The Largest Youth Football & Cheer Organization in the Country

AYF News

Congratulations  Marcus Smith! Marcus was selected in the NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Marcus reports to the Cowboys on May 15^th, after graduating on May 12^th from the University of Arizona with a degree in Sociology. Marcus is an alumni of Balboa Youth Football! We are all proud of you and thank you for showing that Education and Football go hand in hand. And a special congratulations to Marcus’ Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Smith Ed is the President of the Balboa Youth Football and Cheer Association a member of American Youth Football.

San Diego Youth Football All American Scholar Athlete Award Banquet had Matt Wilhelm (Linebacker NFL's Chargers) as guest speaker. Sharing the podium with Matt was Gino Gordon former San Diego Youth Football player now attending Francis Parker School. Gino holds a 4.0 Grade Point Average. He will be attending Harvard University this Fall. Good luck Gino AYF is proud of you on and off the field.

Hard Work by Pollins leads to success for NYC football

Special Players Teach A Life Lesson To AYF Team

Two young players have opened the eyes and touched the hearts of the Southern Dutchess football team.  Read the full story.
 

Giving is What AYF is all About:  Thank You Palos Verde AYF!!
Palos Verdes Football and Cheer has not forgotten our leagues in hurricane affected areas in the Gulf Coast and has donated $20,000.00 to help re-build youth football programs.  Thank you to league president Steve Micks, representative Lisa Kohl, the entire board of directors, coaches volunteers, players and families for your extraordinary act of giving.  You have set a standard we call all be proud of.  Thank you Palos Verdes!

TEAM CHEER IS OFFICIAL CHEER APPAREL SPONSOR

Team Cheer is pleased to announce its continued affiliation as the Official Cheerleading Apparel Sponsor of American Youth Cheer. Read more!

AYF and NAYS Launch Online Coach Training Program
The National Alliance For Youth Sports (NAYS) and American Youth Football (AYF) have announced a new program available to AYF members, a convenient online training clinic... read more
 

American Youth Football Victorious over Pop Warner in the Second Annual Drew Brees Gridiron Classic!!
The Brees Gridiron Classic presented by Macys matches American Youth Football and Pop Warner teams against each other for the youth football championships of San Diego. Last year AYF came out on top winning 3 out of 4 games and had a similarly successful outing this year, again capturing 4 out of 5 San Diego Championship titles.

Wellington Mara

Once a Giant, you were a Giant for life,"  were the words of New York Giants owner and NFL patriarch, Wellington Mara, who died Tuesday November 1st, 2005 at age 89.  AYF President Joe Galat knows these words well, having worked for Mara as a coach of the Giants. Read More.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?
AYF is elated to announce that there will be football played this season in Gulfport Mississippi and the surrounding areas, despite the devastation of hurricane Katrina. The Sun Herald (Southern Mississippi) reported: sign-ups to be held on October 10th and 11th.  Thank you to Dave Bickel, AYF's hurricane relief coordinator, and all of you who gave from your hearts and offered, football equipment, donations, field equipment, prayers, well wishes, your time, support and dedication, You have truly made a difference in the lives of your fellow AYF'ers. THANK YOU! 

Orlando benefits from Young's efforts

There is a movement afoot in Orlando, Fla., to unseat the traditional youth athletics infrastructure. Led by former businessman Tim Young, the Junior Braves Athletic Association has exploded in less than three years of existence and is taking the city by storm. Read all about it!

Dini lands in AYF Hall of Fame

Jerry Dini has been involved in youth sports for 35 years. His list of honors and accomplishments is long as a football field, and it now includes induction into the AYF Hall of Fame

Pacific program is a rose

The Pacific Coast Youth Football and Cheerleading program has grown remarkably since joining the AYF family. This year, more than 100 teams and more than 3,000 youngsters are part of the program! Read more about it, including the Junior Rose Bowl, in our monthly feature article!

AYF opens doors for middle schoolers

Middle schoolers in the Charlotteville/Albermale area of Virginia didn't have an opportunity to play football until a local AYF organization opened the door for them. Read the full story by clicking here!

Mountaineer YF a model program

The Mountaineer Youth Football C onference in Bridgeport, W.Va., is a model of why the AYF formula works. Flexibility, says director Randy Workman, is the key.

Rising Stars shine at Ohio summer camp

An AYF-sponsored "Rising Stars" camp in Ohio during the summer allowed some inner-city youngsters the opportunity to learn about the game of football in a positive, supportive atmosphere.

Shoes for Study

"Giving Back" is not just a slogan with American Youth Football.

The Shoes for Study Program, through which youngsters pledge regular school attendance and allocated time for study, was launched by American Youth Football in the spring of 2001. Since then, hundreds of pairs of athletic shoes were distributed to student athletes. American Youth Football will track the improvement of these students and update our membership at the end of this school year. Nike Global Community Affairs has contributed nearly $1 million in shoes as part of this program. We are confident American Youth Football recipients will respond with improved academic performance.

National Football League Selects AYF as National Youth Football Partner

President Joe Galat is happy to announce that the National Football League has selected American Youth Football as National Youth Football Partner. The directive from the NFL office read: "We are excited to work with you on the National Partners/Local Agency Grant programs and salute you on the tremendous work that you do to assist the youth of this country."

This alliance will enhance football at its most critical level through various programs. This partnership allows AYF to enhance our publications, web presence and recruitment. Our AYF staff is dedicated to spark the passion of football communities where no teams exist, and increase the support for existing teams.

Those of us who have served as volunteers in youth football appreciate the priveleged few that are paid to play the game we love. We are remembered as the first to help develop the skills that elevated them to success. Many of these fellows, with all of their training, meetings, practices taking up much of their time, still find the time to volunteer in their communities on their day off. NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz is actively involved in establishing community coaches clinics.

