FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Chris Widmaier/Andrew Fink-NFL (212-450-2066/2079)
Scott Lancaster-NFL (212-450-2564)
NFL OPENS JUNIOR PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND YOUTH COACHES TRAINING PROGRAMS
Eight-week program instructs boys in tackle football skills;
trains adult
volunteers to be youth football coaches. Players and coaches will participate
in first-ever NFL youth tackle leagues this fall.
WHAT: Three hundred New York City boys, ages 12-14, will be taught the fundamentals of tackle football this spring in the NFL’s JUNIOR PLAYER DEVELOPMENT program. The youths signed up for Junior Player Development through the New York City Police Athletic League. All uniforms and equipment are provided free to the boys.
Junior Player Development is a springboard to high school football. Following completion of this eight week program (March 8-April 30), all 300 boys will play in an NFL eight-on-eight youth tackle league this fall. This program is being test piloted in New York City, with plans for expansion to other NFL markets next year.
Through Junior Player Development, every child will learn how to play every position on the football field. In conjunction with the football instruction, boys will receive counseling through a life skills/character development curriculum that is incorporated in all on-field activities. Areas covered include teamwork, responsibility and courage.
Kids receive instruction three times per week/two hours each night from 30 select local high school and college coaches. The boys are divided equally between the two host sites -- Kennedy High School (Bronx) and Brooklyn College. Jerry Horowitz, head coach at Kennedy High, is the head instructor at that site. Kevin Fountaine, formerly the head coach at Nazareth High, and currently an assistant at Merchant Marine Academy, is the head instructor at Brooklyn College.
Also receiving football instruction will be 30 volunteer adults participating in the NFL YOUTH COACHES TRAINING PROGRAM. These volunteers have shown an interest in being youth football coaches and will work alongside the local high school and college coaches in Junior Player Development. After completing this program and working in the fall tackle league, the volunteers will be certified -- the first national organization to certify youth football coaches.
The 300 boys and 30 volunteer coaches will graduate from this program and participate in an NFL Youth Development tackle football league this fall.
| WHEN: | Three times a week (5:30-7:30 PM), March 8-April 30 |
| WHERE: | Kennedy High School-Bronx, NY (M,W,Th) |
| Brooklyn College-Brooklyn, NY (M,W,F) |
JUNIOR PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
| GOAL: | Teach young boys the fundamentals of tackle football while incorporating life skill messages into each on-field activity. Boys who complete Junior Player Development will play in an NFL eight-on-eight youth tackle league in the fall. |
| # OF KIDS: | 300 boys, ages 12-14. All kids registered through the New York City Police Athletic League. |
| TIMES AND LOCATIONS: (All sessions run March 8-April 30) | |
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YOUTH COACHES TRAINING PROGRAM
| GOAL: | Provide a structured organization to train, instruct and certify volunteer adults who want to be youth football coaches. |
| # OF VOLUNTEERS: 30 adults | |
| TRAINING: Eight weeks in Junior Player Development (24 two-hour sessions), a one week summer session, and a fall coaching assignment in an eight-on-eight NFL youth tackle league. | |
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