T&C Tackle Football Information and FAQ’s
(This info applies to the 2010 season)
At Town and Country we play in the CTYFL(Central Texas Youth Football League). The association is made up of teams from around the Austin Metro Area. All ages are your child's age on Aug. 1.
Pee Wee Tackle (Player Ages: 6 and 7)
- We encourage all 7 year olds who are less than75 lbs and have never played tackle football before to start in this division.
- This is our only division with a weight limit. The weight limit is75 lbs.
- This year we are going to play an 8-man game.
- Team size will be between 12 and 16 kids up to possible 20 kids.
- All Pee Wee Tackle games are on Saturdays (usually in the morning or early afternoon).
- Pee Wee Tackle will have a game every Saturday between late August and early November with the exception of Labor Day weekend and possibly a bye week.
- There will be travel involved in this league. Depending on the number of Pee Wee teams formed there is a possibility that you could end up traveling to all the other league locations for games. In general we have about the same number of home and away games.
Rookies (Player Ages: 7&8), Juniors (Player Ages: 9&10), and Seniors (Player Ages: 11-12)
- The Rookie, Junior and Senior Divisions have no weight limits.
- All games in these divisions are on Saturdays according to age. Starting with the Rookies , then the Juniors, and finally the Seniors. Some Senior games will be played in the evening.
- Tackle games will be held every Saturday between late August and early November with the exception of Labor Day weekend and possibly a bye week.
- There will be travel involved in this league. Depending on the number of teams formed there is a possibility that you could end up traveling to several of the other league locations for games. In general we have about half home games and half away games depending on how many teams get formed in each division.
- Team size in these divisions will be between 16 - 24 kids with a possible max of 28 if we only have one team. Our idea is smaller teams means more playing time for each child and we try to do this as much as possible.
- The Rookie division plays on an 80 yard field and the others play on a regulation 100 yard field.
- We do allow your child to play for their middle school team and at Town and Country provided they meet the age requirements.
Practice
- The scheduled practice times for tackle teams are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights from 6:00 until 8:00 . Depending on the head coach a Wednesday may be added in place of one of the other days.
- Practice days, times and durations will depend a great deal on the coach.
- Before the Season begins we will also practice from 9:00 until 11:00 on Saturday mornings.
- Every child must participate in 3 practices with no contact before they are allowed to engage in full contact practices.
- All practices will take place at the T&C complex unless a coach receives approval from the board to practice off the property.
How teams are selected.
- All tackle players will workout together for the first few practices (usually grouped by age). During these practices they will go through football drills and evaluation drills. This first couple practices there is no contact other than possibly a little work on the blocking sled or dummies.
- On draft day the coaches will draft the teams. (All players registered by the cut-off date will be assigned to a team).
- The draft system is used to create teams as competitively equal as possible. Because of this we cannot honor requests to play with a friend. Please feel free to request a friend in the comments section of your registration as coaches may pick players that want to be together but please understand that it may not be accomplished. Usually this is not a problem as most of the teams practice at T&C on the same day and time so carpool issues have not been a problem.
Coaching
- With the increase in the number of players in the Town and Country tackle program we are always looking for coaches.
- We encourage all parents who are interested to help out at practice and coach their children.
- Head coaches will be selected from the pool of applicants by the coach selection committee before the draft.
- Coaches will be required to go through the coach certification training (usually an evening class) and submit a background check. (For more info on coaching contact a tackle league coordinator.)
- Benefits to coaching tackle football at T&C:
· This is a great way to enjoy the game and have fun with your kids.
· This is also a great way to insure that your child can play with his friend as each chosen head coach is allowed to protect his child and his assistant’s child from the draft. Both players will be placed on his or her team and not be eligible to be drafted by another team.
Tackle Football Frequently Asked Questions
What equipment do I need? The league provides the game jersey and footballs. You may decide to rent your equipment from Town and Country for an extra fee of $65.00 and deposit of $100 (the deposit is returned when the equipment is returned). This rental includes all the equipment you will need(pads, helmet, and mouth guard). You will need.to provide cleats, pants and a practice jersey to wear over the should pads. Athletic supporters or cups are not required but strongly recommended especially as you child gets older. We recommend a mesh practice jersey. Each team will determine the pants, socks, etc that will make up the team uniform so don’t purchase these before you have a meeting with your team or consulting with the coach. For practice before teams have been selected players should wear a comfortable, cool t-shirt and shorts until the coach tells them to come dressed in full pads.
When does practice begin? Practice for the tackle teams is set to begin around August 1s (Check the calendar for exact date) It is important for your child to attend practice as soon in the season as possible. The tackle learning curve is pretty steep and every practice your child misses could put him further behind the other kids. These are estimated dates and will be confirmed later in the summer. Please check the website in late July for the most current information.
When does the season end? All tackle games should be completed by November 14th. However the number of teams and weather conditions over the fall may cause that to change.
What paperwork do I need? All players will need a copy of their birth certificate, a physical signed and filled in by a doctor, and signed spectator behavior form. The later two formsare available on our website on the documents page. These forms must be turned into you coach before the 20th of August.
What if I am not sure if my child wants to play Flag or Tackle? If you are uncertain but think your child might want to play tackle, it is likely best to sign up for tackle and start with the tackle players on August 1st. This way he or she will have a week or so to see if tackle is for them or not before flag practice starts. As long as you notify the registrar that you would like to switch before the Flag draft takes place it is usually possible to switch. (They may have to be assigned to a team by the coordinator as they aren’t eligible for the draft but it is possible) It is much harder to go from Flag to Tackle as they will have missed a lot of practice time and may be too late for the tackle draft.