The game of football has come full circle. Thanks to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the grass roots football programs are now part of the big picture. The programs are beneficial to the inner-city as well as the suburban programs. The NFL has made selected grants to spearhead the rebuilding of inner-city football fields. Benefits include local agency grants ($500 - $2,500) towards equipment, field repair, scholarships, staffing and development.

American Youth Football, Inc. will make applications available to all of our teams. American Youth Football, Inc. is committed to help the National Football League to positively influence its most valuable resource: America's Youth!

Oro Valley tells the story of its amazing championship run!

The Oro Valley Dolphins of Tucson, Arizona, won the first American Youth Football PeeWee national championship game over Thanksgiving weekend in Santa Monica, California. The Dolphins completed an undefeated season in which they didn't allow a single point until the national championship game. Their coach, Steve Marshall, wrote an account of the title game.

Amazing stories of Giving Back

It's the holiday season, and we thought it would be appropriate to share a couple of amazing stories of Giving Back -- the motto for American Youth Football! Just click the link above to read them!

Colombo makes his mark

Armand Colombo has made his mark as a high school football coach in Massachusetts. But his impact on American Youth Football is also felt, especially by AYF's president, Joe Galat. Colombo's been an inspiration! Read about it!

Program benefits emergency workers

AYF's Shoes for Study Program, which provides athletic shoes to youngsters who commit to school attendance and study, has had a side benefit for emergency workers, too. Some of the shoes that have been donated were too large for the youngsters, and they have been donated to police, EMT and firefighters in appreciation of their heroic efforts. The program has been run in New York City, New York State, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati.

Little Vikings

In just five years, the town of Hayfield has gone from not even fielding a youth football team to boasting an undefeated team — the 8-0 Hayfield Little Vikings. Full Story

Trinity strikes Gold with AYF

Trinity County, which rests in the far northern section of California, has been on the verge of bankruptcy. What it lacks in wealth, however, it makes up in pride. That’s shown in the rousing first-year success of AYF. Full story

Mission Accomplished for Kinsfather

Rikki Kinsfather never wanted to be known as "the woman who runs that San Diego youth football league." Rather, she just wanted to be known as a darn good commissioner. Read more!

Inner-City Girls Benefit from Cheer Donation

American Youth Football and Team Cheer cooperated on a Giving Back back program for needy youngsters in California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Cheer uniforms were donated through American Youth Cheer. The girls were extremely excited, and some of them were even in tears!

Giving Back has been the motto of American Youth Football since its inception. One highlight is the "Shoes for Study" program, in which youngsters who sign a written pledge to stay in school receive athletic shoes. To date, more than $2 million dollars in shoes have been awarded through the program.

The Need for AYF

There are more than 20 million youngsters in North America participating in football. Boys and girls are involved in flag, touch and tackle football, and cheerleading. Most teams are community-sponsored and run by volunteers. This currently fragmented participation needs structure and vision. American Youth Football will fill that void!

Carson In!  Giants linebacker Harry Carson inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Read More

On championships-bound squad, secret weapon is coaches, parents UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER. 12/3/2005
San Diego Balboa Raiders and its counterpart in the junior midget division are two of five teams from San Diego scheduled to compete in the AYF national championships.  Read the Story here.

A $6.5M TD for Tucson: City to host national youth football, cheerleading championships Tucson Citizen 02-11-2005 Read the Story here Page2

A new day dawns for Mohawks in AYF
On the field, the game the East Providence Mohawks will play this fall remains quite the same as the one played by their brethren in the area youth football ranks. Away from the gridiron, however, the Mohawks became the first and most visible organization to split with the well-established Pop Warner league and join up with the burgeoning American Youth Football association.  Eastbay RI 08-25-2005   ‹ Full Story ›


Bengals, Marvin Lewis to Announce Youth Football Collaborative
 WKRC 12 Cincinnati 8-19-2005 Read the story here


Score one for the kids
Bengals, Marvin Lewis' foundation join in football collaborative
Cincinnati Enquirer 08-23-2005
The Bengals and the Marvin Lewis Community Fund, along with the Hatton Foundation, and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, have joined forces to create the Inner-City Youth Football Collaborative. The plan is to be unveiled at a Monday Paul Brown Stadium news conference, where Lewis, Bengals president Mike Brown, and Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Johnson are to appear.

The collaborative plans to reach more than 2,600 youth in Cincinnati in the National Youth, American Bantam, and Buckeye Youth leagues. The ICYFC provides new equipment, offsets league fees, and secures field time for practices and games while also exploring the possibilities of a new youth football facility in Cincinnati. American Youth Football, with the help of NIKE, has agreed to donate cleats for every child in the three leagues. Read more

Football: Youth football league grows to 4,000
Tucson Citizen 08-30-2005
Football dreams are dancing in the heads of Tucson-area American Youth Football players. Their season starts Saturday with a record number of teams. Read Story Here

Youth football coaches say 'no hard feelings'
Needham Times By Franceen Shaughnessy/ Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005 Read Story Here

Ready for kickoff
St. Petersburg Times August 26, 2005
More than 2,000 children, parents and coaches... Read Story Here

Metro: ‘More than just football’ League teaches life’s lessons
By LaMond Pope The Journal Gazette October 12,2005. Read Story Here

Southern Califiornia Youth Football Program To Host New Orleans Area Team  (I-Newswire) - ( PALOS VERDES PENINSULA, CA )  Read Story Here

Pearl River youth team heads west for Thanksgiving
BY JACOB BROOKS ST. TAMMANY NEWS  November 21, 2005 Read Story Here