American Youth Football
American Youth Football (AYF,) is one of the the largest youth football and cheerleading organization in North America. American Youth Football is committed to support the development of young athletes and the adults who guide them. It is also supported by National Football League (NFL). NFL involvement provides the experience every time these players step on a field. NFL supports the development of The Punt, Pass & Kick program gives boys and girls the opportunity to show their skills in NFL stadiums. NFL FLAG gives youngsters the chance to be an official NFL player as they discover the values of teamwork and sportsmanship. NFL Youth Football clinics engage participants at major NFL events such as the NFL Draft, NFL Kickoff, the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl.
American Youth Football (AYF) requires 3 basic principles of all of its membership:
SAFETY, SPORTSMANSHIP, FULL PARTICIPATION.
American Youth Footbll has 3 distinct divisions of play for all of it's National Tournament Membership. American Youth Football, is a non-intrusive, non-controlling organization, our membership and rules, exist in two independent structures. In each case Kids compete with kids of similar age and/or size. Thereby reducing the risk and reality of injuries.
Local Membership Structure:
Local Membership Structure stays true to the AYF objective of remaining non-intrusive and supporting all football and cheer teams regardless of their competitive intentions. Local Membership Structure leagues are free to play in accordance with their own locally adopted and current governing rules, in so long as their rules subscribe to the core governing principles of American Youth Football.
Tournament Membership Structure:
American Youth Football has a different tournament Membership Structure pertains to those leagues that do plan to participate in championships tournaments(Regional and National). These local leagues and teams must strictly follow AYF rules and regulations as outlined in the Official AYF Rule Book. This includes all year-round activities including Pre-Season, In-Season, and Post-Season.
Tournament membership structure is further broken down in region, conference and associations. A region is usually defined as a geographic territory while an Association is often defined as a local city, or town or metro area. Each association must follow rules and regulation laid out by its conference and it is usually restricted by its Conference from drawing participants from certain geographic territory/boundaries. Association is further broken down in divisions. A Division is defined as a grouping of Teams in specific Age and Weight Class or Grade / Age Class. It is important to understand that Grade/Age class rules are strictly followed in order to provide a reasonable and balanced matchup. Each Division is devided in to teams. A Team/Classification is defined as a grouping within an age and weight class such as: Junior PeeWee, PeeWee, Junior Midget, or any Grade in the Grade based Age Protected division. For example, Pee Wee Football classification is defined as age 11 and under with weight range 111 to 134 lbs.
.American Youth Football and its volunteers and sponsors share the dream that every child who wants to play football or cheer has the opportunity despite financial constraints. AYF is committed to help build communities of strong leaders, by encouraging and rewarding strong academic achievement, teaching the lessons of dedication, honest effort, and fair play, special athletes emerge to become the leaders of our great country.
