FAQs
Who?
We are a competitive youth tackle football organization based out of Grove City, OH. In 2024, we are accepting kids who are 3rd-6th grade from the greater Columbus area. We may travel in the post-season, to fun locations and tournaments! This year, we plan to field 5/6th grade and 3/4th grade teams and *new for 2024* 3/4th and 5/6th CHEER!!!
What?
Our focus is on developing athletes not only in football and cheer, but also in leadership, attitude, academics, and community service. We participate in the Cardinal Youth Football League out of Columbus, OH.
Where?
We will practice at Amazing Grace Christian Church in Grove City. Our games will be played at our home field, Jackson Middle School, and opponents' fields. Our off-season training facility is located in Hilliard.
When?
We meet optionally once a week in the off-season. We move to 2 times per week optionally in June. When the season starts toward the beginning of July, we will practice 4 times per week, moving to 3 times per week around the time school starts in the fall. Our games will begin the first or second weekend of August.
We understand that athletes play other sports and go on vacations and we encourage that! However, we ask that team members make an effort to attend as often as they are available and make football a priority when we are in season.
Why?
We are passionate about providing local kids with the role models, instruction, fundamentals, and mentality they need to be able to impact their HS football and cheer programs and their communities, in their youth and beyond.
What else?
We will likely play a preview game the first weekend of the season. Depending on whether we are playoff contenders, we will tentatively play 8-10 weekend games. There is a league playoff in October. Cost to play is $129 due no later than July 11. If payment is not received, uniforms will not be ordered.
We WILL do a couple of fundraisers and ask that every family participate as well as they can and work toward a goal. This allows us to provide only the best for our Spartans! If you are adamantly against fundraising and would not be willing to provide a donation in lieu of participating, our organization may not be a good fit. We do our best to choose fundraisers that are popular and provide the best bang for the buck.
Tell me more about community service!
Our team will be working on a variety of different service projects throughout the year. Over the last couple of years, we completed a successful donation drive benefiting Orphan World Relief that helped kids transitioning into foster care. We visited OWR’s warehouse to assemble "Comfy Kits". We participated in several Columbus-area trash pick-ups and we even participated in Meals on Wheels! We believe it’s more important for our athletes to give than to receive and we are passionate about teaching them to be givers within their communities.
What are parents responsible to provide? *PLEASE READ*
Football: Helmets, shoulder pads, practice jersey and pants, girdle, knee pads, chin guards, mouthpieces.
Cheer: Shoes, socks, bag (we will offer a personalized bag option for purchase), turtleneck.
Due to the national supply chain shortage the last couple of years, we have required parents to provide their child's helmet so that we can receive the helmets in time. Ordering helmets in bulk has proven to be too slow a process. We will help guide you through the process of buying your own helmet and give you access to discounted goods (and goods from past seasons) as often as we can!
We provide 2 high-quality, personalized game uniforms (a uniform, warm-up, & poms for cheer), helmet stickers, referee and field costs, insurance, end-of-season banquet, player and cheerleader swag, and more!
You're offering cheer this year?!
Yes!! We are happy to be able to grow and expand our program and include cheer for 2024. For our first season, we are offering sideline cheer only. The ability to stunt and tumble is not required. If we feel our participants are equipped to do small stunts safely, we will consider adding these as the season goes on. We are tentatively planning to participate in a league showcase for our cheer teams. If there are other ability-appropriate events, we may consider one of those as well.
What do you look for in a background check?
In addition to the standard criteria that many youth organizations use (crimes against children and National Sex Offender Registry check), we look for recent arrests, violent crimes, and felony convictions. We strongly believe in having good role models around our young athletes. We believe in transparency with parents about our processes. The wellbeing of our youth is too important.
