PeeWee Football - Is this a bit much???

[KristiKelly]

DS7 has been wanting to play football for about 2 years. Well, this year he was finally old enough so I relunctantly signed him up (with a little pressure from DH - he's living through our son). So practice started a few weeks ago but 2 practices were canceled due to rain (from Bonnie & Charley). Last week, they had practice Tue, Wed, Thur. night from 6:00-8:00 & Sat. 10:00-1:00 (I thought ok, they're making up for the 2 days missed due to rain). They just got their gear (shoulder pad, helmet, etc.) last Thur. then had a 3 hour practice on Sat. I sent him with a 20 oz. Gatorade & pack of P'nut Butter crackers. When he got home, only about 2 oz were gone from his Gatorade (that he drank on the way home) & no crackers eaten, he was soaking wet from sweat (he'd never played with all that gear on). I asked him why he didn't drink or eat a snack & he said they weren't given time. I find out this week that all these practices are not due to make-up & they have the same schedule this week & next week., games start the following week but will still practice the same days, unless a game. I feel like this is a lot of practice for kids this age (7-8). DH has a friend who played college football, he said in college the most they made them practice was 2hours at a time & said that 3 hours with no break on Sat. was too much for kids. I guess what I'm wanting to know is - is this the norm for PeeWee football now? The team he's on is the team that Torey Holt (? DH says he's a prof. f'ball player) played on as a kid & brags about it, are they just trying to make "little Torey Holt's" out of these kids. Am I overly babying DS, is it too much, or is it completely normal? Thanks.

 

[jrydberg]

Sounds like an awful lot to me for a 7 year old.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Wow! That seems excessive to me.

 

[4greatboys]

When my 14 yr old was in peewee football they did practice 3 nights a week and games on saturday. The coaches usually wanted them at the game 1.5 hours early to practice and go over plays before the game. I cant remember if our week night practice was 1.5 hours or 2 hours but it was 3 times a week.
Sounds pretty like pretty normal practice times to me.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Our rocket football team practices 2 hours a day, 3 days a week. They do get breaks, though I am not sure how long or how often.

 

[DoeWDW]

I guess if the kids have never played football, they'd have an awful lot to learn at the beginning, but this sure does sound like a lot of practice!

I wonder if the kids really enjoy it?

 

[meandtheguys2]

Utter silliness if you ask me. And the adults in charge should be insuring that all children remain hydrated. 7 and 8 are too young to realize the signs of dehydration or the concerns regarding it.

 

[KristiKelly]

I guess it's the Sat. 3 hour practice that bothers me. These kids were practicing for the 1st time in all the gear with no break. It wasn't too hot about 85, but with all that gear on (which these kids are not used to) he got really hot & they weren't given breaks to re-hydrate. That just bothers me.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I don't know about the length of practices or what is standard but the not drinking sounds really, really bad. It's very easy for little ones to get dehydrated from being overly sweaty in warm temps. If they don't get enough to drink, they could go into heat shock (I think that's what it's called) and get very,very ill. I'd have a talk with the coach about water/drink breaks if I were you! He (or she???) should be making them drink something at least every 20-30 min if they are outside practicing hard with full gear on.

TOV

 

[inaminute]

Or, better yet--volunteer your time. Get a group of parents together to make sure water is available. Insist the kids get breaks.

 

[Beth76]

Torry Holt is a pro. He plays for the Rams!! And yes, he's good! My kids don't play sports yet, but a 3 hour practice seems ridiculous to me. Especially for 7-8 year-olds. Are you sure that they weren't given water during practice? I can't believe that they would go a whole practice w/o drinking. That is just not safe. I usually drink 10-16 oz of water during a 1 hour workout.

 

[KristiKelly]

A consent form & rules were sent home for us to sign & here are a few of the rules:

Do not bring a drink for your child, we will provide water or Gatorade. (DS says they offered water when practice was over)

Parents are not allowed on the field at any time. (even if we brought drinks, I don't know if we would be able to tell the kids.)

If the child misses more than 3 practices (unexcused) the the child is off the team.
--We're going to WDW in Oct. I guess I'll have to get permission to go


Oh well, next year I'll look for another team. 1st practice 3 kids quit & Sat. @ the 3 hr. practice DS said 4 or 5 more kids quit.

