CYFA Football Parent Guide

CYFA FOOTBALL PARENT GUIDE

CYFA’s goal is to provide a safe, educational and fun football experience for all players. The primary way we achieve this goal is by partnering with the USA Football Heads Up Program. This program is a nationwide initiative to make football better and safer developed by the NFL, College, High School and Youth football programs across the country. All CYFA coaches are required to be Heads Up Football Certified and we partner with the Positive Coaching Alliance to further enhance our coaches ability to provide the best football experience for your child. Click on the following links for more information on USA Football Heads Up and Development Program .

USA Football Parent Resources Page

Great resource for all parents who have questions/concerns about playing football

USA Football Parent Guide PDF

2025 CYFA Tackle Football - Important Details & Dates

Key TACKLE details & dates
Grades: 2-8 (boys & girls)
Cost: $225 grades 3-8; $99 grade 2 (Note: discounted rates available to families who qualify; more information included in registration form. We also assist families in need with equipment, not including helmets, on a first-come, first-serve basis).

Registration: April 15 – June 18
Weigh-ins: May 20 and June 18 (attend one)
Clinics: June 24 & 26
Camps: July 28-30
Practices: Begin week of Aug. 4
Games*: Late August – late October

*Games could begin late August for 5th-8th; final bowl games weekend of Oct. 11-12 with potential for additional, optional games through October.

CYFA FOOTBALL PROGRAM OVERVIEW

CLICK HERE to review our CYFA FAQs

CLICK HERE to learn more about Centennial football and to review our CYFA Policies and Procedures, and By-Laws.

2-6 NMYFL Tackle Football Grade Rule Book

CLICK HERE to review 2-6 grade football rules for North Metro Youth Football League (NMYFL)

Weight carrying limits

If at or above the below weights for your grade you cannot carry the football:

2nd = 85
3rd = 95
4th = 105
5th = 125
6th = 135
7th = None
8th = None

Note: Any player within 5 pounds of the weight limit at the weigh in event must weigh in again prior to the beginning of the season.

TACKLE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Tackle Football Camps begin late July. Reference the CYFA Camps & Training page by CLICKING HERE. Your coaches will set the practice schedule and will let you know after the team formation/coaches meeting in mid-late July. CYFA does not set the game schedule or field locations, as we partner with a local youth football league for grades 2nd-8th. Game schedule details will be shared once available - typically later in August.

Many of the questions you will have regarding game times and location are answered in the FAQ section.

Tackle Football Equipment: Each Child Must Provide Their Own Equipment

Required Tackle Football Equipment:

White helmet w/chin strap, Mouth guard, Shoulder pads, Black pants, Cup w/ supporter, Cleats, Practice jersey, Game socks - color TBD by Head Coach. Please make sure to properly fit the equipment prior to the first practice by following the guidelines listed in Player Safety and Health on the Parent Education section of our website, or by clicking on the below PDF for a quick overview.

Youth Equipment Fitting Guide

WHERE TO PURCHASE FOOTBALL EQUIPMENT

Twin Cities Sport Shop has assembled some great deals on football equipment specifically for CYFA players. More details coming this summer. Everything you need will be available to purchase during our weight in events this Spring and Summer.

Note: Players can purchase equipment from anywhere they prefer.

Grades K-1st Flag Football Information

Key FLAG details & dates
Grades: K–1 (boys & girls)
Cost: $65 (Note: discounted rates available to families who qualify; more information included in registration form.)

Registration: April 15 – Aug. 15
Practices: Begin late August/early September
Games*: Early September – mid October

*Games begin after Labor Day and end by Oct. 12. 8-10 total games played, all at Aquatore Park in Blaine.

More specific details will be announced over the summer. If you have questions about anything CYFA please contact us at CYFAMN@gmail.com

CYFA Weather Policy

Heat Awareness Information

Coaches, Parents and Players should know that we follow the State High School League heat awareness policy. Please follow the above link for detailed information.

Heads Up Football and Player Safety

We encourage all parents review these valuable resources on player safety

USA Football - Development Model

The New Standard in Football

CDC - Heads Up to Parents

As a busy parent, keeping your child healthy and safe is always a top priority. This site will help you recognize, respond to, and minimize the risk of concussion or other serious brain injury.

Concussion Fact Sheet

Follow Your CYFA Team Schedule Using a Subscribed Calendar

The below instructions help set you up so your game and practice calendar stays current...options include Outlook, Apple, and Android.

Follow your CYFA team using an Outlook subscribed calendar

Add an Internet Calendar Subscription to Outlook 2007 or Newer. An Internet Calendar Subscription is a calendar that you download and view in Outlook. However, unlike a Calendar Snapshot, Internet Calendar Subscriptions are updated automatically. As game or practice information for your team changes, your subscribed calendar will reflect the updates.

