plus the associated testosterone surge with puberty means that there is a HUGE difference in strength and size between a 13 year old boy and an 11 year old boy.   My 13 year old has grown a full 12 inches since he was 11, and even though he's very skinny (probably somewhere around 100-115 pounds), he's much stronger than he was two years ago.   He's about average in height among his friends, but weighs less.

 

My DS is going to play in a recreational flag football league this winter where practices and games are held back-to-back on the same night, so it's only a one-night-per-week commitment.   He's very excited and can't wait to start.   If he seriously wanted to play tackle football, I would consider it, but would look for a commitment on his part to start some weight training to try to add some muscle mass before allowing him to play.

[CinV]

The weight thing is a big deal. DH was always much bigger than the other kids his age -- big overall, not heavy (he is 6'5" as an adult). When he was in peewee football, there were weight limits, and before each game the opposing coach could call out members of the other team to be weighed in to make sure they did not go over the limits. DH was weighed every time. He would take off his extra padding, etc., before standing on the scale. No one wanted to play against him.

 

It's entirely possible that there will be players who are at the max weight on a team.

 

PeeWee is super strict about weight limits now.  Every player is weighed before every game, in full gear (except helmets).  A player who is above max by even an ounce will not be allowed to play (they use digital scales).  Every team my son has been on has had players at max weight because coaches encourage players to stay in a lower level if at all possible.

[justasque]

Also - be aware that many kids will have been playing since they were five or so.  Your ds will be a beginner.  Starting with something like a short-term flag football league will give him a chance to pick up basic skills before being thrown into the deep end with the more experienced kids.

 

The brain injury issue is serious.  You might want to throw the net more broadly, and find some other short-term sports experiences for your ds to try out, to give him the chance to fall in love with something less dangerous.  Athletes benefit from cross-training anyway; whatever sport he does at any given time will help with the strength and stamina he will need if he eventually goes on to play football.