This is an overview of the Bowie Bulldogs football program. This should answer most of the questions with regard to Bowie Bulldogs youth football program.
Registration

Registration is on going throughout the year.
Bowie Boys and Girls clubs offers two registration options.
                                           
The first is a $135 Yearly fee that provides your child the ability to play up to 4 sports per year within the Bowie Boys and Girls Club. Bowie Boys and Girls club offers:
 

Tackle Football	Basketball Girls and Boys	Soccer Girls and Boys	Cheerleading
Flag Football	Lacrosse Girls and Boys	Baseball / Softball	Volleyball
Track Girls and Boys	Wrestling

The second registration option is a Single Sport Fee in which you are able to register for one single sport which is $95.
Many of the Bowie Boys and Girls club sports programs offer an intramural program which is geared toward participation and a County or select level which is geared towards competition.
If your child participates in a County or Select League teams there is a Sport fee, in addition to your registration fee. The Sport fee for tackle football is $75.
Registration can be completed two ways.
1.     Online at www.BBGC.com – method of payment is credit or debit card.
2.     On Site at the YMCA building 3501 Moylan Drive Bowie Md. 20715.
These walk in registration are available at specific times please check with the club website to see registration times. You may also email the club registrar: registration@bbgc.com to verify availability of walk-in registrations.
Method of payment is Credit Card, Debit Card, Check, and cash.

 

Equipment

Equipment is handed out a few days prior to the start of summer training camp.
Typically equipment will be handed out the Friday and Saturday prior to the first day of practice.

Prior to you being issued your equipment you be required to pay the $75 Sport Fee. Acceptable forms of payment for the sport fee are Check, money order, and cash. The maximum sport fee by any one family will be $150. Any families third, fourth, or fifth child would be exempt from any addition football sport fees.

Bowie Football will also collect a $400 hold check as a security deposit for the use of the equipment and uniforms during the season. This hold check should be dated December 31, 2009.  The check will be held until all equipment and uniforms are returned.

Once your child is registered, paid the sport fee and submitted the $400 security deposit check they will be issued the following equipment:

·        Helmet w/ chin strap
·        Shoulder Pads
·        Knee (2), Hip(2), Butt (1) and Thigh Pads(2)
·        Girdle
·        Practice Pants
·        Belt

Towards the beginning of the regular Season all players will be issued:

·        Game Pants
·        Game Jersey

Uniforms not cleaned properly at equipment turn in will be charged a cleaning fee of $10

All players are responsible for their own Cleats, Mouth Piece, and Practice Jersey.

Mouth Pieces can be purchase from the football shed and/or Concession stand for $1

Practice jersey can be purchased from the Football Shed at the equipment distribution and fitting times. $10/ each Limited quantities and sizes.

***All Payments and deposits will be made payable to: BBGC Football***

Practices

Location-
All practices will be a White Marsh Football Park, located next to the Bowie Sport fit. There are 4 available fields for practice, the main football field, the lower auxiliary football field, the baseball outfield and the upper multipurpose field. The physical address of White park is
100 White Marsh Park Drive Bowie Md. 20715
This is also the location of all of our scheduled home games

Time-
Practices during summer and or prior to school starting- (typically end of July to end of August) will be 6pm to 8pm Monday thru Friday. Throughout of the summer their will be scrimmage dates on Saturdays, time to TBA usually in morning to afternoon.
Once school starts, all teams will be limited to practicing 3 nights a week. Those nights are chosen by coaching staff and will be relayed to you by either the coaches or team manager. All participants/parents should plan on a game every Saturday at least through the first week of November with Post season games pending through out the month of November.
****In case of a Saturday rainout****
Mid Maryland youth football policy is that games will be made up the following Sunday

Cancellations-
Practices are held regardless of inclement weather. In some cases Bowie City parks and grounds department will close fields in order to prevent injury to any participant or fields/facilities. If you are unsure on field status you can call the City of Bowie daily ball field status hotline 301-262-6200 ext 1909 or check online at http://www.cityofbowie.org/Parks/ballfield_status.asp

Coaches Ethics and Responsibilities

Requirements-
All coaches are required to follow all Bowie Boys and Girls Club and Mid Maryland Code of Conducts.  They are also required to do a criminal background check. It will be Bowie football’s goal to make sure that 100% of coaches are certified through a reputable youth coaches association. Coaches will be required to update credentials on an annual basis. It is expected that all Bowie coaches maintain open lines of communication with parents, coaches and volunteers. The focus of Bowie Bulldogs coaches is to teach, prepare, and encourage all participants. No exceptions will be tolerated.
2010 Bowie Football Coaches Certifications will be done through USA Football

Team/player evaluations-
This can be a very confusing time during the beginning of each football season. There is an evaluation period, in which coaches will evaluate each child within their own weight class. During these evaluations each weight class will broken down into 2 to 3 teams based on the overall number of participants. Every player that registers will start out on the American Level and will either remain there or be moved to a lower level. This movement is usually determined by the player’s age, experience, maturity both mental and physical, and ability. The movement of players is to ensure fairness, safety and proper player development.

Playing time-
Playing time is a function of attitude and attendance in practice. Please be clear on this, Football is a game of preparation. Many coaches if given the opportunity to work with your child can overcome lack in size, strength, or speed. But they can not overcome repetition or training. Your child is a part of a team. It is not a requirement for your child to play if they have not been given a proper opportunity to prepare. Safety will always be a priority within our program. If attending practice is something you can not control. Please communicate this with your child’s coach, team manager, or other parents. Someone will lend a helping hand for your child.
Player Positions-

Positions are assigned by the coaches on the staff. Each staff has their own method of evaluation and the Bowie Bulldogs administration does not limit or restrict their ability to assign position on their teams. I would ask that if a parent has a question or concern with their child’s position that they communicate with the coach directly. However, in fairness to the coach and team, this should be done before or after practice.
         

