News and Announcements

Buckeye Youth Football Families,

We are looking forward to our Buckeye “Game Day” next Saturday, October 17th to close our Fall Camp. BYFA asks that all please see below for details and protocols for the day.

Game times are per age group. Please arrive no sooner than 30 minutes before your scheduled time. Warm ups will start 10-15 minutes before the games:

Kindergarten Classic 9:00-10:00am
1st/2nd Grade 10:00-11:00am
(clear fields)
3rd/4th Grade 12:00-2:00pm
(clear fields)
5th/6th 3:00-5:00pm

K and 1st/2nd will be Buckeye intramural games only. Our friends at Midview are bringing three 3rd/4th grade teams and two 5th/6th teams to play our 2 teams in each age group. Teams will rotate playing each other for equal periods within the 2 hour time slots. Flag games will be played per LEYFL rules with volunteer referees.

Camp t-shirts will be passed out by coaches this Tuesday 10/13. K and 1/2 shall wear these for the games. 3/4 and 5/6 will be loaned the Buckeye Orange and Brown team jerseys for the day.

Football and Cheerleader participants will still need checked in before the games with a temperature check, individual water bottle and facial covering on hand. The fields will be taped off to give a single entrance point at the check in tables. BYFA will require there be no more than 4 spectators attending per each cheer and football participant. Spectators will be counted and checked off vs a list of our campers at check in. ALL spectators are required to wear a facial covering at all times in accordance with Buckeye School District protocols. Fields will be cleared of spectators between age groups. The bleachers on field #1 will be taped off and not available so please bring your own chairs and maintain social distancing to others.

BYFA has many volunteer opportunities for the day and we would appreciate any time you can donate. Help is needed at the check in tables, concession stand and field chain crews. We want all parents and organizers to be able to watch their players and cheer leaders. If anyone can volunteer in time slots other than their child’s that would be fantastic. Please reply to this email if you can help and Thank You in advance!

Let’s have a great last week of camp heading into “Game Day” and Go Bucks!

Football questions: Eric Keller 216.570.1546 erickeller@buckeyeyouthfootball.com

Cheerleading questions: Dina Harvey 216.287.5341 dinaharvey@buckeyeyouthfootball.com

Buckeye Youth Football & Cheer Families,
As the Buckeye Schools are reopening and athletics have returned to campus BYFA will hold youth football and cheer leading skills camps as a fundraiser and alternative to the postponed 2020 fall LEYFL season.

The sessions will be non-contact and non-competitive to focus on fundamental skills and comradery around our sports in these unprecedented times. Camp will be offered for grades K-6. Participants will be assigned to smaller groups by age and will not closely interact with other groups the entire camp.

The camps will comply with all Buckeye Youth Athletics Outdoor Practice Protocols for COVID-19 listed on the registration form found in the Documents section of this site. These guidelines for players, spectators, and coaches are put in place for the safety and wellbeing of our community. Parents of youth grades 3-6 will NOT be permitted on the fields during the sessions. For grades K-2 parents only (no other siblings) may view and encourage our youngest players from designated areas around the field while maintaining social distancing. Camp participants shall not enter the practice field for any session without BOTH a passed temperature check and individual water bottle not to be shared. Face coverings must be worn to and from the practice field but are not required on the field per the protocols.

Camp Details: Held at the Buckeye Youth Football Fields, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00-7:30pm, beginning September 15th and ending October 15th. Registration fee includes the 10 camp sessions and a camp participant t-shirt.

Payment: The fee for each football and cheer camp participant is $40 payable by cash or check. Checks shall be made out to BYFA.

Registration: The attached registration form completed in full along with payment can be turned in between 5:30-6:00pm before the first two sessions on Sept-15 or Sept-17. Early drive through registration submissions will also be accepted at the Buckeye Youth Football fields Saturday, September 12, 9:00-11:00am and Sunday, September 13, 6:00-7:00pm.

Thank you for supporting Buckeye Youth Football and Cheer!

Go Bucks!

Football questions: Eric Keller 216.570.1546 erickeller@buckeyeyouthfootball.com

Cheerleading questions: Dina Harvey 216.287.5341 dinaharvey@buckeyeyouthfootball.com

Buckeye Youth Football and Cheer Families,
We hope this message finds you and your families well. The BYFA and the entire LEYFL community are all desperately missing youth football this Fall. We are though looking forward to the Spring 2021 restart.

