• Half game play rule requirement for the teams. (7-U, 8-U)
• 10 play minimum for all other weight specific teams. (9-U, 10-U, 11-U)
• 5 play minimum on unlimited weight levels. (11U, 12U, 13U)

Lacrosse, baseball, soccer and basketball have multiple competition levels available and division separation. Ranging from the ultra select to club or intramural divisions….That is not the case in Football.

• Football is the ONLY county sport that does not allow organizations to choose a division or level to play in.
• The 18 Organizations in the AAYFA are split into two divisions – American and National. Both the American and National classes are designated as Select levels. American is comprised of the most successful organizations based on total wins from teams of several levels from the previous season and National is made up of the rest of the organizations. This system was established to “level the playing field” between the various organizations and to limit the number of mismatches between most teams at most levels.
• The Division assignments are determined individually for the Weighted Level and the Unlimited Level.
• The Green Hornets’ program is generally considered an American Division organization.
• After fielding a Select team at any level, additional teams at that level from the same organization are designated as “Rec” teams and are placed in Central Division to compete against other “Rec” level teams.
• On the advice of the designated Green Hornets Head Coach, as approved by the Football Sports Council – or as required by the AAYFA and Dept. of Parks and Rec, a Rec team can be designated as a select team and moved up to the National Division for league play.

Team Availability:

• The Green Hornets will attempt to field multiple teams at all weight classes, but ultimately the number of registered players determines the number of teams at each weight/age class.
• The recommended roster is 22 players. The minimum roster for county regulations is 15 players, with a maximum of 30 players on any team.

Waitlists

A huge misperception faced by our organization is waitlists. Often Green Hornets sports exceed number of available player openings, typically due to lack of field space associated with practice & game time.

THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH FOOTBALL. WE HAVE PLENTY OF FIELD SPACE, PRACTICE TIME & EQUIPMENT. The need for Waitlists used by the Football program comes down to two basic reasons:

• Without waitlists, we run the risk of having too many kids trying out for one team but not enough for an additional team. Waitlists prevents “CUTS” at most levels.
• A lack of qualified Head coaching candidates. Always an issue in every organization is the need for more people willing to commit to being a Head Coach for Youth Football.

• The player is not issued equipment until placement on a team can be secured.

• Even with waitlists, because of drop out, injuries or weight class reassignment, some weight/age groups may end up with too many kids.

General Selection Process:

• The process of selecting a player for a team takes into consideration several areas. These include but are not limited to: Player skill, potential, game understanding, experience, possible position placement, size, speed, etc.
• All players of each weight class can anticipate practicing together for evaluation, the first week of summer practice, possibly longer if needed.
• Select level coaches will hold evaluations and team selection will be finalized no later than 11 August but no earlier than 5 August.
• This delay will hopefully allow a child that may have missed some or all of the first week to be evaluated briefly the second week, before final determination.