Before you actually start, you have to do a bunch of research to see if it is viable and second to get input and support of key people and possible stakeholders. Before you invest a bunch of time and money you have to find out:
Is there a viable league that would accept a team from the area you are pulling kids from. Many have geographic boundaries or rules restricting recruiting etc.
How big is the area you are going to recruit kids from, how many kids are in the area? Simple School District Elementaray and Middle School enrollment figures.
How is this area underserved, poorly served by youth football now?
How would your organization be
concretely and quantifiably different than what the kids are being served with now?
Develop a mission statement using one Of Coveys books.
Would local leaders support a youth football program in the area based on your mission statement and vision?
Would the High School or Schools you feed into support YOuth Football the way you want to do it?
Are there practice and game fields available? Permit proccess, insurance requirements?
WHat type of leadership do you have available for your Board?
What type of skills do you have and what do you lack?
Marketing, Logistics, Finance/Fundraising, Legal, Security, Coach recruiting and development (#1 priority and critical success factor)
You can do everything like I did for the first few years, but it is consuming and you have to have a job and family that is flexible.
Is your wife supportive of this effort?
Do the kids in the area have the money to pay the fees to self support the program> It doesnt matter if all the other teams require the kids to buy equipment and pay whatever entry fee they charge, will the area you are going have kids that can pay or not? IE Suburban kids can buy thier own equip, inner city kids cant.
Will the public schools inthe area allow you to recruit players via flyers, assemblys or open houses?
Once you answer those questions then you decide if you go forward.
Now if you arent going to do it yourself you have to find out if you have the contacts to build a Board and have 5 legit HEad Coaches. If you dont go into this with 5 legit coaches that can represent your org well, you have a very high chance of failure.
Your orgs rep is a function of how each of your HC acts on the field and organizes his team. The microscope is on you that first year.
If you can start with fewer teams, that is the way to go. I started with 1 team in 1998 and got it up to about 500 kids at one time.
I started a second program in 2004 with just 2 teams and will go to 4 teams in 2008 here. Im
NOT going to get any larger here. The bigger it gets the more diluted and less control you have,
