Keeping the equipment supply up-to-date

Even though some communities require players to provide their own equipment, the coaches and I decided it was best to continue supplying equipment for our players.  We don't want to put up any barriers to their playing football.  If someone wants to purchase their own equipment, that's fine too.

Got some shoulder pads and pants from Taho Sports.  The shoulder pads were $20 each.  Pants were discounted too.  They purchased extra equipment so that kids would have something for their Titan football camp.  They still had a surplus of this.

I drove up to their Fridley office.  We went into the back room, and they started pulling pads out of boxes.  All in all, I purchased 11 shoulder pads of varying sizes.  Plus, I got some pants with the pads built-in and some with the snaps for pads.  The built-in are nice for the grade 2/3 players.  Last year, we gave them the first crack at the built-in pants.  Altogether I spent less than $500 for everything.  I think a little bit of investment here and there is the best approach.  Just rotate the stock we have.

Something to keep in mind down the road is helmets.  We have plenty of helmets.  Just need to ensure they are playing with decent ones.  I learned that after a while, the padding inside the helmet gets hard, and that gets to be a bit uncomfortable for the players!

Looking Towards Next Fall

It may be wintertime, but football season will be here in a few more months.  This is a good time to restock on equipment.  There are good prices on last season's pants and shoulder pads at Taho Sports.  Still working on getting that purchase worked out.

I'm working on when to set the registration start date.  Would like to communicate this to Joady Tombarge at community services.  This way it shows up on the Spring/Summer bulletin which goes out.  Her deadline for me is Feb. 22.  It seems like we always get those flyers in May, so I'm thinking of mid-May.  Online registration only.  We can weigh players in when they pick up their equipment in July.  For grades 2-6, there are weight limits.  Players over the limit wear a red stripe on their helmet.  They are not allowed to carry the football.

Also, I am thinking about how best to communicate registration timelines to the community.  I'm re-wording the registration flyer to include a more strongly-worded statement about the waiting list.  We had a cut-off deadline last year of July 15th, and people thought this meant their boy could play as long as they registered before then.  With registration taking place in June, the spots for the 2/3 and 4th grade teams filled up by then.   Another means of communication is a Facebook page I just created.  Here, registration news and events will be posted.  Also, I have been talking to John Foley about getting football registration yard signs.

Husky Football Week - Aug. 9-12

It was fun to meet with Coach Niklaus about his plans for working with the youth this summer.  Instead of doing a football camp, his vision is to have all grades practice together on the same field.  Wow!  This is not was I was expecting.  So, for four evenings the high school coaches are going to lead practice for everyone.  Then individual teams break up and practice things on their own.  Then, they all come together as a large group to work on something else.

I checked in with all of our boosters coaches, and they are excited about it.