Middle School Team - Update

[CoachGLenn]

There is interest in our school to start a six man football team. We are a private school in Giddings, approximately 60 minutes from Austin and College station and 45 minutes from Brenham. We currently we play flag football and have been losing students in seventh and eighth grade to the lure of tackle football in the public school system.
I believe we can easily raise the funds to get the team started; the issue would be the number of teams in our area.
Any information regarding teams and possible start-up costs would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
CoachGlenn

Update…

I met with the principal and six man is a go and he will propose to school board soon and push for January start and likely a 2012 inaugural season.
However, I will not wait until January to begin laying the ground work. I would like to get information into the hands of all parents and possible donors within the month along with contacting high school AD and superintendent about using the HS football field.

We are considering each individual purchasing their own equipment along with the school making the buy depending on parent support. I would like to catch the end-of-season sales for equipment this year.

I really need area teams, coaches, and fields contact information to put together a map and “very” preliminary schedule to present to the school board and for parents. I believe showing possible games and locations along with travel time will help “sell” the program.

We may have to play on Saturdays, does anyone else have games on Saturdays? Our high school plays games on Thursdays and Friday’s so scheduling games on these nights would be near impossible.

There are three other private schools in our district who do not want to start a six man program now, but I feel that if we can get ours started there may be an additional two other teams forming a program in 2013.

Any help from anyone is welcome.

 

[freeagent]

Get in touch with Matt Tarbutton over at Brenham Christian. I'm not sure if they play JH ball, but they might. Bellville Faith used to play as well, and perhaps some of the other "nearby" teams like Bastrop Tribe and Austin schools might also have JH teams.

In some areas, I'm hearing about middle school sixman games going to Tuesdays instead of Thursdays (because officials are really in short supply that day with multiple sub-varsity games at larger schools and some varsity contests in metro areas). Saturday is always a possibility; it would depend on field availability since a lot of city fields, etc. are taken up by pee-wee leagues. But it's worth a try.

Only issue I have with individuals buying the equipment is what happens when stuff needs to be fixed or reconditioned (esp. helmets). I'd have the school buy and own the equipment so you can control it. But come January, that's when you'll see the major mfgrs. of equipment have their sales (buy 6 helmets, shoulder pads; get 1 free; 25% off uniforms, etc.).

Drop me a PM on schools you think might be interested in starting a program.

John

 

[CoachGLenn]

Are there any equipment suppliers that you could recommend?

 

[bulldawgs]

Coach if there are bigger schools in your area and you are in good terms with them, then I would approach them after the season and ask them for used equipment. Sometimes you can get some that way. Helmets are difficult and you will probably have to buy them outright because of the inspection and reconditioning requirements. The first couple of years for a new program are the most costly.

As far as the thought of a junior high team, I will throw this out there. There are many 8th graders playing varsity six man. There are far more 7th and 8th graders playing JV. 99% of the coaches out there are honorable. If you tell them your JV team is made up mostly of 7th and 8th graders, they will play you straight up with their younger kids. Finally, contact TAPPS, TCAL, and TCAF. They are all great organizations and will bend over backwords to help you get up and running. If your school can afford to join one of these, the benefits will pay off dearly.

I wish you the best and God Bless

 

[freeagent]

Coach if there are bigger schools in your area and you are in good terms with them, then I would approach them after the season and ask them for used equipment. Sometimes you can get some that way. Helmets are difficult and you will probably have to buy them outright because of the inspection and reconditioning requirements. The first couple of years for a new program are the most costly.

As far as the thought of a junior high team, I will throw this out there. There are many 8th graders playing varsity six man. There are far more 7th and 8th graders playing JV. 99% of the coaches out there are honorable. If you tell them your JV team is made up mostly of 7th and 8th graders, they will play you straight up with their younger kids. Finally, contact TAPPS, TCAL, and TCAF. They are all great organizations and will bend over backwords to help you get up and running. If your school can afford to join one of these, the benefits will pay off dearly.

I wish you the best and God Bless

A bit of correction ... T-CAL may be the only league that allows 8th graders to play high school sports. Not sure on TCAF, but I know the TAPPS now does not permit non-9th to 12th graders to compete on any high school level sports team.

Unlike UIL, TAPPS (and I think T-CAL) do not have junior high leagues. TCAF operates CSAF, which is a junior high league in the DFW area only. But any of those folks have people who can help you get started.

My only concern on used equipment is LIABILITY, especially on helmets. In the concussion awareness situation we live in, I would not buy a used helmet UNLESS it was immediately reconditioned by a certified (NOCSAE, I think is the organization) reconditioning provider. And probably, I'd still stick with new helmets anyway. For junior high equipment, you're probably looking at $300-500 per kid; high school add $100 to the number.

 

[bulldawgs]

Thank you for clarifying that Lifegate. I am only familiar with T-Cal but wanted to be non-biased which is why I threw the other organizations out there. This is a wonderful message board and there are many people out here that can point you in the right direction. Like I said in my original post, though not as clearly as I probably should have, helmets should always be new. If for some reason you cannot get new helmets or someone wants to bring their own, then I would send the helmet in to be inspected and certified before use. Shoulder pads should be good used as long as they are in decent condition. Finally, do not scrimp on mouthguards. This is the one piece of equipment that will go the furthest in prevention of concussions.

 

[coachbill]

Coach,

Give me a call and I can point you in the right direction. I have a great connection in sporting goods who can beat any price around. I would also be happy to help with any other questions you may have about starting a six man team.

Billy Helm
TCAL Football
512-748-7931