A New Tone
In the interest of moving forward the tone of future posts are going to be positive and while a close examination of how different leagues operate is discussion worthy there is no reason to cut each other down. Bear in mind that a lot of the previous blogs were written in response critical (and mostly untrue) comments made about the Pinnacle Youth Football League and its leaders. It was our way of bringing the conversation out in the open. But the bickering must stop and it will not continue in this forum. Our goal is to expand the opportunities for the youth in our area to play football, nothing more.
When we started Pinnacle last spring initially there was a lot of interest from Idaho Falls and most of the surrounding areas. That interest was quickly diminished for reasons that are known only by the participants and, in light of our new tone, lets just say we at Pinnacle were amazed how quickly coaches and others interested in spring football suddenly didn’t have enough players to move forward. Did we make some mistakes? Of course we did, the biggest was in not meeting with the leaders of Grid Kid and discussing what we wanted to do, and maybe teaming up with them to make it work better. That is our goal now. To work with IF Grid Kid.
Pinnacle is not interested in competing with Grid Kid during their fall season. It would be silly to do so. Our interest is in filling some needs that Grid Kid doesn’t, i.e., offering an All Star season that will begin as soon as Grid Kid’s games are over - ending just before Thanksgiving, growing our 2nd season of spring football to include all age groups and more teams, and offering a wider variety of camps and passing leagues next summer. Our goal is simple; we want to build better football players of all ages and create a “band of brothers” mentality, where the young football players grow to love and respect each other.
We will never be as successful as we could be if we spend any time at all focused on negativity. We will not focus on the weaknesses of other leagues or people but rather build on their strengths. This is done by sharing information, for example - you can now access the IF Grid Kid Football website through our website.
That being said, there are some keys philosophical differences between us and Grid Kid, to whit:
1 - We believe in the creation of A and B teams - for a more detailed description please visit our website
2 - We believe each community should be in control of their equipment and be closely tied to their high school program
3 - Each community should carry their own insurance
4 - We encourage teams to practice against each other often for two reasons 1) it will help both teams improve by raising the level of competition and, 2) it helps in the creation of long-term friendships as our youth interact with each other more often than game day
5 - We advocate an active board of directors that have the authority and responsibility to oversee the financial condition of the areas in which they serve - a director shouldn’t be able to spend any money at their own discretion, period. For example, she/he shouldn’t be allowed to buy dinner for their family with football funds! Times are hard for everyone and football cost are hard to pay for most families, so directors need to be overseen by their boards. We believe they shouldn’t be able to sign checks.
Now tell us what you think. Are we off base on the five ideas above? What other ideas or issues have we missed? Let us know, let’s start the conversation.
Tags: All Star Youth Football, Idaho Falls Grid Kid, Improve youth football in eastern Idaho, Pinnacle Youth Football, Spring Football
August 10th, 2009 at 1:56 am
I will keep coming back to this site and I am very interested in Spring Football options. Baseball makes it very tough on us. We have so many kids that play Cal Ripken and Travel ball that asking them to play football as well is just not fesible. We also have been taking our kids to a camp each year, This year we took 46 players to the Utah contact camp. This adds even cost and time to parents. All that being said we feel like our kids need more 7 on 7 at an early age to progress into an offense and defensive scheme that can be successful in todays game. I hope you find away to make this a great season for all the rigby players. Tell me more about how you would select an all star team and who would they play. I have been working with Matt Willaims and we want to have a 7th and 8th grade all star game in the dome next summer at the Team Idaho vs. Team Treasure Valley all star game.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
The focus on & on 7 is right on, quarterbacks simply don’t get enough reps with the limited season they currently play. More reps equals more consistent QB play which equals better games. Our goal is to have eastern Idaho become known for its quality of football.
What do you think about creating a 7 on 7 league during the summer, similar to what the high schools do?
August 14th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Well maybe but don’t you thinks that the kids will get burnt out from year around football?
August 14th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
My son played fall football last year and also played in the Pinnacle spring league and couldn’t get enough. It is his passion and the improvement he made was incredible. I know in talking with Jeff at Pinnacle the summer 7 on 7 would be a one night a week league with no practices in between. The boys who love football would love it and get even more excited for the fall to start.
The only downside I see are the boys who don’t take part - they’re going to lose ground. But isn’t that the point of practice; to get better than your competition?
August 15th, 2009 at 5:22 am
I love the idea of a 7 on 7 league for spring ball. I would love to pad up and hit in the spring but I just dont have the kids to field a team with baseball being so big. I hate the idea of leaving big kids (oline) the real athletes at home. The cool thing about 7 on 7 is we could do one day tournies with several teams.
February 9th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
I have some previous experience as South Jordan (Utah) City’s Sports Coordinator years ago…it was an interesting eye opening experience concerning various non profit athletic organizations and all the politics they can entail. It sounds like pinnacle football may have some forward thinking and has the right interests at heart. Positive interactions and mutual respect amongst organizations is crutial for the community and kids. My son (7 years old) is eager and interested in getting started with football and i am interested in sharing any experience and services with whatever organizations I feel will best suit my children’s athletic development. Who is the main contact person for pinnacle football? What is the age range for this league?