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Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions and Additional Information
When does the season begin? August 1st.
When will our head coach contact us? Sometime in July
How long does the season last? 3 1/2 months (includes August—preparation month) The season opens on August 1st to begin conditioning the participants. The Jamboree will be held August 25th and the first game will be September 8th and run until October 27th for the regular season and there will be a playoff game on November 10th. There will be no games on Labor Day weekend.
How many days/hours do the players practice? 3 or 4 days a week during August (usually 2 hours per practice) After the Labor Day holiday, it goes down to 2 or 3 days a week (usually two plus games on Saturdays).
Where are practices held? Friendship Baptist Church on FM 1826.
How many games will be played? 2007 season have 10 games, including playoff game.
When and where are games played? All games are on Saturdays. Home games are played at Texas School for the Deaf field. Away games are held in Metropolitan Austin and surrounding areas.
Who does the scheduling of the games? Central Texas Youth Football Association Board of Directors
Is there a refund policy if my player changes his mind? Yes, up to a specific date
How much volunteering is expected from parents? Parents are expected to assist during game days at home with chain gang duty, down markers,field directing and mandatory play roster.
Why must parents participate so much? Exclusively volunteers run Hill Country Football and Cheerleading. All parents are expected to help out in some capacity if possible.
Is it mandatory to fundraise? Yes, however, please keep in mind that fundraising is the one primary way that our league makes most of its money to function for a season. Fund raising allows our league to keep its registration fees low. Hill Country will offer several different types of fund raising alternatives that parents can choose to participate in. Parents can also opt out of the fund raising activities by making a $50.00 donation to the league. In addition, players who raise in excess of $400.00 in the fund raising process will receive 100% refund in their registration fee plus tackle players will be able to keep their helmets.
Who can I talk to if I have a question about football registration? Please contact our league registration coordinator, Mike Morris, 771.3860 / 301.3757, who is listed on the website under ‘board members’ to the left on your website screen. (Watch school take home folders in the spring as well as this site for dates & times of 2007 Registration.)
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There will be MANY opportunities for you to help out during this 2005 season. We will need help not only with concession stand duty, snacks and team tailgate parties, but also, additionally with chains during home games and play counting. Please make sure you check with your child after EVERY practice to see if information (such as maps to games and/or last minute announcements, changes and reminders) were passed out to them. This will happen all the time, so please check with them everyday!
Practices -
Your will be providing you with information at practices. In case of rainouts and rescheduled dates and times, you will be notified. If you do not have an answering machine and are not home when it appears a practice may be cancelled, please call your head coach or team mom for clarification. It is also important to send your player with plenty of water and with all necessary practice gear. Athletes reporting to practices or games without all of their equipment will not be allowed to participate. If you will be dropping your child off and will be at a different number than what we have on our registration form or team roster, please give that number to the coach prior to practice in case of emergency. Please also be on time when picking up your players from practice.
PLEASE HELP US KEEP OUR PRACTICE AREA AT FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH CLEAN BY PICKING UP YOUR TRASH AFTER PRACTICE!
Team Rosters -
After the first week of practice, your team mom or coach should have a team roster to pass out to you with names and phone numbers of players and parents. If, for some reason, you do not want your information shared with other parents on the team, please let your head coach know by the end of the first week of practice.
Uniforms/Game Schedules -
Uniforms for the players (jersey and pants only) and game schedules will not be available until right before the first game. The goal is to have 50% Home and Away games, but due to scheduling it is not always possible, schedules will be available prior to the first game. Depending on the coach,you will be expected to have your player to the game at least one hour to an hour and a half before the game is scheduled to start warm-ups & team certification in front of the other team. FOR TACKLE AND FLAG FOOTBALL, EVERY PLAYER HAS TO BE CERTIFIED PRIOR TO EACH GAME.
Certification -
Every player must be certified prior to the first game of the season. Each team mom will have all the cards ready for each of the players to be certified. Your head coach or team mom with the date and time for certification will notify you. This only takes a little while and it is VERY IMPORTANT that your child attends.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD’s NAME IS ON ALL EQUIPMENT.
Fundraisers -
Hill Country is planning offering two fundraising alternatives this year, selling magazine subscriptions (via the internet) and cookie dough.
Team Pictures -
Team and individual player pictures are scheduled during the season. Your team mom or head coach will pass out the order forms to you as soon as they are available – probably the week before the first game. It takes several weeks for the pictures to come back in but you will be required to pay for the pictures when you order them. Most packets are around $30 and other items are available for purchase.
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Carbs
Is your athlete consuming enough carbs in their diet? Two part information series.
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Youth Injuries in Football Uncommon
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Injuries Uncommon in Youth Football, Mayo Clinic Study Reports
ROCHESTER, MINN. -- A Mayo Clinic study of youth football showed that most injuries that occurred were mild, older players appeared to be at a higher risk and that no significant correlation exists between body weight and injury.
The study, which appears in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found that the data for athletes grades four through eight indicated that the risk of injury in youth football does not appear greater than the risk associated with other recreational or competitive sports.
