Teams
Fall 2023
Flag Football 1st through 2nd Grade
Flag Football is an introduction to football for First through second grade. Registration opens on August 1 and teams will be formed. We are always looking for parents to coach at this level. No experience necessary! We will provide a practice area, flags, footballs, Pioneer jersey for players, playbooks and practice plans for coaches. Cost to play is $95.00 with a small fundraising commitment. 2023 Flag Football Rules of Play
Rookie Tackle for 3rd & 4th Graders
Rookie Tackle began in Oregon City Youth Football for the 2019 season. It serves as a bridge-game between flag football and 11 player tackle football and is a part of USA Football’s adoption of the United States Olympic Committee’s American Development Model. USA Football’s Rookie Tackle is a small-sided tackle football game designed to be implemented as a bridge game between flag football and 11-on-11 tackle within youth football leagues and clubs across the country as a child’s first experience to tackle football. Saxon Youth Football and USA Football believe that an age-appropriate and developmental approach to the game driven by high-quality coaching will improve athlete enjoyment and skill development. By modifying the game at younger age groups and educating coaches, commissioners, officials and parents on the game adjustments, mechanics and skills, we can create an age-appropriate, athlete-centered understanding that leads to a better experience.
The goals of the Rookie Tackle game are:
1. All participants learn to play all positions and learn all football skills that are required by the game.
2. Maximizing player enjoyment and skill development.
3. Ensuring all players have meaningful playing time and the opportunity for improvement and success.
4. Providing a bridge between flag football and the 11-player, full-field tackle version.
5. Encouraging leagues to play on a smaller field size that is appropriately scaled to the age and skill level of the youth football player.
6. Encouraging a fast-paced game with more plays, greater activity and the promotion of fun.
7. Emphasizing fundamental skill development by isolating situations for players to showcase their abilities via formation regulations and limited field size.
8. Allowing leagues and clubs to maximize field space by playing two games at a time on one regulation-sized football field.
9. Limiting roster sizes to foster participation and provide more focused, individualized coaching attention during practice and on game day.
USA Football has created a great website, complete with information and videos on Rookie Tackle football. If you are curious about Rookie Tackle, please take a few minutes to review the TYF and USA football sites, the USA Football Rookie Tackle FAQ sheet and the 2023 Rookie Tackle Rules of Play
11 on 11 Tackle Football for 5th through 8th Grade
At this level Oregon City Youth Football offers full-field youth football games designed to be the final steps in a league’s youth football pathway before athletes enter high school sports. Within this development stage bracket, athletes participate in full-field 11-on-11 tackle football. Oregon City Youth Football believes that a high-quality transition from the small-sided game of Rookie Tackle to Junior Tackle and Senior Tackle is essential to player development and a positive experience driven by high quality coaching. The goal of this stage of the American Development Model is to introduce players to more advanced fundamentals from what they learned in Rookie Tackle. The game becomes a bit more competitive with new elements and recommended rules for experienced players.
The goals of 11 on 11 Tackle football are:
1. Maximizing player enjoyment and skill development.
2. Providing all players meaningful playing time and the opportunity for success.
3. Introducing players to new positions and strategies that come with the full-field, 11-player version of tackle football.
4. Introducing the three-point stance to lineman as a natural progression from the two-point stance they learned in Rookie Tackle.
5. Introduction of special teams positions, fundamentals and strategies.
6. Preparing athletes for the demands of scholastic sports by providing increased challenges to skill development and tactical aspects of the game in an age-appropriate manner.
7. Encouraging a fast-paced game with more plays, greater activity and the promotion of fundamental skill development.
8. Limiting roster sizes to provide as much focused and individualized coaching attention as possible during practices and games.
