By Jim C. Taft
Chairman, AYF Advisory Board
So, you want to start an American Youth Football program in your community. There are many things to consider and you will need some help in doing it. The fact that you are reading this means that you have shown an interest, which is the first step.
You are in touch with American Youth Football, Inc. Headquarters, and have received materials explaining the benefits of belonging to a first-class national football organization.
The next step is to find people who share your interest and are anxious to give the community and its children a football program. You will want to call a meeting of these people and begin to lay groundwork. This will be your exploratory committee and, from this, you will assign other committees to take on various jobs.
Surveying your community is a very important step. You will want to know how many kids are available for your program. Is there enough interest? Regarding parents: are they interested? You may find a lot of volunteers from this parent pool. Once this survey is complete, and you are satisfied that there is sufficient interest from kids and parents, then you move on to the next step.
By now, you should have formed a Board of Directors and various committees to take on building your organization. AYF will furnish you a checklist of things to do and projects to be completed. The following are some important committees you should consider: Finance, Public and Media Relations, Fund-Raising , Coach Selection, Playing Fields and Facilities, Equipment Purchase, Care and Storage, Recruitment of Players and Cheerleaders, Meeting Facilities and so on. The American Youth Football Operations Manual will assist you here and, in fact, help you run a smooth organization.
The AYF staff will help you in every facet of your organization, but will not intrude on your operation. We are here to guide you. We also want your program to be available to every boy and girl possible. Keep these in mind as you build your program.
So, keep in touch with your questions. Hopefully, we will give you the answers you seek. Good luck and welcome to AYF!