Page

Dear Parent and Participant,

TEAM ASSIGNMENT - Please check the outside of the envelope to make sure you know the team your child is on and that it is correct. OGYF will not make additional moves in response to new requests unless we made the mistake in team assignment or there is a very compelling reason.

2009 FEES HAVE BEEN REDUCED by another $110 per child from $200 to $90 (2009 bingo credits will continue to be worth half the equipment fee and will be valued at $45 and can still be used for '09 national travel) - On March 26 the OGYF Board considered and passed a budget proposal to eliminate assistance for after-game treats, banquets and national travel (other than bingo credits) and instead use this bingo donation to reduce equipment fees. By cutting these extras, leaving these items to fund-raising by the teams/parents and adding Berryessa PAL Youth Football as a partner for working bingo, the result is a $110 per child savings in equipment fees. In addition since some AYF associations charge an admission fee similar to the Jamboree for regular season games, we want to make sure we reduce fees enough to more than cover parent's admission fee for the 4 away games. Previously OGYF announced a $50 cut to 2009 equipment fees from $250 to $200 due to reduced expenses from leaving Pop Warner and helping other organizations fund-raise through our bingo (see last item). This latest reduction cuts the non-essential extra perks in order to reduce your basic participation cost.

ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATES - Original birth certificates are required in AYF. If someone cannot get an original (out-of-country, adopted, or born in another part of the country etc..) than they must obtain and submit an original LETTER FROM their current SCHOOL (on school letterhead - with the school stamp ) verifying their birthday along with a copy of their birth certificate or other form of verification. Any team that participates in the National playoffs must have an original birth certificate, passport etc... or  an original letter from the child's school along with a copy of the birth certificate or passport etc... for each player.  Please bring the original birth certificate or an original letter from your child’s current school and a copy of the birth certificate by information night. IF YOU ARE GOING TO YOUR SCHOOL PLEASE DO SO SOON AS SCHOOLS WILL BE BUSY WITH GRADUATION IN JUNE AND MANY OFFICES CLOSE FOR SUMMER.    Also the schools have not been contacted about this item so if you have to approach them please understand they are NOT required to provide this letter and by doing so they are helping you out. Please attempt to get the original birth certificate before contacting the schools. Also telling the school officials why you could not obtain the original birth certificate should also help.

SPECIAL NOTE ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES: While getting original birth certificates may seem like a BIG hassle, it is being done to protect the kids. In the past with Pop Warner there were occasions where copies of birth certificates in other associations were changed and that is just the ones that they caught. This process ensures the integrity of the games and is the best interest of the safety of the kids.

MANDATORY NATIONAL TRAVEL COSTS – Last season the OG Renegades football team reported they paid on average $495 for hotel and the mandatory 4 day pass to Disney during the Pop Warner National Championships. $225 was donated by OGYF ($100) and Peninsula ($125) for the kids and OGYF also donated $225 to assistant coaches to help reduce expenses. Each participant still had to come with or fund-raise the remaining $270 (airfare and food not included) Palo Alto, attended the AYF national championships in Orlando the same week and advised us they paid $252 for their hotel and a one day pass to Universal. The point is even though OGYF is cutting national travel assistance, participants in Nationals will still have to come up with about the same mandatory amount of money as last season. While it is true the attendee will have only a one-day amusement park pass rather than the 4 day pass, in most cases participants did not have time to go to the parks on 4 different days. In addition if you want to go to the parks more than once you can, but you don’t have to pay for the extra days whether you go to the parks or not.

TRAVEL NOTE: AYF participants must stay in hotels designated by AYF. The Mike Ditka Resorts was one of the locations mentioned (unconfirmed) however the hotels have not been officially announced for 2009.

FINAL REPORT CARD – Make sure to bring a copy of your child’s final report card on Information Night to verify the child was promoted from one grade to the next.

LOSING WEIGHT – Parents please check the attached ages and weights chart. OGYF does not want any child losing weight to make a team. Coaches are being advised anyone who tips the scale at max weight in July must move up even if the child is only over by one pound.