Mid Maryland League

The 2010 football season will be the Bowie Bulldogs inaugural season in the Mid Maryland youth football league. This League allows for both participation and competition. There are 3 different levels of competition; National, Liberty and Federal.

·        National – Most competitive and more experienced (season may start earlier than other divisions)
·        Liberty – would be next level down in terms of experience or competition
·        Federal – again in some case next level down or the

The reason that these teams are divided into these levels is not to demean or make a child feel less about themselves, but allow them an introduction to a sport in a safe and positive manner.  It is proven that one of the best ingredients for competition is fairness. It is better for a child in their early years to be exposed to sports at a level were they can compete without being overwhelmed. Also to ensure a fair playing opportunity Mid Maryland youth football has a mandatory play rule for all age groups.

Mid Maryland League is an age and weight structured league.
There are 8 different weight classes available to participate in:

·        Pitbull - age 5-7 up to 90 lbs.
·        6-8 - age 6-8 up to 85 lbs
·        7-9 - age7-9 up to 95 lbs / Older but lighter 10 year old 75 lbs
·        8-10 - ages age 8-10 up to 105 lbs / Older but lighter 11 year old 85 lbs
·        9-11 - ages 9-11 up to 120 lbs / Older but lighter 12 year old 100 lbs
·        10-12 - age 10-12 up to 135 lbs / Older but lighter 13 year old 115 lbs
·        11-13 - age 11-13 up to 155 lbs / Older but lighter 14 year old 135 lbs Redstripe rule tackle to tackle player (11-13 age)can weigh 170 lbs.
·        Unlimited - for middle school kids grades 7-8 over 155 lbs
                                     
The age cutoff date is August 1st
You can get more information on the Mid Maryland League at : http://www.eteamz.com/MMYFCL/
 

Maryland ID Cards-
Every player is required to secure a Maryland ID card!
To participate with our football program and the Mid Maryland League your child will need a Maryland Department of Motor Vehicle ID Card. The id cards will be used to verify your child identity during game day weigh ins and will usually remain in possession the team manager and or head coach throughout the season. Id cards should be obtained no later than the first week of August. Id cards are also used for or club weight in day. If you are not eligible to obtain a Maryland Id, a foreign national may use a Passport. Please check the Maryland motor vehicle website for locations were you can obtain an ID card.
                                         http://www.mva.state.md.us/

Preseason Non Contact Conditioning Rule-
Practice usually begins during the last week of July. Initially all teams will begin with a 3 day non contact session. During these practices players will suit up in shorts, cleats, mouthpiece and T-shirts.  A player will not dress in full gear until they have completed 3 conditioning practices. Once the 3 conditioning practices are completed it is assumed that practices are full gear unless stated otherwise by your child’s coach.

Youth football Website Forums and chat sites-
There are many youth football forums and message boards, these should be used as a communication tool for informing and developing our teams and programs. These forums and message boards are used by parents, players, coaches and volunteers. It is the expectation that any of the Bowie Football Family that use, comment or engage in any activity on this forum understand that the forum is for positive development and/or gathering of important information. These forums are not for the purpose of complaining, slandering, embarrassing or voicing any displeasure with Bowie football, coaches, or players. Nor should the forum be used to address any other organizations in a negative or slanderous way. Any of these actions should not and will not be tolerated out of the respect of Bowie Bulldog parents, players, coaches and volunteers.

 Coaching opportunity and criteria
Because of the Bowie Bulldogs Football long and rich tradition these guidelines are set forth to offer a fair and realistic view of the head coaching opportunities within the Bowie Bulldog football program. On average, Bowie Football has 1 opening per year at the National Level and 4 openings a year at the Liberty/Federal Level. It would be very uncommon for a coach new to the club to obtain a Head Coach position at the American level; I mention this not to discourage anyone, but to let all know that we are a very loyal club. It is very important to understand the goal is to find coaches to build a staff. It is our philosophy that all coaches make the commitment to work to together towards the same goal regardless of title.  Traditionally staffs are comprised of a head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, offensive Line/defensive Line coach, special teams coach, and team manager. Typically there are many opportunities to become part of a staff.  With in time new coaches can gain knowledge of our club and tenure that would warrant them consideration for available head coaching positions. As coaching positions become available applicants will be evaluated on the following.

1.     Tenure – Amount of time with the Bowie Football Program in any capacity; Head coaching, assistant coach, Commissioner, Team manager, Video tech, photographer and volunteering time all counts.
2.     Loyalty – Commitment to our football program, youth football tends to be cyclic, especially if you play in a competitive League such as the Mid Maryland League. Continuous commitment to Bowie Football will ultimately be a deciding factor when evaluating coaching prospects.
3.    Commitment – A coaches commitment to not only the Football program but other sports within the BBGC program are looked at as well.
4.    Experience – Obviously if a coach is not within Bowie program outside experience will be heavily evaluated
5.    Recommendation – recommendations from Commissioners, BBGC board members, BBGC football Coaches are always considered
6.    Coaching Certification – Coaching camps clinics, NYSA and other coach enrichment programs are required if none of the above is met.
 
Coaching Application Process
1. Consideration request
2. Coaches Info sheet
3. Interview/Orientation
4. Team Assignment
5. Coaching Certification
Contact Bowie Football Commissioner at bowiefbcommish@comcast.net