 

[missyc]

Sorry to break it to you. but it's completely normal. Well, maybe not NORMAL...but typical!
DS 11 is in his 2nd year of full contact football. They practice Mon - Fri 5:30 'til 7:30, but they never really end at 7:30. It's always closer to 8:00. And actually, starting next week they will eliminate 1 of those practices (Tue or Wed) for a JV game. Then they have a regular varsity game on Saturday.
They HAVE to have water breaks (even more so here in the hot south!). I used to get mad 'cause I didn't notice enough water breaks, but DS said they take the water bottles to them on the line and just squirt some in each mouth. I just hadn't noticed. They still give a few breaks too. More when the moms start complaining. Sometimes they (the coaches) just get so involved that they forget.
Don't send a snack. And don't let him eat much before he goes either, he'll get stomach cramps.
DS's coaches are EXTEREMLY hard on the boys. And not getting home 'til after 8 on school nights is really hard too. We almost didn't sign up again this year, but DS absolutely loves it. He has become really good, which gives him A LOT of confidence! And as rough as the coaches can seem to me, DS and all the other boys really look up to them.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[MI mom of 3]

Originally posted by KristiKelly
A consent form & rules were sent home for us to sign & here are a few of the rules:

Do not bring a drink for your child, we will provide water or Gatorade. (DS says they offered water when practice was over)

Parents are not allowed on the field at any time. (even if we brought drinks, I don't know if we would be able to tell the kids.)

If the child misses more than 3 practices (unexcused) the the child is off the team.
--We're going to WDW in Oct. I guess I'll have to get permission to go


Oh well, next year I'll look for another team. 1st practice 3 kids quit & Sat. @ the 3 hr. practice DS said 4 or 5 more kids quit.

Both of my DSs have played football. The rules say no parents on the field,. I understand that, this way they can prevent the dads, and some moms, who think they know more than the coaches getting in there and trying to correct their kids. Coach has to be in control. But...I have always gone and sat in the stands with a book, or brought a chair and sat back. But the coaches knew that parents were there watching them. And believe me, I watched. I monitored what they did, how many water breaks they were given, etc.

Once a coach had the boys doing bear crawls. Out of the team there was maybe 2-3 kids that weren't crying but wouldn't quit. A few were throwing up, and then would go back to do more!!

Myself and a few other parents got up and just kept getting closer and closer so the coach knew we were watching to see how he was going to handle it. We had a "talk" with him after and we also went to the priest. (CYO team.)

You are the advocate for your child. If you don't look out for them, who will?

If you suspect that things are not right, you should stay at practice and watch for a while. Either you will see that everything is fine or not.

Sorry this is so long but this is something that really gets my dander up

 

[sue1013]

This is from a long time football mom and wife of a coach. You may think these practices are too much but they are the norm. You don't even want t know the HS football practice schedule. Besides having a lot to learn (plays, different positions) in the beginning conditioning is very, very important. The more prepared your childs body is lessens the chance for injury. They should definately be getting water breaks that is very important. There are always kids (especially those that never played) that drop out in the 1st few weeks. They don't realize how much hard work it is. Football is not for every child they have to love the game to want to keep up the demanding schedule.

 

[meandtheguys2]

These stories are incredible! I cannot believe that anyone would allow their child to be put in these kinds of situations! These "coaches" should be brought up for abuse. If a parent did any of this they surely would be.

 

[KristiKelly]

Throwing Up??? I don't think I would be able to keep my cool in that situation.

 

[missyc]

What is the abuse?
Our kids are the fattest and laziest in the world because we think exercise is abuse. True, some can not handle it. These are the ones who didn't know what was involved and usually quit very soon.
I was one of the moms at the beginning of last year who thought it went way too far. They aren't pro's afterall! I still think that a lot of what they did was over board. But not ALL of it.
I have seen my son (who has asthma) become a great athlete. He has slimmed down a lot and is concerned with what he is eating and with exercising. Even during summer break he conditioned himself knowing that football would kill him if he wasn't ready! He still loves his video games and pizza, but now he will go swim laps, do crunches, etc. too.
DS was also having problems in school (ADD) and getting very down on himself. I was worrying about depression in a 10 year old! He has gained so much confidence because of football! Maybe it would be different if he didn't have the passion that he has for the game, or just wasn't good at it.
For us, it is worth it!
Just make sure they are drinking!
And be at those practices EVERYDAY with your son to make sure the coaches don't get carried away.

 

[binny]

I respectfully disagree with those who say this is normal! Kids HAVE to be told get a drink!!
3 hours in full gear in 85 degree weather without a water break is WAY too much for a 7 year old. I woudl definately be talking to the coach! And dont get intimidated just because they are the coach they should KNOW BETTER!!

DS9 started tackle this year. for last week and this week they are practicing M-F 6:30 to 8 - 8:15 with a couple of breaks and it isnt near that hot here anymore!
After Jamboree this Saturday they cut back to 1 1/2 hour practices 4 nights a week with games on Saturdays.


These are kids for Heavens sake they need to be taught the basics but the whole point is to have fun!! They arent professionals yet, there is plenty of time for that later in life!

 

[snoopy]

DS9 is playing football for the first time this year -- I just got the schedule, practice 2 nights per week for one hour and games on Saturdays for 8 weeks. This sounded good to me, I don't know if we would have signed him up if it were anything that required more of a commitment.