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Post by 19delta on Jul 1, 2010 10:49:53 GMT -6
What kind of footballs do you guys typically use for youth leagues? I'm coaching a 5th/6th grade team and a 6th/7th grade team.
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Post by daveinsarasota on Jul 1, 2010 11:59:29 GMT -6
Those would be TDJ or Junior size.
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Post by Chris Clement on Jul 1, 2010 17:23:41 GMT -6
Same here, TDJ or equivalent for grade 5/6. It's actually still a bit too big for many of them. Should be just right for 6/7.
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Post by gameface on Jul 1, 2010 21:54:15 GMT -6
Same here TDJ.
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Post by coachdoug on Jul 2, 2010 0:45:18 GMT -6
In every league I've been in (Pop Warner, AYF and indep), it's been Pee Wee ball through the Mitey Mite or Cadet level (up to age 9, or 10 if older/lighers are allowed - i.e. 3rd, 4th or 5th graders typically); Junior Ball (TDJ, 1000J, Jr, etc) through the Pee Wee level (up to age 11, or 12 if older/lighters are allowed - i.e. 5th, 6th or 7th graders typically); and Youth Ball (TDY, 1000Y, Youth, etc) though the Midget level (up to age 14, or 15 older/lighters are allowed - i.e 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th graders - although if they're playing at a level specifically designed for 9th and/or 10th graders, I would expect them to use a HS size ball).
It depends on your specific league, but I would expect those ages and ball sizes to be fairly consistent across the country.
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Post by 19delta on Jul 2, 2010 7:17:13 GMT -6
Thanks, I appreciate it.
What football brands or model number would you guys recommend? Leather, composite, or rubber?
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Post by daveinsarasota on Jul 2, 2010 8:03:01 GMT -6
I would go with the leather Wilson TDJ. Those are the industry standard, and are the highest quality.
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Post by cyflcoach on Jul 2, 2010 15:29:59 GMT -6
We use a junior size ball with our 8/9 year olds and a youth size with our oldest kids, 10-12. Our middle school programs (7th/8th grades) here also use the TDY.
Dave Hartman
CYFL Coach
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Post by 19delta on Jul 2, 2010 21:37:43 GMT -6
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Post by coachdoug on Jul 3, 2010 11:19:24 GMT -6
Wow - if you got the Composite Wilson TDJ for about $16-$17, you got a great price. As you can see from your own link, they typically go for about $30 apiece. We ended up going with Nike Spiral Tech (Youth Size), which I was able to get for about $17-$18 per ball. Frankly, the Nike balls are crap, but it was the best I could find at around that price, and I'm on a very limited budget here, so that's what we got. Where did you find the balls so cheap? I'm always on the lookout for good, inexpensive suppliers. |
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Post by 19delta on Jul 3, 2010 13:22:16 GMT -6
Wow - if you got the Composite Wilson TDJ for about $16-$17, you got a great price. As you can see from your own link, they typically go for about $30 apiece. We ended up going with Nike Spiral Tech (Youth Size), which I was able to get for about $17-$18 per ball. Frankly, the Nike balls are crap, but it was the best I could find at around that price, and I'm on a very limited budget here, so that's what we got. Where did you find the balls so cheap? I'm always on the lookout for good, inexpensive suppliers. Linked the wrong ball. This is what I got: www.mcsports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2226907&cp=2766274.711652.1897640.2262159&parentPage=family&parentPage=familyThe ball I bought has "Official TDJ Pattern" printed on it so I'm guessing this is the "economy" version of the official TDJ. |
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Post by cyflcoach on Jul 3, 2010 15:40:19 GMT -6
We are using the new Wilson GST composite and GST leather balls in our league this season. The JR GST composite costs us $22 each. We are having our league logo imprinted on our leather balls this year for the first time.
Do your leagues supply you guys with footballs for practice/games? If so, what kind do they provide and how many? We provide 2 leather and 2 composite at our youth level and 1/1 at our PW (6/7 year old) 8-man level.
Dave Hartman
CYFL Coach
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Post by coachdoug on Jul 3, 2010 21:45:24 GMT -6
In my old program in California, we typically got 4 balls (all composite) per year from the organization. My teams generally used about 10-12 balls per year, so the coaches had to pick up the rest on their own.
Here in Tucson, my program doesn't supply me with any balls, although I am allowed to use our team's fundraising efforts to pay for balls. They have a tradition here, though, wrt to balls that I've never thought of before, but I think it is an excellent idea. Immediately after every game (some coaches only do this after wins), the coach will write the date and the game score on the ball with a Sharpie, and have all the players sign it, then they raffle it off to the parents right then and there. In some cases the balls have fetched several hundred dollars (and I've been told the average ball goes for about $50 - $70). That will pay for a lot of good balls, with plenty left over for other stuff (pizza parties, etc.).
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Post by 19delta on Jul 4, 2010 7:18:13 GMT -6
In my old program in California, we typically got 4 balls (all composite) per year from the organization. My teams generally used about 10-12 balls per year, so the coaches had to pick up the rest on their own. Here in Tucson, my program doesn't supply me with any balls, although I am allowed to use our team's fundraising efforts to pay for balls. They have a tradition here, though, wrt to balls that I've never thought of before, but I think it is an excellent idea. Immediately after every game (some coaches only do this after wins), the coach will write the date and the game score on the ball with a Sharpie, and have all the players sign it, then they raffle it off to the parents right then and there. In some cases the balls have fetched several hundred dollars (and I've been told the average ball goes for about $50 - $70). That will pay for a lot of good balls, with plenty left over for other stuff (pizza parties, etc.). Good idea, Doug. I'm filing that one away. |
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Post by jmtexas on Jul 6, 2010 11:23:07 GMT -6
www.mcsports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1243450&cp=2766274.711652.1897640.2262159&parentPage=familyWow - if you got the Composite Wilson TDJ for about $16-$17, you got a great price. As you can see from your own link, they typically go for about $30 apiece. We ended up going with Nike Spiral Tech (Youth Size), which I was able to get for about $17-$18 per ball. Frankly, the Nike balls are crap, but it was the best I could find at around that price, and I'm on a very limited budget here, so that's what we got. Where did you find the balls so cheap? I'm always on the lookout for good, inexpensive suppliers. Coach Our league does three or four sign-ups at Academy Sports. For that they give us a 40% cut on equipment for the coaches in our league. It works out good for the parents and the coaches. The players can be fitted when they sign-up and purchase the equipment. We do the fitting for our all of our kids. All of our coaches get the discount on balls, mouth pieces, cones, dummies, bags, but only one set of pads and a helmet. The agreement is that we don’t purchase other players pads at discount just the coaches kids. You may want to contact your local Sporting Goods store and see if you can set anything up with them. I don’t know about everyone else but in the league I coach in. The coaches are responsible for purchasing dummies or any other item needed for practice. So I’m just like anyone else looking for a good deal, and 40% off a $41.00 Wilson K2 ball helps. |
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