Oregon State Beavers Grade 1-2 Official Team Web Site for 2010
Mouthpiece
Cleats
Tee shirt/sweatshirt
Shorts
Water
Please make sure they have already gone to the bathroom before practice.
If you are running late or cannot attend practice, please call me: 562 301 8334
WELCOME
Welcome parents to another great year of Friday Night Lights flag football. Our emphasis this year will be focused on teaching the players the game of flag football through the use of various drills mixed in with a pre season scrimmage or two. While there will be some running during the practice, our main goal will be to make sure everyone has fun and EVERYONE carries the ball. The same will be true in games.
Community
Friday Night Lights has enjoyed remarkable growth in just five years. The fun and light atmosphere combined with great food vendors (A new one each week) make for a true community experience. Competition on the field is combined with the all important Whats for snack? which at this age is what they really remember at the end of the day.
Practice
We will determine a practice time and location that fits into everyone's schedule to the best of our ability. The practice will be limited to a maximum of 90 minutes with most practices being done by 5:30PM if we begin by 4:00PM. We only get one practice a week as a team so being on time and ready to play is key to their individual development. Please be certain that your player arrives five minutes early and has a cold water/ Gatorade or similar and has already gone to the bathroom and has their cleats on and tied tightly. A properly fitting mouthpiece is a must on the practice and game field at all times. I suggest you start the season with 3-5 of them as they do occasionally go missing!
Scrimmages
We will try and schedule a Friday Night scrimmage each week until the season so that the players can get rid of the "First game Jitters" sooner rather than later. The scrimmages are strictly optional as a big part of FNL is a minimal time commitment.
Volunteers
FNL is a 100% volunteer based operation. The team's success is very much dependant on your support and involvement with the players and the practices and games. It actually takes a lot of effort to prepare the players each week and we can never have too much support. We welcome OLDER siblings to come and help with practices. Each family needs o take at least one volunteer position. They are available on a first come first serve basis. The chart on the team web site will provide a list of what is available. Please email or call me and let me know which position you are volunteering for. email: dryarmour@aol.com phone 562 301 8334
Some simple rules
Everyone wants to carry the ball. Everyone would like to score. In order to participate in a meaningful way your player will need to know their plays. Those who demonstrate their knowledge of the plays will be given the opportunity to score touchdowns. Players who come to practices on time with a good attitude and try hard will be given the opportunity to score more often. I believe in rewarding those who show up on time ready to work and pay attention for the duration of each team activity.
If your child suffers from a medical condition of any kind, please make sure I am made fully aware of the condition immediately. I have a son with severe ADD so I know the challenges a short attention span can create and I will work with you and your child to make the FNL experience a positive one regardless of any condition they may suffer from. In the event that your player becomes sick or injured during the season, please let me know as soon as possible. If your player has a bad day at school please make me aware of that as well. If there are issues at home that you feel comfortable sharing with me then it will often go a long way toward helping your player cope with the rigors of our somewhat demanding practices. I may go easier on a player who may be experiencing trouble off the field so communicating with me will often times help them in their quest to making his parents proud of each week's game performance.
School comes first. Period. The player will be made aware of this on the first day of practice. In the event that your player is not performing to your expectations in the classroom I can be highly motivational and may be able to help them pull their grades up. Just let me know if there is a problem with academics and I will work with you to help solve the problem.
Sportsmanship. I do not tolerate foul language of any kind. I will not allow smack talking or taunting of the other teams, parents or coaches at any time regardless of whether the referee hears it or not. We will do our best to be competitive and we should win some of our games and we will likely lose some of the games during the nine game season. I would like to win more than we lose but I am more interested in improving your athlete as a player and a person than putting up numbers on the scoreboard.
Personal responsibility. The players will be notified that the gear they need for football is their responsibility. Their shorts, shirts, game jerseys, socks, mouthpieces and cleats are all to be kept in a single place, preferably in a bag or backpack. If the gear needs to be washed then the athlete is responsible for either washing the gear with parental supervision or request that the parents get the gear clean well ahead of practice or game day. Please help them keep the gear together but if the player comes to practice or a game missing a piece of gear then it is his responsibility to explain why they are missing the gear and then take whatever steps are necessary to replace that gear immediately.
Last but not least, we are a family for the duration of the season. I fully expect the players to take care of one another on and off the field. There will be no complaining about another athlete's performance and I expect them to look out for one another during the games and also at school.
About the coach
I have been coaching youth sports for better than 10 years now and this will be my 9th season of flag football at the age 5-6-7 range. We will emphasize learning the rules of the game as well as offensive and defensive fundamentals. My goal is to make your player better throughout the season not just on the field but also in their day to day life by learning how to be competitive and gaining respect for coaches, players and the referee. I think you will be amazed at what they are capable of by the end of the season.