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AAYFL Affiliation FAQs

By Staff, 12/28/16, 3:30PM CST

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  • What league change was made to OCYF? For the first 8 years of OCYF's existence, our teams played only against other teams in OCYF. In 2013, the league formed an alliance with other teams in southeastern Wisconsin to form SEYFA which allowed the opportunity for OCYF teams to play other teams outside of Oak Creek. Although beneficial to OCYF to be a member of SEYFA, in 2015 the OCYF board sought to improve our league and began exploring opportunities outside of SEYFA. With great consideration and discussion amongst the OCYF board and coaches and with the cooperation and assistance from the OCHS football coaching staff, it was decided that OCYF would petition the All American Youth Football League for permission to join the league in 2016 in the 5th - 8th On February 8th, this petition was unanimously approved by the AAYFL board of directors and OCYF 5th - 8th became members of the AAYFL.
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  • What is the AAYFL? The All American Youth Football League (AAYFL) is the largest youth football league in Wisconsin and one of the large independent leagues in the United States. It has nearly 40 years of experience in Wisconsin and represents nearly 50 organizations and over 7000 players. Split into two divisions, north and south, OCYF will be a member of the Southeastern Division. A highly respected league, the Wisconsin AAYFL has kept the focus on the kids and providing a positive experience for its players as well for coaches, officials and fans. For more information about the history of the AAYFL, please go to: http://www.aayfl.org/forms and click on AAYFL history.

Why did we make this change? By being a member of AAYFL, OCYF will have the opportunity to play in the most respected youth football league and will be given the opportunity to play more Milwaukee area communities.  This change has been endorsed by OCFSD, OCHS Athletic Director and the OCHS football coaching staff, OCYF has become a true feeder program for the high school with the privilege of calling ourselves the Jr. Knights.

What is the affiliation with OCHS? As a feeder program for the high school, the 5th - 8th grade teams will be practicing as a group at the high school with the high school coaching staff and players offering drills, practice techniques, playbook advice and other support as they are able. All 5th - 8th OCYF home games will be played in OCHS Knights stadium on Saturdays during the season.

  • Who will be members of AAYFL? Because the AAYFL only offers football for players in 5th through 8th grade, only those grade levels will be members of the AAYFL. The 1st through 4th grade teams will continue to play in OCYF Lower Lever where they can continue to develop their fundamental football skills
  • How many teams will there be at each grade level? As an expansion league to the AAYFL, we will be allotted two teams per grade level for a total of 8 teams.
  • Are there residency requirements to be part of the AAYFL? Players in the AAYFL must either reside in Oak Creek or attend school in the Oak Creek Franklin School District. Because OCYF has always been open to other communities, we were able to secure as part of our confirmation, flexibility in these rules to allow non-resident players who played on an OCYF 5th, 6th or 7th grade team in 2015 to continue with OCYF/AAYFL. New players outside of the district will not be allowed to join and any non-resident players in the 1st - 4th grades will not be able to continue in OCYF when they reach 5th grade.
  • What are the weight rules in the AAYFL? They AAYFL has strict rules regarding who may carry the ball and all players must be weighed by a physician or registered nurse between the first day of practice and August 17th.  The weight limits state that no player lined up in an eligible position may exceed the following weights at each grade level:
  • 8th grade (AAYFL A level) - 160 lbs
  • 7th grade (AAYFL B level) - 140 lbs
  • 6th grade (AAYFL C level) - 120 lbs
  • 5th grade (AAYFL D level) - 100 lbs

It will be the responsibility of the coach to ensure that each player within 10 lbs of his weight limit who is playing a ball carrier, offensive back or receiver must have an official AAYFL verification form signed by a nurse or doctor that is available upon request during games. For additional information and a complete list of all AAYFL rules please see www.aayfl.org and click on forms.

