Youth football options in Goodrich and Grand Blanc

By John Droke
Posted Thursday, August 7, 2008

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By John Droke
VIEW Sports Writer

GRAND BLANC — The Goodrich and Grand Blanc youth football seasons are about to start as area teams begin practice on Aug 11. Goodrich’s program, which started in 2002, was made up of approximately 60 kids in fourth through sixth grades. Today, the program has three divisions: Pee Wee (grades 1-2), Freshman (grades 3-4) and Junior (grades 5-6).

The teams play in four divisions, playing each other twice with a position round taking place on the high school field under the lights during the last week.

“The system works out well as it exposes all students interested in maximum playing time,” said Trevor Alward, who oversees the league’s operations in coordination with league president Kristie Dawley.

Each team fields about 15 players and each player must meet the age and weight requirements to participate. The teams play home games on the Goodrich practice field with the exception of the final game that’s played on the varsity field.

“Its great to see the kids develop over the years and we currently have 10-15 players on the varsity team from the program,” said Alward, the current defensive coordinator for Goodrich.

Grand Blanc’s program is a bit newer as it started in 2007 by a group of parents interested in putting a program in place that could act as a feeder program to the middle and high school programs.
“We teach the same basic offense and use the same drills and terminology as the high school program,” said coach Craig Rabidoux.

The team plays in the Mid-Michigan Rural Football League, which consists of 21 area teams, 108 overall. The MMRFL has roughly 4,000 football players and 1,800 cheerleaders participating. Grand Blanc Youth Football plays six games on the season with its home games at Lake Fenton Middle School and like the Goodrich program, the kids get an opportunity to play one game under the lights on the varsity field.

There are six Grand Blanc teams (three freshman, three JV) with about 22 players on each team. The league is divided into two divisions: Freshman (8-9 year olds) and JV (up to 11). A major part of youth football is the weight requirements. For the freshman team there is a maximum of 90 pounds and the JV maximum weight is 120 pounds.

For Rabidoux, coaching the kids and being a part of the program is a rewarding experience.
“You build a strong bond with the kids and watching them grow as not only football players, but as young men is very rewarding,” said Rabidoux.

Grand Blanc Parks and Rec also offers a Junior League football, cheer, flag football and first-step football program. First Step Football is for kids in kindergarden and first grade, while the Junior league is for kids in grades 4-6. Flag football is offered for kids in grades 2-3 and cheerleaders are in grades 3-6.

Goodrich and Grand Blanc begin practices Aug. 11 with their first game in the beginning of September. To learn more about Grand Blanc Youth Football visit their website at www.GrandBlancYouthFootball.com. To sign up for the Parks and Rec Junior League, visit www.grandblancparks.com.