Morrie Miller Youth Tackle Football League
The purpose of the MMYTFL is to foster in young men and women in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade a love and understanding of the game of football. We will teach basic skills that will become useful as these young people migrate into area high school programs. We teach the basic skills set, discipline, sportsmanship and fair play, and the importance of being a contributing member in a team sport.
We will provide one on one instruction as well as team concepts as they relate to the game of football. We are committed to developing members at all levels (4th/5th/6th). We have an ultimate goal to develop skill sets with an intimate understanding that these individuals may progress and develop further down the line. (An offensive center today may be a wide receiver in a varsity program as a high school athlete) The coaching staff is committed to developing each and every player in the hopes that they will become significant members of area varsity teams.
Brief History
- The league began in 1998 under the direction of Pat Bowlin, the Activities Director at Cotter Schools. At that time there were (72) kids in the program.
- In 2008 there were (8) teams including (5) Winona Area teams, (2) Lewiston-Altura Area teams, and (1) Houston, MN team.
- Most games are played on Saturday morning at St. Mike's Field in Winona. (20 "marquee" games are played on Monday nights. One at WSU's Maxwell Field, the other at Paul Giel Field. Both games are under the lights.
- We play (5) quarters of football with (1) quarter dedicated to the younger players in the program. ALL (5) quarters count in the official game score. We have a playoff system in place where we crown a League Champion right around the middle of October.
- The season runs from August through mid October. We practice (3) night a week. Mon/Tue/Thu from 5:30 pm — 7pm.
Core Ideals
- Basic Skill Set — each individual will be instructed on the basic understanding of the game of football at their respective position on both offense and defense.
- Developing Those Skills — as the season progresses we will continue to build upon things learned in earlier practices. We do understand that individuals will learn and retain instruction at different rates.
- Sportsmanship — Coaches will instruct players on fair play and the importance of sportsmanship. This league is not about winning at all costs. We want to keep as many kids in football as possible.
- Teambuilding — Coaches will work with players to help them understand the importance of accountability and how it relates to the team concept. Successful teams within the League work as one unit. They rely on each other. They learn from their collective mistakes, get better, and learn from them. Each player will be responsible for their particular portion of their team. They will be counted on by others.
- Success — In the Morrie Miller Youth Tackle Football League we measure success not by wins and losses or how you do in the playoffs but rather how much the coaching staff witnessed growth by both individuals and the team. A great year for both players and coaches may be a 0.500 season where the team grew as a unit and saw improvement in each and every week.