"Our analysis showed that youth football injuries are uncommon," said Michael J. Stuart, M.D., a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon and the principal author of the study.
Dr. Stuart and his colleagues studied 915 players aged 9 to 13 years, who participated on 42 football teams in the fall of 1997. Injury incidence, prevalence and severity were calculated for each grade level and player position. Additional analyses examined the number of injuries according to body weight.
A game injury was defined as any football-related ailment that occurred on the field during a game that kept a player out of competition for the reminder of the game, required the attention of a physician, and included all concussion, lacerations, as well as dental, eye and nerve injuries. The researchers found a total of 55 injuries occurred in games during the season — a prevalence of six percent. Incidence of injury expressed as injury per 1,000 player-plays was lowest in the fourth grade (.09 percent), increased for the fifth, sixth and seventh grades (.16 percent, .16 percent, .15 percent respectively) and was highest in the eighth grade (.33 percent).
Most of the injuries were mild and the most common type was a contusion, which occurred in 33 players. Four injuries (fractures involving the ankle growth plate) were such that they prevented players from participating for the rest of the season. No player required hospitalization or surgery.
The study's authors said risk increases with level of play (grade in school) and player age. Older players in the higher grades are more susceptible to football injuries. The risk of injury for an eighth-grade player was four times greater than the risk of injury for a fourth-grade player. Potential contributing factors include increased size, strength, speed and aggressiveness. Analysis of body weight indicated that lighter players were not at increased risk for injury, and in fact heavier players had a slightly higher prevalence of injury. This trend was not statistically significant. Running backs are at greater risk when compared with other football positions, the researchers reported.
Other authors who contributed to the study include: Michael A. Morrey, Ph.D., Aynsley M. Smith, RN, Ph.D., John K. Meis, M.S., all from the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center and Cedric J. Ortiguera, M.D., a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon in Jacksonville, Fla.
Mayo Clinic Proceedings is a peer-reviewed and indexed general internal medicine journal, published for 75 years by Mayo Foundation, with a circulation of 130,000 nationally and internationally.
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Contact:
John Murphy
507-538-1385 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: newsbureau@mayo.edu
Study Shows Youth Football Injuries Uncommon
As involvement in football, both organized and recreational, continues to grow, knowing the benefits and safety issues that surround the sport of football is very important.
According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), in 2002, 18.7 million boys, girls, and adults participated in touch and tackle football. This number reflects the ever-increasing popularity of playing football, most likely a result of the benefits it provides. Numerous studies show that participating in sports improves an individual's fitness, coordination, self-discipline, sense of accomplishment, teamwork, and overall wellbeing.
The wellbeing of players is at the forefront of youth football programs across America. An April 2002 Mayo Clinic study showed that "the risk of injury in youth football does not appear greater than other recreational or competitive sports. . . youth football injuries are uncommon."
Yet, with any physical activity, there is the risk of injury. In fact, more children are hurt riding bikes than playing contact sports such as football. Due to the inevitable risk of injury, it is important for both coaches and parents to be aware of current health and safety issues.
"Many adults volunteer to coach not realizing they are also volunteering to handle any injuries that might occur," said Marshall Steele, orthopedic surgeon and author of Sideline Help. "A basic knowledge of what could be life or limb threatening, as well as how to evaluate who can and cannot return to play is essential."
Steele also notes that prevention is a key factor. "Heat stroke and heat exhaustion are preventable," said Steele. "Heat emergencies usually occur under conditions of extreme heat and humidity, so overweight, unconditioned, or overdressed players are at high risk, especially during preseason training. Coaches must allow players frequent water breaks."
Football promotes the wellbeing of players through its finely detailed safety practices, rules, and regulations. Evidence of the direct results of football's strict guidelines is displayed in an analysis of athletic injuries conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which revealed that 5-15 year olds playing organized football had 12 percent fewer injuries per capita than 5-15 year olds playing soccer.
Pop Warner sets high safety standards for players and coaches. "We group players according to their age and weight, in order to avoid mismatches," said Jon Butler, executive director. "Different divisions are designed so that the weight difference and age difference are no greater than 35 pounds and 3 years respectively."
Another important safety precaution is proper equipment. Ensuring that all players have high quality helmets, padding, and other gear when on the playing field is a top priority that will greatly minimize the risk of injury. For additional information, see Football Equipment.
Over the years, youth football leagues have adjusted the rules of the game to prevent injuries. The fact that most injuries are easily predictable, and thus preventable, should make the issue of injury non-problematic. However, the most significant problems involving injury arise when players do not notify coaches or adults that they have been injured. Re-injury is also a common problem when both players and coaches do not allow proper time for injuries to heal. These problems are easily avoidable through instructing players to report injuries and afterwards insisting on the resolution of injuries before a return to participation.
As the sport of football continues to grow, the goal is not to be satisfied that youth football is no riskier than other sports, rather it is to continue to make it safer. Once this has been accomplished, the sport of football can share its success with other competitive sports.
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