Is youth football big in Minnesota?

[MN55]

Football at the youth and high school level isn't really big in the East Metro. Like it or not, hockey is king. Hill-Murray draws more fans to an average hockey game than their whole football season combined.

[dlc1914]

Originally Posted by 10,000Lakes

I grew up in MN but havn't lived there since we have had children. We currently live in southern california and our son is in pop warner football, he's 8. Popwarner is HUGE down here and very competitive. What do 8 year olds in Minnesota join if they want to play football there?

I can't speak on HS football here in MN but I can tell you what I have observed.

I have recently moved to the area from the East Coast and have done a lot of research on the youth football leagues/programs in the metro.

The competitive dynamic is not close to that of the East Coast (or West Coast). Within the city, the coaches don;t seem to study the game in the offseason to become better at what they do and in the suburbs, for the most past it seems like there are parent coaches that learn on the go as their kids move up in age.

LMAA (which is a large suburban league that covers much of the Western Suburbs), starts tackle at 4th grade so your child would be able to play, BUT the league operates with rules that imo try to turn the game into tee ball. The league plays 9 man football from 4th-6th grade, has no special teams until you get to 7th grade and there are no playoffs or championships at any level.

Feel free to PM me and I would love to share my insights with you about the leagues in N. Metro, LMAA, and the city. Haven't researched the programs in Eden Prarie or the South metro yet.

I will be coaching with a program in the Minneapolis city league this year and I based the decision on the research that I did.

[dlc1914]

Originally Posted by MN_National_Champ

My friend I do aggree that the way things here in Minesota are set up in a way where the young player doesn't get the "real deal" when it comes down to football. What I would challenge you on is the "awful" comment. I am the head coach for the Phelps Park falcons, the smallest city park in Minneapolis and we took our 8th grade team to Florida after winning the state AAU championship qualifiying tournament. Not only did we go, we went down there and destroyed the best of the best. It was aired on Channel 5 news the whole story. Channel 5 even had reporters at are park waiting for us to arrive off of the tour bus we took down there. Teams from Florida, DC, Virginia, New Orleans, texas, Detroit, maryland were all involved and went home early. So Mn football isn't a joke infact it is far from it. It is progressing and getting better. We haven't lost in 2 years and have played anybody and everybody who will line up. If you know of a team let me know.

What age group do you have Coach? If you are looking for a pre-season bump I may be able to do something with you at 11U. PM me if interested.

[davooo]

YOUTH FOOTBALL IS GOOD IN THE TC. My reply comes years and years late but yes it is good in the tc. Some leagues more competitive than other though. The best leagues are North suburban and south suburban, LMAA is very lacking and games arent as competitive. But yes almost every town/city in the metro has a youth football team/ league and the competition only gets better as you age. I have been playing in these leagues for almost 7 years now. No pop warner but its good enough, the high school football is only competitive in certain sections .

[junior1998]

If you think your son is going to want to play football in college I'd recommend not living in MN. It has greatly limited my son's ability to grow as an athlete as much as he could have in Texas or CA. I tried to get Pop Warner here in MN but the only other interested parties were in the Northern cities and it was going to be too much work on my partbecause there wasn't much demand for it here.

[drishmael]

Minnesota athletes have a severe, perhaps intractable disadvantage in any sport that can't be played in the winter. So if one's serious about playing football, baseball, or soccer, I'd suggest moving south. I understand the appeal of being a multi-sport athlete, but if you're really interested in playing at the college or professional level, you're better served picking a single sport and playing all the time. In high school, our football team was terrible, but our basketball program produced several D1 and D2 recruits. I attribute that largely to the fact that "basketball season" never ended, and the coach actively discouraged us from playing other sports. So yeah, this is a good state for hockey, wresting, volleyball, and basketball, but football -- not so much.