OGYF SIGN UPS UPDATE - Last time we wrote to you we had 480 children signed up for the 2009 season. Since that time we have added more than 140 children and are currently over 620 child participants. 2009 is a record year for the number of kids in our program!! We have also expanded from 17 to 20 teams. Up to 7 openings still exist at every level except Pee Wee so if you know someone interested in playing football for OGYF, please have them sign up through our web site.

RECRUITING FROM OTHER OGYF OR AYF TEAMS - Coaches have been advised NOT to contact parents or kids who are signed up to play with another OGYF team or any other AYF association. Coaches can contact the kids on their roster or children not signed up to play at all. OGYF considers recruiting OG players by other OG coaches CHEATING and we ask parents to report any recruiting violations immediately to the Football AD.  Each head coaches is expected to provide recommendations to his team on where his kids should play for the upcoming or following year. However no other coach nor anyone else in the organization should be talking to or pressuring you or your children over signing up for a particular team.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PLAYERS AND PARENTS - OGYF has included a copy of the code of conduct for parents and we have ZERO TOLORANCE for violations. Please read it carefully. We DO NOT tolerate emotional outbreaks by any fan at any time, anywhere. A violation of the code of conduct could result in a suspension for the parent for the entire season so let's keep everything in perspective and realize it is only one season and it's a kid's game.

INFORMATION NIGHT - Info night will be held on Thursday July 16,2009 at 6:30 pm on the OGHS football field and blacktop. Please bring all required documents (birth certificate, picture, bingo credits, check for equipment fees etc...). Parent signature is required.

PRACTICE FIELD REPAIR - In preparation for the season OGYF has invested $17,100 (including a $5K donation from ECHO Landscape) into repair of the practice and soccer fields at OGHS. work starts on the field in April. We expect the fields to be in great condition by the time practice starts the last Monday in July.

PRACTICE LOCATIONS - Main practice field locations include Davis JHS for TM and Cadet/MM and Oak Grove HS which will be used for JP, PW, JM and Midget practices.  TM and Cadet/MM teams may also have the option to practice at Anderson School. We're still working on that. SJCC is also available for practice at the teams option. JAMBOREE - The jamboree will be held the weekend of August 29/30. As in the past there will be an admission fee of $5 for adults.

HOME GAME LOCATIONS - Home games for OGYF are played at OGHS or San Jose City College. We are working on getting another close-by local high school as a back-up.

KEEP PRACTICE AND GAME FIELDS CLEAN OF TRASH/ NO SEEDS - Last season we almost lost one of our practice sites and in a separate incident almost lost a game site due to parents leaving trash on the field, eating seeds and/or not using restrooms.  OGYF MUST be strict on these issues and anyone caught with seeds on a field or leaving trash will be suspended for at least a week, possibly more.

MPR RULES - There is an 8 play minimum per player for teams with up to 25 players, 6 plays for teams with 26 - 30 players and 4 plays for teams with 31 -35 players.

NORCAL CHEER COMPETITION - The conference cheer and dance competition will be held Sunday Oct 25 at Independence HS (subject to change). Times will be announced.   Regional Cheer Competition is still in the works.

HELPING OTHER YOUTH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS - OGYF initiated a new program last December and is working with Pop Warner teams along with San Jose PAL Youth football, and other AYF teams in an effort to help these programs raise money through our Bingo. Working with these organizations and expanding the program this year will help bring down your OGYF equipment fees NEXT season. . HOW IT WORKS – Last season OGYF gave out 6 bingo credits per night worth $125 each for a total of $750 per night. On average when other associations work bingo, we donate $300 to their program which leaves $450 per night for reducing fees. With a budget for 600 kids, saving $450 in out-going expenses means a $0.75 per child across the board reduction for every night we help another association raise money for their program (bingo is run twice per week). The current reduction for 2009 equipment fees due to this program is $35 per child. If we are able to cover the whole year next year, the savings will be approximately $75 or an additional $40 per child reduction in 2010 equipment fees.

AGE/WEIGHT CHART