-Thanks to all of you who turned out for the Turf It groundbreaking ceremony. The event was a great time. Look for pictures soon.

Transcription

1 WELCOME TO HADDONFIELD YOUTH Football season will be here before you know it and we are gearing up for a great season! There is a lot of information to convey so please read thoroughly and let us know if you have any questions. -Thanks to all of you who turned out for the Turf It groundbreaking ceremony. The event was a great time. Look for pictures soon. -Registration is now open. Please log onto the website and register. This year more than ever it important that you register right away so that we can get accurate team counts. See our Big News below and you ll see why. - Coach Frank DeLano s Football Camp is back by popular demand. I ve attached the flyer. Please register as soon as possible so that Frank can begin to plan. 7/29 to 8/1 in the evenings. Centennial Field. Ages Register by mail to Frank DeLano. -Coaches- Here are the coaches for this year. Feel free to reach out to a coach or any board member with any questions. 65lb-Chris Reenock 80lb-Blair Talty 95lb-Jack O Malley (Thanks for coming back Jack. Thanks Ginger!) 110lb-Sean Leonard (Gary Garstkiewicz-Assistant coach) 125lb-Bill Murray Unlimited-TBA -AND NOW, THE BIG NEWS WE MENTIONED LAST WEEK The Haddonfield Youth Football Organization is excited to announce that we are undertaking an aggressive campaign to raise funds for the purchase of Technologically Advanced Helmets.

2 Safety is always on our mind. Concussions are not unique to football but are something that we should all be aware of and be proactive about. In the past we have responded to new information regarding football safety by educating our coaches and players. Proper tackling techniques are the most effective form of education. That will continue. The football helmets we have selected are from Xenith. You can learn more at Currently many colleges wear Xenith football helmets including North Carolina State, Oregon State, The University of Miami, University of Illinois and The University of California Berkeley to name a few. Many of the teams in the NFL are beginning to use them as well as most teams in the CFL. We have chosen these helmets for a number of reasons. The first of course is safety and advanced technology. Inside the helmet is a snug fitting cap with compression discs that absorb energy. Additionally the cap itself fits around the head when buckled providing a snug fit. Unlike other helmets we reviewed, there is no need to pump air pockets. The helmet is comfortable and easy to strap, which is something that the players will appreciate. To do this, we need to raise at least $15,000. Price negotiations with the vendor are ongoing. Our goal is to raise enough funds to outfit all teams. If we fall short of our goal prior to this season, we will outfit the kids from the Unlimiteds down. We will continue to fundraise until all the boys are outfitted down to the 65lb level. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?... To start we want to make sure everyone understands that it is very important to us that WE WILL NOT RAISE YOUR REGISTRATION FEES

3 and unlike other football programs, WE WILL NOT ASK OR MANDATE THAT YOU PURCHASE A HELMET. It has always been very important to us that we outfit your child from head to toe (well socks) as part of your registration fee. We hope you have noticed that we are arguably the best youth athletic value for your dollar. We have noticed the extraordinary fees charged for playing other sports and do not want to burden you with further increases. Haddonfield Youth Football operates a very lean budget. At the end of the year we make sure that we are sitting on only a small emergency fund. If we feel we have extra funds left over at the end of the year, we make sure to put the money into the program. In the past you have seen this demonstrated in needed investments like the football shed, integrated pants for the younger players and training equipment. We plan to continue to operate in this fashion and this is why fundraising is a key component for this purchase. We plan to raise funds in the following manner: 1. We are asking our generous sponsors to again consider our football program in their annual sponsorship budgets. We are also actively looking for additional sponsors. Soon we will share with you our sponsorship letter in the hopes that as part of the football family, you might share it with a local business or individual that you think might support our effort. 2. We are getting the kids (and you) involved in the effort by implementing a card program. We think it is important for the kids to be excited about this effort and participate in the fund-raising by selling these cards. We hope you will support us and them during this process. More information will be forthcoming but please know

4 that this is not your typical discount card program as you have seen from baseball or other organizations in town and will not be redundant. There will be one sponsor where the card can be used and the discount will cover most if not all of the purchase price. The card is also a game! The buyer can participate in a fantasy football game where they can also win a cash prize. Stay tuned. 3. At registration you will have the opportunity to make a donation of any size. Please do not feel obligated but like other sports in town, we will give you that option. 4. We are trimming some costs for this year but will reevaluate them again once we have completed our goal. For instance, we are reducing our expenditure for grass maintenance. We spent a couple thousand dollars last year aerating, fertilizing and seeding the grass. But, because of the heavy use by us and in the spring by lacrosse, that investment did not yield a positive result. A field needs time to rest especially when grass is planted. This will mean the field will again be patchy but our hope is that the Turf field at the HS will benefit us directly and we can again implement a field maintenance investment plan next year. For now it is not money well spent. This is one direct reason why we need the Turf field to be fully realized and we ask that you continue to support the Turf It Committee. We are looking to cut other costs and will keep you posted. 5. We need to continue to cover our other costs. For those that don t know, referee fees are a huge cost for us. A referee costs $45 per game. Games require 2 or 3 referees or more if we have a time clock referee. We have at least 3 home games a year. Our concessions are what cover these fees. As usual, we depend on your help manning the concessions as well as the chains. This will continue and we appreciate your participation.

5 6. We are planning a social again this year and no doubt we will look to our parents to help in the effort. Last year the date was set and many of you had conflicts so we did not hold it. This year, we hope to have a great event. Socials are not huge money makers although every bit counts, and this year is not different. The social is more about kicking off the season and having a great time so we hope you will join us. Look for a save the date over the summer. 7. We are investigating advanced mouth guards as well. Mouth guards are equally as important for prevention as helmets if not more. While we will continue to offer the basic mouth guard, we are investigating if it is something we can purchase or if we can find a discounted price for parents. Either way, keep in mind that if your son wears braces, an orthodontist should fit him for a custom mouth guard. They should not wear one purchased off the shelf. Contact our sponsors Dr. Amy James or Kadar Orthodontics for more information. Safety and fundraising aside, we hope you and the kids are excited about this effort. If you have any fundraising suggestions, please let us know. BTW we plan on the helmets being matte black (think Oregon Football) and hopefully will have the H you see above. We want to outfit the kids the same as the High School players hoping they will feel a connection and be excited for HS football. Thanks for your support and enjoy your summer. It will be here before you know it.and over before you know it.