FAQ
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Isn't the risk of injury greater in football then in other youth sports?
The intensity of youth football is nothing like the NFL or College game. And while it is true that no youth sporting activity can guarantee injury free participation, recent Government Safety Commission studies rank Youth Football behind Baseball, Soccer, and Basketball in terms of incidence of injury. The study went on to point out that Hockey and Football, because of the protective gear ranked 1-2 in terms of least incidence of injury. The typical injuries that occur during a youth Football season will be minor bruises and ankle sprains. In fact, most of the injuries that we see in a season occur away from Football!
What is the time commitment for my player?
Cougar Football is not a so-called 'select' sport where your player's time commitment is nearly year around. Our season begins 3 weeks prior to Labor Day and continues until mid November. The players practice 2 hours in the evening for 5 days during the first 3 weeks of the season, and 3 days a week after Labor Day. Because of the amount of instruction and learning that goes on, we strongly encourage players to be at every practice during the first 3 weeks. As a result Cougar families schedule their vacations before the first day of practice. Following Labor Day, your player will play a game every Saturday for the next 9 weeks. Some of those games will be in Bothell, and some will be in other cities on the Eastside.
Shouldn't my son wait until he's older to play football?
In fact, just the opposite is true. Football is a game of discipline and responsibility. A recent report from the NFL stated that over 70% of the current players in the league got their start playing Youth Football. Players who start at an early age learn the proper fundamentals of safety & contact and are far better prepared to compete when they reach High School. Most of our older players enjoy their time as a Cougar so much that they continue on with us even when they are eligible to play for their Junior High.
Why does my team practice first (5:30-7:30) or second (7:30-9:30) shift?
The division of practice times has traditionally been split along age lines. Teams comprised of younger kids (Flag, Rookies, Cubs, and Sophomores) receive the early shift while the older teams (Junior Varsity, Varsity, and Seniors) are given the later shift. This is done to allow the younger players the earlier bedtime. Most, if not all teams would prefer to practice during the first shift, unfortunately, this is not possible due to the numbers of teams and the limited field space.
Why can't we get a set weekly practice schedule for the season?
Of all the fields that BCJFA holds practices at the individual days and specific hours that each field is available changes from week to week. One week we may have available time at Pop Keeney from 5:30-7:30, the next week on the same day we might not have Pop Keeney at all, and the next week we might have Pop Keeney from 7:30-9:30. With limited fields, 14 teams, and as an ever growing program we must use all of the available fields at all of the available times to provide equal practice time and space for every team.
I have two (or more) kids on different teams. Why can't they practice at the same field and/or time?
With almost 400 athletes in the system this question occurs quite often. The age and 1st/2nd shift split has already been explained earlier in this document. In addition, attempting to set up a practice plan with in mind would make scheduling fields an impossible task not to mention the impression of unfairness and favoritism that would be created in attempting to do this.
Why do we show up at a scheduled field only to find that a Northshore School District (NSD) practice or game has been scheduled and we don't get to practice?
We are guests of NSD. They do everything possible to keep this from happening, including having TWO full-time employees who schedule youth sports and other community sports on NSD fields and in NSD facilities, but occasionally this communication breaks down and mistakes happen. This doesn't happen very often however when it does it's apparent and has the tendency to cause anger. Don't get angry, just think that there are programs within the GEJFA that play games and hold practices in city parks, not nice, clean well maintained stadiums.
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