Players Are Bigger Than My Son

I have 8 year olds that play on a small fry football team for 7 & 8 year olds. Yesterday they played a team of the same ages. The problem was that the other team had 3 or 4 really big boys. After the game a coach said the biggest boy weighed 150 pounds ! My boys weigh 52.

What do you recommend - football at this age should be fun. Yesterday's game was dangerous!

-- Katrina, a concerned mom

One of our responsible sports experts weighs in:

After consulting with a few PCA Trainers who are football coaches, I come back with the recommendation that a Responsible Sports Parent should immediately voice concerns about this to coaches and league administrators.

I believe the league should have BOTH age and weight limits for each age division. Kids should only be allowed to play at certain levels if they meet the age and weight requirements. This means that some kids will be too big to play at certain ages and may have to opt to play with older kids. If the family does not want their child playing with older kids, they may have to hold their child out for the season.

Weight requirements are a fundamental part of youth football. If a league does not set and enforce such limits, it presents a big risk to the youth athletes.

- Tina

Tina Syer

Chief Impact Officer, Positive Coaching Alliance

High School, College, & Olympic Developmental Coaching Experience.
12 years of work at PCA including keynote presentations for national organizations such as US Lacrosse, USA Water Polo, & Special Olympics
Honors graduate in Psychology and All-American at Stanford University
Parent of two boys.