BYFA is also desperately missing our 2020 fundraising opportunities. The annual fundraiser event traditionally held at St. Martin’s and concession stand sales have provided us with the funds we need to maintain our football fields and equipment. They also allow growth of the program such as past purchases of the equipment shed and bleachers. BYFA has significant equipment and uniform needs in the coming seasons and the lack of 2020 funds will be challenging. Field maintenance and insurance costs also have not stopped.

You can help.

USA Football has partnered with the FlipGive app to give football programs nationwide a means to raise funds on the online purchases our families already make. FlipGive gets a referral percentage by directing traffic to participating online retailers. They then share a portion with us.

Your extra clicks at no cost to you could be supporting Buckeye Youth Football on purchases made through the FlipGive app or website. Major retailers such as WalMart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Apple, Nike, Target and even Amazon participate. The giving percentages differ and some give more than others. Please visit their site to see the long list of available retailers. If your family ever goes to BW3 PLEASE use the app and BYFA will earn 6% of your bill!

I am typically a skeptic of these things and initially my opinion of FlipGive was no different. After speaking with their reps I have been using the app for the last month on our typical purchases. It has been very easy to use at all the retailers mentioned above. The earnings can add up quickly when the whole team is on board.

We found one of the best ways to support BYFA is through the purchase of digital gift cards through FlipGive. They are ready to use instantly upon purchase. At Home Depot and Lowe’s I have purchased digital gift cards at the register and used them at the same speed as a credit card.

To help support Buckeye Youth Football please download the FlipGive smart phone app or visit https://usafootball.flipgive.com/. Then create an account and enter the BYFA team code RPHW4C. You may also see an automated invitation email to join FlipGive soon.

Please reach out to me anytime with questions on how to set up and use FlipGive. It really is easy after getting started. Please also forward this on to any other family or friends that can help.

Thank you for your continued support of Buckeye Youth Football and Cheer!

Matt Wilhelm
Treasurer, Buckeye Youth Football Association
wilhelm_matt@yahoo.com

Buckeye Youth Football Families,

As we continue to learn, plans can be modified quickly in this global pandemic. LEYFL held an emergency meeting on Friday, July 17th to discuss the latest developments with the Ohio Governors Responsible Restart with sports requirements. We have confirmed the July 7th Governors orders for contact sports have been extended to July 22nd. Please see the links below. Among other requirements athletes and team staff members must receive a negative COVID-19 test result before traveling to each competition.

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/publicorders/Ext-Exp-2nd-Amended-Order-Contact-Sport-Practices.pdf

https://www.wcpo.com/sports/high-school-sports/ohsaa-contact-sports-games-permitted-until-july-22-if-health-guidelines-followed

The vast majority of LEYFL communities do not have the resources to safely organize Youth Football under these requirements. Most communities also need adequate time to prepare for the season by organizing equipment purchases, ensuring municipal field use, etc. Waiting for further guidance on or after July 22nd is not an option for all. In a nearly unanimous community decision, LEYFL voted to postpone the Fall 2020 Youth Football season until Spring 2021.

Ideally our pandemic situation greatly improves by the Spring. Initial plans call for a March to May 2021 season. We understand the conflicts with other Spring sports and activities that this introduces but feel this is the best path forward. Registration forms submitted for the Fall will be kept for use in the Spring but can be returned or destroyed upon request. Physicals recently completed for grades 3-6 last one calendar year and can also be used for Spring football. Flag players grades K-2 do not require physicals. There are then further plans to have a traditional Fall 2021 LEYFL season.

Buckeye Youth Football is investigating if non-contact football skill development practices/camps can still be held in the Fall. These would be for the surrounding Buckeye Community only and meet the Ohio non-contact sports requirements. BYFA requires further guidance from Buckeye Schools and will need to account for unknown Ohio requirement updates. Buckeye High School continues to move forward as if sports will begin on August 1st and our practices/camps could potentially start soon after. We will update our families as soon as possible by email, Facebook and our website buckeyeyouthfootball.com.

Thank you for your understanding and more information to come in the near future.

Eric Keller, BYFA President
erickeller@buckeyeyouthfootball.com
216.570.1546

Dina Harvey, BYFA Cheer Director
dinaharvey@buckeyeyouthfootball.com
216.287.5341

Travis Perkins, BYFA Vice President
Shannon Ardito, BYFA Secretary
Matt Wilhelm, BYFA Treasurer

The previously communicated parents meeting scheduled for Sunday, July 19th at the Buckeye Youth Football fields has been POSTPONED. More information will be provided by the BYFA soon.