TACKLE FOOTBALL

Content

Director of Football

Welcome to another great year of football. My name is Alan Grider and I have a great passion for the game of football. I have been involved with the Little Panther program, along with my children, for a number of years.

Below you will find a basic outline on how the season works. Your head coach will handle all of the details concerning practices, equipment issue, etc. If there is anything you have questions or concerns about, please feel free to contact me directly. We at OLP are looking forward to another successful year of football

What are we?

Little Panthers Football is a full contact (tackle) football program designed to teach young players, ages 5 to 14, the skills and fundamentals of football with a strong emphasis on sportsmanship, discipline and competition. Our support from O’Fallon High School is with the expectation that we prepare players for high school level competition. The teams represent O’Fallon against other programs in the TriCounty Football League.

The Little Panthers is a 100% volunteer organization. Due to the challenges this presents, Little Panthers Football has a required volunteer policy. Compliance with this policy will be required for your participant's continued participation in the program. The Volunteer Policy requirements are as follows:

4 VOLUNTEER HOURS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE FIRST PARTICIPANT REGISTERED.
EACH ADDITIONAL FAMILY MEMBER REGISTERED ADDS 2 ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEER HOURS TO THE REQUIREMENT.
ALL REQUIRED VOLUNTEER HOURS MUST BE AT LEAST 50% COMPLETE BY THE END OF WEEK 5, OR YOUR PARTICIPANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO SIT OUT UNTIL VOLUNTEER HOURS ARE BROUGHT INTO COMPLIANCE.
ALL REQUIRED VOLUNTEER HOURS MUST BE 100% COMPLETE BY SEASON'S END.

When/Where do we play?

We play a nine-week schedule beginning in late August; one game per weekend on either Saturday or Sunday. Playoffs, for those winning teams that qualify, are played in the two weekends following the regular season completion. Home games are played at the O’Fallon High School Football field. Away games are played in participating communities within a 50-mile drive radius. Locations of away games can be found on the TriCounty website.

Practices begin near the end of July. Frequency of practices varies per coach but typically decreases in frequency to twice per week by the start of the season. Players are expected to attend every practice scheduled unless significant issues preclude attendance.

How does the league work?

A participant's division is determined by their age on September 1. All participants must make the initial weight for their corresponding age division by the League deadline. Beginning with the second week of League play, all participants will receive a one-pound growth allowance every two weeks throughout the season. Position restrictions will be determined at the pre-game weigh- in on a weekly basis. For details see the Tri County Weight Chart. Games are played under IHSA rules except where Tri-County has made special rules to accommodate younger divisions. Registration dates and locations will be listed on our home page.

Coaches

Little Panthers Coaches are respectable members of our community with a strong understanding of football and know how to motivate and instruct youth football players. Each head coach is required to go through an interview process and be approved by Little Panthers Board of Directors. A completed background check and concussion training is required for head coaches and all who will assist the head coach.

Important Dates:

March 18th, 2022 - Registration for O'Fallon Little Panthers Tackle Football Opens

July 25th, 2022 - Official Practices Begin

August 5th, 2022 at 5:00 PM - Registration for OLP Tackle Football Closes

August 9th, 2022 - Teams are Officially Declared with Tri-County

August 13th, 2022 at 10:00 AM - Tri-County Weigh-In Date at Mascoutah High School

August 21st, 2022 - Tri-County Scheduling Meeting

August 27th, 2002 - Opening Weekend (First Games)