FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Bloomington-Normal Youth Football Association is “All-in” For Player Development!

The Bloomington-Normal Area Youth Football Association (BNAYF) is excited to announce our new Divisional format beginning this August. Our league is committed to putting our players’ safety and development at the forefront of our decision-making process. It is in this effort that we are excited to introduce our new development structure!

Athletes will first be broken into 1 of 2 divisions:

1. Junior Division (3^rd – 5^th Grade)
2. Varsity Division (6^th – 8^th Grade)

Once in their appropriate division, athletes will be placed on 1 of 2 teams based on their grade level as well as their current experience, size and ability. This allows for a 3-year progression, resulting in better player development while also allowing teams the autonomy to place an athlete in the game best suited for their success. This is a similar model to what is used at the high school level with the Frosh/JV/Varsity system.

1. Lower Teams (Legacy Bantams and JV): First-year or developing second-year athletes with a focus on teaching fundamentals to move to the next level.
2. Upper Team (Legacy Juniors and Varsity): Older athletes or those capable of physically defending themselves and competing with more experienced athletes in the division.

The typical progression across teams and grades will be as follows, which is summarized in the chart below:

• Any player turning 12 years old by the end of the season must play in the Varsity Division.
• Any player turning 16 years old by the end of the season is ineligible to play in our league.
• 4^th and 7^th grade athletes may move between the Lower and Upper team during the first three game weeks
• Athletes may play on ONLY ONE game each week
• Players in 4^th and 7^th grade must be assigned to a team permanently by 4th game of season.

Each Division will play two games every Saturday resulting in 4 total games on the day. The Lower Game will be played first in the Division and will be heavily focused on developing the players to compete for their Divisional Championship in the coming year(s). The Upper game will be the second game and will be a very competitive game and wins will count towards a year-end Divisional Championship.

Score will be kept in both games but only the Upper Game will count toward the Divisional Championship. This encourages teams to develop their younger players while also properly placing 4^th and 7^th graders in the game best suited for their current experience, size and ability. A 4^th or 7^th grade athlete may change from the Lower Game to the Upper Game (and vice versa) until week 4 but may only play in 1 game on any day.

We are sure there will be more questions and want to assure our families that this change will be a positive for the athletes' development and has been a collaborative effort from all teams in our league. One of our goals is to make the Bloomington-Normal area a premier location in the country for producing great programs and people at the high school level. We will cover this format in detail at our parents meetings and also allow for some Q&A through various forms of media prior to the season. Thank you and we are looking forward to a great new season.

 The Bloomington Cardinals Board, Coaches and Volunteers