Marble Fall Youth Football & Cheer announces dates for 2024 season
Team practices for the Marble Falls Youth Football and Cheer teams will go from 6:30-8:30 p.m. beginning Monday, July 24, one week earlier than fall training camps for the Marble Falls High School athletic department.
The youth teams will continue to use the Marble Falls Middle School practice fields for practices.
MFYFC president Nicholas Wood gave some reasons why.
“We’re scaling them back into the heat,” he said of the players. “And we want to make sure they’re safe and happy.”
The only equipment the players will wear the first week are their helmets as they get used to the Texas summer on the gridiron.
The association is expecting 108 players this season. That means the organization will have two teams in the freshman (first- and second-grade) division, two in the junior varsity (third- and fourth-grade) division, one in the fifth-grade division and one in the sixth-grade division.
“We had a record number of kids,” Wood said. “We’re super excited about it. We haven’t had enough kids to be able (to have two teams in some divisions). It really is a testament of where Marble Falls is and getting more people.”
He is equally happy about having one team of sixth-graders.
“Obviously, they’re going to be rolling into the seventh grade (in 2024) and playing together,” he said. “We want to prepare that group to know each other. Kids are changing a lot from the sixth grade to the seventh grade.”
Association coaches will continue to teach Marble Falls High School head coach Brian Herman’s Slot-T offense, Wood said, adding that for some players, it’s more retraining.
“We’re still running it out at full speed and doing it top to bottom,” he said.
He pointed out the importance of developing the offensive line, noting line progression traditionally takes longer than the skill positions. That’s because linemen must learn the proper footwork, hand placement and who to block in every play.
“They’re all important,” Wood added. “That kid who plays free safety is just as important as the kid throwing the ball over the line.”
Association coaches have spent time learning the scheme thanks to Richard Scales, who was recently promoted as Herman’s new offensive coordinator and co-offensive line coach.
The association’s cheerleaders also will be conducting practices next week. A mandatory meeting for families is at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, before practice begins
Association teams will play other association teams whose high schools are in Class 4A, though Wood noted schedules are still being finalized. Last season, it wasn’t unusual to have teams from more than two different cities compete in the same venue in an effort to save on costs and because of the lack of officials.
“We want to limit travel as much as we can,” the president said. “We want to set up where travel isn’t a big issue. We have to figure out the schedule and location.”
Marble Falls will scrimmage Smithson Valley Saturday, Aug. 19. The season opener is Saturday, Aug. 26.
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