I guess I am using this forum here to: 1. Vent my frustration 2. Seek opinions. My son just turned 9 on August 27th. He is playing as an 8 year old due to where his birthday falls. Still, he is the next to youngest kid on his team but he is also the 3rd tallest. He is just a shade under 5 feet tall and weighs 108lbs. The kids in his real age group are playing what is called "Mighty Mites" but there is a 90lb weight cap for the 7/8/9 group so he had to be moved up from that. He is in the class called Junior Pee Wee which has a weight cap of 105, and is basically ages 11 and under. The vast majority of kids on his team are 11 and 10. The next group up is Pee Wee which is 12 and under with the caveat that 12s can't weigh more than 100lbs. The weight cap for 11s and under is 120. So anyway, last season he played in an organization called River City football which was formed 20 years ago but a group of parents (including my ex-wife and her brother) because Pop Warner was so corrupt and there was so much theft going on. Kids like Phillip Rivers, Rolondo McLean and many other Tennessee valley football heroes were products of this league.. As those founding parents moved on, the league had become hijacked by some folks in another county that began to insert the very political games that the league was founded to reject. For example, last year Carson's team was ruled ineligible for the playoffs because they didn't have a home field... (the entire rest of the league is in Limestone County, whereas Decatur is in Morgan.. all the teams sans Decatur shared a common home field, ergo Decatur was the only team banned from post season play) That was the death blow for River City in the city of Decatur and the league folded.. The thing about River City is that they didn't have a weight limit... For example, years ago if you were to go see Russelville's team play... you'd see Arron Sears (future Vol Captain, and NFL All Rookie team in 07) on the line for them..You would never see a monster sized kid like that playing Pop Warner with kids his age. You could play up in age, but largely, you stayed with other kids your age. Now I understand that Pop Warner wants to avoid 200lb man-child types running kids over, but aside from that... What is the logic? According to both doctors and the BMI index, Carson is exactly the average weight for his height...I find myself putting my son on a 'training table' style diet and I really don't think this is fair to him. I know there isn't anything in this area besides Pop Warner for now. Does anyone have any experience with other organizations besides Pop Warner?? It turns out, this is a very good football area and there are quite a few parents who aren't too happy about this. Last year as a 7 year old, they asked Carson to play up in River City as an OLB, FB. (which I turned down so he could play OG/DT in his age group) He can play a little bit. This year in Pop Warner he is playing OG, DE. My experience as a college coach has taught me how little all this means at this age. It should be about fun, teaching principles and team work. The reality is sadly not that though.. Carson lives in a smallish town (55k) that prides itself on having not one, but two 6A (Alabama's highest level) HS football squads.. (Decatur and Austin) with Decatur being a regular contender come state play-off time. Small town politics reign supreme and I understand this well... I've thought of doing what my former brother in law did... Get with a few dads and simply form another league.. but what are the other (respectable) youth football leagues out there? The last thing I want to see is a group of 8 or 9 year old boys being forced to play football with boys who are either on the cusp of puberty or have actually reached it.. or worse yet...not play a game they love playing because they are bigger kids. BTW, pics to come soon for those interested.
pictures as promised <r>Carson dancing an Irish jig prior to weigh-in<br/> <IMG src="http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x207/bowconnor/carson/Image034.jpg"><s></e></IMG><br/> <br/> goofing off pre-weigh-in<br/> <IMG src="http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x207/bowconnor/carson/Image018.jpg"><s></e></IMG><br/> <br/> more goofing off<br/> <IMG src="http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x207/bowconnor/carson/Image013.jpg"><s></e></IMG><br/> <br/> one of his buddies (btw-that other kid is a 10 y.o. lineman)<br/> <IMG src="http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x207/bowconnor/carson/Image035.jpg"><s></e></IMG><br/> <br/> carson leaving for the tunnel<br/> <IMG src="http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x207/bowconnor/carson/Image024.jpg"><s></e></IMG></r>
Corey, first off Carson is a good looking kid. As to the weight thing. Having a kid that age lose 5 pounds when they are not overweight is a bad idea in my book. When my kids were that age our football teams did it so I cannot say I was not involved because I was president of our Athletic Association which covered all sports in our community. My own personal experience with one of my sons was one time when he needed to lose 5 pounds to be eligible, at a higher age group. He wasn't able to do it, and I was glad. What else to do I don't really know, playing with older kids is not a great option to me either. They may be the same weight but not the same strength, mental ability etc. Other groups, I have no idea, ours was not Pop Warner but I think local. However we had similar rules. Your ideas about athletics at that age are right on in my book, but then you have the tough choice of play or not play. I don't think this was any help to you, but I do feel for your decision and am glad you are putting thought into it. Good luck.
Its ok Bill. I appreciate your input here and thanks for the good words about the boy. Carson failed his first weigh-in by 3lbs. His mom changed his diet eating nothing but grilled chicken and things like that... he gained 2 lbs. He's active.... but whenever he gains weight like this, he goes on a growth spurt. The Dr says the avg 9 year old is 4'1" and a half. That puts Carson 10 inches taller than the average kid his age... It would appear that he is going to be doomed to playing older kids and not fitting in socially until he goes to HS. Since Carson has been staying with me the past 4 days, he's eaten nothing but salad, fruit, and chicken... with grapes and tomatoes to snack on...drinking water only.. Its healthy... its also crappy to stick a 9 year old with that diet. This really, really sucks.
I've read about more than one big football player that was to big for Pop Warner etc but ended up very successful in College and/or Pro football. Also there is baseball and soccer. We didn't have soccer when my kids were coming up until right toward the end of the time before my kids entered high school. Now soccer is year around. Several of my grandchildren have two sessions a year. But if he's going to play football I'm afraid you are right about what he faces.
I coached five years of CYO football in Ohio in the 70's. Strict weight limits there as well. I had a team one year (13-14 year olds) that was so good we never gave up a point all season. There was a 18 point mercy rule so I frequently started my bench players. At the end of the season we played an exhibition game against a team from another town that had no weight limits. The parents signed waivers beforehand. It looked like David and Goliath and we did surrender points for the first time but won the game 38-6. I'm not sure any lesson was learned there. I coached Pop Warner for several years in NJ. They are extremely conscious about physical mismatches hence the numerous weight/age divisions. It's just the way they do things. Believe me, they err on the safe side. One of my son's best friends never played football here in NJ until his senior year of HS due to weight limits that he could never come close to meeting. When he went out for the team they didn't know what to do with him. But there is always room on the roster for a player 6'5" and 260. They made him a DT and fullback. Not only could he run over just about anyone but he could OUTRUN most DBs. On one year of football experience he got a full ride to BC where he started for four years at DT. I guess what I'm saying is that there are a lot of ways to look at this. If Carson were a wrestler in another couple of years cutting weight would be accepted without question. When I was a kid I was big and had to cut weight to make the 135 lb. CYO limit as a 13 year old. As a 5th grader I played with the 8th graders. It was a little challenging that first year but by the 7th grade I was hell on wheels. It depends on how you evaluate your son's desire to play the game and his ability to adapt. But whatever you do, do what is right for him and what he finds the most fun.