Woodbury Athletic Association

Q.  Who can play WAA Football?   A.  WAA Football is open to any family who lives in the City of Woodbury, regardless of the school they are enrolled in - public or private.

Q.  Can girls play WAA Football?  A.  Both girls and boys are welcomed to participate in either the flag or tackle program.

Q.  What kind of time committment will football be?  A: On average expect to have approximately 'football events' (practices or games) three to four times per week. Flag game nights/days may be more consistent with it being an in-house program.  Tackle games may vary due to the number of teams participating and the fact that other communities are also involved in the scheduling.

Q. Can I request my child to be on the same team as their friend(s) or for a specific coach?  A: The Flag program does take requests into consideration but cannot make guarantees.  The Tackle program does NOT accept nor will honor requests (except for same household or EXTREMELY UNUSUAL situations and would have to have full board approval) for a number of reasons .   Football is the only WAA sport where full contact and collisions are a staple. The Tackle program drafts new teams each and every year in an attempt to begin the season with equal distribution of size, speed and talent - as well as SAFETY.  Our football program by utilizing this philosophy has yielded very talented and competitive teams both internally and versus other communities. Our numbers continue to grow and our retainment of players remains extremely high through the ranks.  

Aside from the safety factor, the second most important thing that we have found ... players meet new friends, learn new things from different coaches and have a blast doing so!

Q. What is the Player Evaluation Night?  A: Player Evaluation night is an event where all players who signed up for Tackle Football,  run a series of  assessment drills to see how they rank amongst their peers.  The results from these evaluation combined with other factors, help to create a balance factor on the development of teams.  For a more indepth explaination of the Drills, Evaluation and Drafting Process check out the articles on the Coaches Page.

The Player Evaluation night is also when players receive all of their equipment. For more information - please see the Football Calendar.

Q. Does my child have to participate in the Player Evaluation Night?   Yes,  it is very important to attend so that we may collect the most up to date information on every player including weight.   Many hours go into the equitable assemblance of teams and the issuance of equipment to make sure that your child has a fun, fair and safe experience.  Those who do not participate will be subjectively graded and drafted.  Issuance of equipment after the two scheduled Evaluation/Distibution nights will be subject to limited times determined by the Equipment Manager.  WAA staff will not issue equipment or accept exchanged due to safety and potential liability issues.

Q. How are teams selected? A: Well, it is actually a very involved process. To read about the entire process please click here.   The short version:

1. Players are evaluated based on the previous end of the season coaches evaluation ranking and the new season's preseason evaluation night.
2. Grade, weight and evaluation scores gives each player a ranking vs their peers. 
3. Predraft Coaching teams (of no more than 3 coaches) have their child pulled from the rankings.  Coaches Kids are considered in the overall rankings (vs peers) and then compared to other Coach's kids' groupings.  NOTE: The WAA Football Draft Committee and or has the authority to make the final decision on player rankings for Coaches' predraft teams if necessary.
4. All Non coaches kids are then distributed via a snaking method. First - the Blue Stripe group is distributed to spread the size, then the pool of non bluestripers are distributed.
5. After all players are distributed, same household requests are matched up.
6. Teams are established - at the draft these teams are unveiled to coach representatives for each team.  The coaches - still do not know which team they will have, and they as a group evaluate the teams for fairness.  If adjustments must be made - the entire group must agree to changes.  Once all team representatives agree that the teams are as equal as possible... then and only then are the teams rosters thrown into a hat. Coaches then blindly select a team roster.
7. There is no horse trading amongst coaches. If coaches do so, they will no longer be a coach.  The ONLY trading that is allowed are determined by the Grade Coordinator. Specific trades will be predetermined amongst specific coaches to even out the predraft coaches' kids' selections.  The Grade coordinator and the Board President must approve each trade to insure equality is reached.

THEREFORE - ALL Head Coaches have EQUAL say in the development of our teams.  If there is any question about the integrity of the draft, your team's coach had as much say in the comprising the teams as ANY other coach.

Q. I have an interest to be a Head or Assistant Coach - how do I get more information?  Click Here for More Information

Q. Can my child play up/down a grade level?  A:  Only under extreme circumstances will a child be allowed to play outside of their grade.  This must be approved by the full board.  There are also MEYFL rules as well as internal WAA rules governing this topic.  Our program is developmental.  We want kids playing with their peers and have found that almost every situation brought before the board does not provide a compelling enough reason to justify a bump up or down. 

Q. My child has never played tackle football before is 5th or 6th grade too late to start?  A:  NO... by all means, 6th grade as a first year of tackle football is as good a time as any to start - this is developmental!    Though the contact may be a little bit of an eye opener at first,  it will be second nature very soon! 

Q. Where does all the Fee Money go??

A: Here is the 2009 Fee Disclosure

Category                               Flag            Tackle