These calendars can be found on Web sites where people host calendars. On such a Web site, you can click a link to download and subscribe to the calendar, or someone can send you a link to the Internet Calendar Subscription in an e-mail message. This link is an Internet Web address that begins with webcal://, instead of http://, and ends with a file name that has the .ics file extension.

Navigate to your Centennial team page.
Click the link that reads "iCal" for the Internet Calendar Subscription on the bottom right side of the team calendar. (See Figure 1 below.)
Copy and paste the webcal: address into Internet Explorer and press enter. (Figure 2 below.) You might be prompted to acknowledge that you are opening a hyperlink. You should click Yes only if you know and trust the validity of the linked calendar.
At the prompt, Add this Internet Calendar to Outlook and subscribe to updates, click Yes. (Figure 3 below.)

The Internet Calendar opens in side-by-side view in the Outlook Calendar and is added to the Navigation Pane in Calendar view under Other Calendars. The calendar will check periodically for any updates made by the calendar publisher.

NOTES

You can identify an Internet Calendar Subscription in the Navigation Pane by the icon.
To remove an Internet Calendar Subscription from side-by-side view, clear the check mark for the calendar in the Navigation Pane.
To overlay multiple calendars, use the arrow buttons on the calendar tabs.
You can drag items from the Internet Calendar Subscription to other calendars in side-by-side view.
To remove the Internet Calendar Subscription from the Navigation Pane, right-click the calendar name, and then click Delete calendar name.
Internet Calendar Subscriptions can be added, changed, or removed from the Account Settings dialog box. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings, and then click the Internet Calendars tab.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Follow your CYFA team using an Apple subscribed calendar

Add an Internet Calendar Subscription to iphone/ipad/ipod. An Internet Calendar Subscription is a calendar that you download and view in your iOS device. However, unlike a Calendar Snapshot, Internet Calendar Subscriptions are updated automatically. As game or practice information for your team changes, your subscribed calendar will reflect the updates.

The iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch support the ability to add and subscribe to remote calendars that will show up in the Calendar application alongside any other existing calendars you might already have (such as Google Calendar).

To add your team calendar to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch:

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, navigate to your Centennial team page, then click the iCal link on the bottom right of the team calendar (Figure 1). A page with a WebCal address will appear (Figure 2).
Copy and paste the WebCal address into the Safari browser. Alternatively, you can go to the page on a normal web browser and you can send an email to yourself with the WebCal URL, then you can click on it from your iPhone/iPad/iPod email program.
After clicking on the WebCal URL, you will be prompted to Subscribe to the calendar. Click Subscribe and follow further instructions on your screen to add your team calendar to your Calendar application (Figure 3).
Note that it may take up to an hour or so for the events to show in the calendar (CYLA is providing the data immediately but it takes a while to sync onto the iPhone/iPad).

You can also subscribe to an iCalendar URL manually if the WebCal method above is not working:

Obtain the iCalendar URL for your team's schedule. You may wish to do this from your iPhone/iPad, or email this URL to an e-mail account on your iPhone/iPad. This will make it easier to follow the steps below.
Copy the iCalendar URL to your clipboard on iPhone/iPad.
On your iPhone/iPad, go to Settings
Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars
Tap Add Account
Tap Other
Tap Add Subscribed Calendar
Paste the iCalendar URL that you copied above into the Server text box
Enter a description for the calendar in the Description text box (for example, "Centennial U13 Black"). The description is optional -- by default it is the same as the iCalendar URL.
Tap Next
Tap Save

The next time you go to your calendar, you should see your team's events from the calendar you added. If the events do not show up right away, try again in a few minutes (it may take time to download the events). Please note that events on subscribed calendars are not editable by the end user.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Follow your CYFA team using an Android subscribed calendar

Add an Internet Calendar Subscription to your Gmail Account on your Android Device. An Internet Calendar Subscription is a calendar that you download and view in your Android device. However, unlike a Calendar Snapshot, Internet Calendar Subscriptions are updated automatically. As game or practice information for your team changes, your subscribed calendar will reflect the updates.

Google calendar supports the ability to add and subscribe to remote calendars that will show up in the Calendar application alongside any other existing calendars you might already have.

To add your team calendar to your Gmail calendar on your Android device:

On your device, navigate to your Centennial team page, then click the iCal link on the bottom right of the team calendar (Figure 1). A page with a WebCal address will appear (Figure 2).
In the Calendar app, click the down-arrow next to Other calendars.
Select Add by URL from the menu.
Enter the WebCal address of the subscribed Calendar in iCalendar format, or if you have the iCalendar address of a calendar from a different application (for example, Apple's iCal), you can use this as well.
Click Add calendar. The calendar will appear in the Other calendars section of the calendar list to the left.
Once you add the calendar, go to calendars, Menu. For Calendars to display, check CYLA. For Calendars to synch, check CYLA. Sometimes one or both may already be checked, but sometimes neither are checked.

Figure 1

Figure 2