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Mission, Goals & Philosophy
WAA Youth Developmental Football - Mission, Philosophy and Goals
Mission
The mission of WAA Youth Developmental Football is to teach and encourage good sportsmanship and fair play through the promotion and support of football for the young people of our community. WAA is fundamentally committed to the development of character and sportsmanship and believes that an athletic contest is an educational experience. Under the guidelines of the WAA Football Board, the coaches are to instill in their players the elements of fairness, teamwork, self-control, courtesy and respect for the rules of the game as well as the other participants and officials in the sport.
Philosophy
· We do not create heroes or failures among participants who are too young to handle either role.
· We exist for the benefit of all kids. We do NOT exist for the benefit of the adults or a select group of kids.
· Each participant will learn to play positions on offense and defense during the course of the season.
· Each player will have a starting position on offense or defense for the game and should have an equal opportunity to participate in 50% of the game, except for disciplinary reasons. Equal Opportunity does not necessarily mean equal playing time.
· Teams at each grade level will be formed with an equal distribution of talent. There will be no “All Star”, “Traveling” or "A/B/C level" teams.
· The teams will be formed each year with a draft of talent to create teams of equal talent.
Goals
1. Provide a positive, fun-filled experience;
2. Teach the participants the skills, rules, strategy and discipline of football and encourage good sportsmanship, self-confidence and teamwork;
3. Promote healthy and safe physical activity for all participants;
4. Build character by offering a team experience, regardless of individual ability, stressing skill development and a positive attitude regardless of winning or losing;
5. Provide opportunities for equal playing time for all participants as much as possible. (Exceptions to this may include chronic missed practice time, disrespect for the game, officials or team and also weight limit considerations)
We want to provide a learning experience for both football skills and sportsmanship. We expect that our coaches and parents will not only teach this to the players but also practice it themselves during the games. By adhering to both the rules and philosophy of the program, the playing experience for all is improved.
In the WAA Youth Developmental Football, the primary objective is not to win at all costs. All teams have a number of outstanding players and a number of weaker players. Coaches must make sure all players have a starting position on either offense or defense and have an assigned position on both, with the expectation that each player will have a fair opportunity to play half the game. It is our expectation that players are trained at a number of positions on both offense and defense. For example, do not focus the offense on only one or two QBs and RB’s during the season. Structure an offense and playing rotation that allows a number of players to touch the ball during the season. Coaches will rotate as many kids as possible through the backfield positions during the season in an effort to distribute the ball to a wide number of players. Although the maturity and skills of youth athletes can vary greatly at these ages, it is WAA’s expectation that every weight eligible player is encouraged by their coach to try a backfield position some time during the season and be given an opportunity to carry the ball during the season.
WAA feels that it is a disservice to the kids in our program if all players, including the physically gifted players, are not given the opportunity to develop their skills at a variety of positions throughout the season. The notion of one or two players handling the ball for a disproportionately large number of plays does not meet the goals of WAA and coaches who insist upon this will not be asked to coach in the program again.
As adults we must always keeping in mind, regardless of the situation - that this is ALL about the kids. Not just a single kid, not your kid, my kid, a small group of kids or a single team of kids – it is about every single kid in the program… regardless of ability, athleticism, skills, physical attributes, age, sex, race or any other factor. We as adults must always conduct ourselves in a professional and (proper) adult-like manner. Our expectations, attitudes, opinions and all other perceptions must remain in perspective that we are dealing with young kids. Incase you did not catch it the first time, please let us repeat… regardless of the situation - that this is ALL about the kids.
Develop - de·vel·op verb: gain through experience, create by training and teaching; grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a conducive environment; generate gradually; grow emotionally or mature;
Developmental - de·vel·op·men·tal: To Develop, the process of developing
Developmental Football - The process of teaching the game of football by establishing and gradually building upon sound fundamental principles, training through repetition and allowing the players to gain experience and grow in skills and confidence in a conducive, appropriate and safe environment.
PLEASE NOTE: the word “WINNING” is not mentioned or referred to anywhere in our definition of Developmental Football.
There are thousands of youth football programs throughout the United States and elsewhere. Community Programs such as WAA, MEYFL, or National Programs such as USA Football, NFL Youth Football, Pop Warner and many others; each have their own rules, goals, methods and intent. There are some that focus on teaching while others have a greater focus on winning. If you investigate WAA Youth Football is very much on the same track as most of the other youth football programs that are truly created for teaching the game and it’s fundamentals and keeping the focus on growing the kids and growing the NUMBER of kids who participate, rather than try to develop future Heisman Trophy Winners and Professional Athletes.
There is a thread of consistency throughout ALL good developmental Youth Football programs is that everything has been developed with only one focus in mind… THE KIDS! When you ever run into an instance where there is an issue (on or off the field) most often than not it is because some ADULT has veered away from these principles.
When in doubt – re-read this introduction. If you can honestly say that your decision, intent, methods and motivation are unequivocally inline with either set of these principles – then you are doing what is best for the kids and the program.
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