  • How many players will be on each team? It is our goal to have approximately 20-25 players per team and this number is generally supported by the numbers from previous years. (In 2015, there were 46 5th graders, 70 6th graders, 49 7th graders and 51 8th graders). It is expected that as with every year, we will lose players to other fall sports and some non-resident players to their own community teams as they get closer to entering high school.
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  • Will there be an A and a B team? It is the goal of the OCYF board and the OCHS coaching staff who will be assisting with the development of our program to create two equally weighted teams. Although they will not play each other (except potentially in the Superbowl in the 8th grade), it is our goal to have two equally weighted teams that can compete with any of the teams currently in the AAYFL. The teams will be called Oak Creek White and Oak Creek Blue and there will be no classification of them being an A and B team.
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  • How will coaches be selected? As in previous years, coaches who wish to be a head coach in OCYF whether returning or new must apply to become a coach. These coaches will be interviewed and will be approved as potential coaches by the OCYF board. All approved coaches will be presented to the OCHS football head coach who will make his recommendations regarding the chosen head coaches at each grade level. It is hoped that any coach that is not selected as a head coach be willing to participate as an assistant coach. Because the teams will be practicing in camp style practices at the high school, many coaches will be needed to run the drills.
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  • How will players be chosen? After registration completes on May 31st, the selected coaches will participate in a draft and will chose their players based on draft procedures that will be detailed and monitored by the OCYF board. Players will be notified following the draft of the team that chose them.
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  • Will there be cuts in OCYF? In spite of the change and the reduction in team numbers (and increase in team sizes), OCYF still supports its mission of providing an organized, educational football program for all athletes who wish to participate. OCYF does not plan to turn away any athlete who registers before the deadline and players who register after the deadline will be put on a waiting list.
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  • How much playing time will my child get? Many of the leagues within the AAYFL have an "earn your position" policy which may impact a child's time on the field. Both OCYF and the coaching staff of the OCHS football program believe in getting kids in the game as much as possible and will strive to ensure that each child has the opportunity to have an established position and play that position as often as possible. While we are still in discussions regarding our updated rules, including playing time, we are using the follow as our tentative playing time guideline: An average youth football game has 40 - 50 plays (approximately 20-25 offensive and 20-25 defensive). Each player will be guaranteed to be in the game for a minimum of 12 plays plus one special teams play per game which constitutes a minimum of 50% playing time in a starting offensive or defensive position. This is subject to change once registration closes and teams' sizes are determined.
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  • Will players play on both sides? In the past, OCYF has had smaller teams (15-18 players per team) which have required some players to play both offense and defense. While this has given players the opportunity to experience both sides, it has posed challenges for coaches to practice with full squads and puts teams in peril when attrition due to injury decreases a team's numbers to 11-13 (a common occurrence in previous years). It is our hope that players who play primarily in one starting defensive or offensive position will remain fresh throughout the game thereby reducing the possibility of injury to themselves and to their teammates.
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  • Where will games be played? All OCYF/AAYFL home games at the 5th - 8th grade level will be played at OCHS Knights Stadium. All away AAYFL games will be played at their high school stadium's field. This is a great opportunity for our players to experience playing on a high school field.
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  • What does this mean for the 1st - 4th grade teams? OCYF continues to be committed to teaching fundamental football skills to the younger players and they will continue to be part of OCYF Lower Level and play their home games at the American Legion fields although they will now be playing at the upper fields.
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  • Will we get to keep our team names and colors? As part of this change, OCYF will become affiliated with the high school program and all teams will be known as the Jr. Knights. As with the other sports programs including baseball and basketball, OCYF will be adopting a blue and white color scheme. All players in the 1st through 4th grade will receive a jersey with their # on it.  Players in 5th through 8th grades will receive a blue home jersey with the child's selected number that they will be able to keep at the end of the season. In addition, all players in 5th through 8th will receive a white away jersey that will be returned at the end of the season and reused in subsequent years.
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  • What will happen with fundraising and sponsorship?

OCYF has made a concerted effort to avoid raising fees and making football as affordable as possible. In order to keep our registration fees low but still ensure that our players have current, certified equipment, well-maintained fields, and trained referees we need to supplement our registration fees with fundraising and sponsorship. AAYFL rules prohibit sponsorship on uniforms and we will no longer have the option of coaches finding a sponsor for a colored jersey so we have had to look at other options for raising additional funds. SEE 2017 REVISED MANDATORY FUNDRAISING REQUIREMENTS!  At this year's online registration, you will be given the option of paying a $100 per player buyout which eliminates your need to do any sponsorship or fundraising. If you do not choose the buyout, you must either sell a minimum of 16 boxes of cookie dough or secure a $250 sponsor. There will be additional options for larger sponsors which can be found at a later date on the website.

  • When will registration begin? Registration begins on April 1, 2017 and will close on May 31st. Equipment handout and jersey fittings are tentatively scheduled for July 15th.