WHEN ARE THE FLAG SEASONS?

The Farmington Valley Mudhogs flag football program plays both in the fall and spring . The fall session is the “competition” season. Each week consists of a weekday practice and a game on Sunday morning. The score is kept, wins and losses are calculated and once the regular season ends, there is a playoff. Every team makes the playoffs. The players on the teams that win the championship receive trophies to honor their success. Prior to the fall session, players attend an evaluation, which coaches will then use to draft players.

In the spring session, teams will not hold weekly practices. Instead, coaches will hold a short 30-minute or so practice before their Sunday game. We don’t keep score, we don’t have a standings and there are no playoffs to attend and no trophies to earn.

WHO CAN PLAY AND WHAT ARE THE GRADES?

All are welcomed. Players from all nearby towns are eligible to play. We accept all youth athletes from K to 8th grade (must be at least five years old at the start of the season). Divisions are broken down by grades, but they change each session, It all depends on the number of players that register and just as importantly, how many parents volunteer to coach a team.

WHAT IS THE COST TO PLAY?

The price for the fall session is $145. The spring session is $110 and each includes NFL Flag team jersey and flags.

WHEN DOES REGISTRATION BEGIN AND END?

There is no annual set date for the beginning and ending of registration. However, typically the fall registration starts at the beginning of June and wraps up at the end of July. The spring registration typically begins in early February and rolls through the end of March. However, the sport has really grown over the years and we tend to max out pretty quickly. If you miss out, I do suggest going on the waitlist. Players do come off that list.

In the past, there was a two step registration process. There still is, but it’s now one at a time. To register, you first go to  Farmington-Recreation and register there. Once all registration is complete, you will be contacted by the director and be directed to the second registration on the Team-Snap page.

TEAM CREATION

The number one priority in flag football is to make the sport fun and fair. The best way to achieve this is to make teams as balanced as possible. No, I can’t make every team finish 3-3, but I can certainly try. Thus, to help create this balance, each coach drafts their own team. As a parent, you are welcome to make a request. There is nothing wrong with asking. During drafts, I’ll tell coaches about these requests, but in the end, I won’t tell any coach to draft a player and I won’t ask any coach not to take someone. Once the draft is complete, those are the teams. There won’t be any changing of teams.

WHERE DO WE PLAY FALL NFL FLAG?

In the fall, Sunday games are held at Farmington High School. Half the games are played on the Farmington High School Turf field, with the other half played on the grass fields above the turf. In the spring, we currently play all the games at Irving Robbins Middle School in Farmington.

WHAT DAYS/TIMES ARE PRACTICES AND GAMES?

All flag football games are played on Sunday morning. On average, the older kids play first, while the younger kids play later in the morning. As for practices, we encourage all our coaches to hold practices on Friday. We don’t force them, but we ask them to try. The reason being, we try to stay out of the way of other sports and in the past, Friday was an evening that other sports avoided. Lately, that’s become less true, but for now, we’re going to try to stick with Fridays.

NOTE: If your son or daughter plays in a travel sport, please be sure they’ll be able to attend most games. Travel sports occupy a lot of time and can cause a player to miss a lot of flag games. Now we think, well, this will only hurts my kid, but that’s not the case. This is also about his teammates. If your child is playing in a travel sport, odds are they are a good athlete, which means they’ll most likely be a high draft pick. Thus, if and when your player misses a bunch of flag football games, it makes it that much harder for his teammates to play in a fair game.

CAN I VOLUNTEER TO BE A HEAD COACH?

Like any sport, we’re only as good as the parents who volunteer their time to coach our teams. So yes, we need you. With so many kids playing this sport, we need a lot of parents willing to step up and help out. While we do have a good number of returning coaches each year, getting volunteers is always our biggest challenge. Once registration nears the end, you’ll start seeing lots of emails filled with both begs and pleads to get coaches.

As always, for first time coaches who may be intimating, you can always reach out to the director. He will answer any and all questions and will provide plenty of resources heading into the season.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO BUY FOR OUR ATHLETE?

Players need a gym shorts and cleats (not metal). They are not required to wear mouth guards, but it is suggested. Players will be supplied with NFL flags and a NFL Team Jersey for the season.