The Mid-Atlantic Unlimited Youth Football Assoc. is registering players age 10-14 years old, going into the 5th - 8th grade, for the 2004 season. This is a NO WEIGHT LIMIT program. 18 MUYFA teams are located throughout the Baltimore Metro area. Practices start July 17th. Call 410-529-2080 for info.

The Mid-Atlantic Unlimited Youth Football Association (MUYFA) is an independent middle school age youth football program in Baltimore, Maryland designed for the larger players in 6th through 8th grades.

(PRWEB) July 25, 2004 -- A number of youth in this age group are excluded from playing youth football because of their age and size. The MUYFA fills a need by providing those youth that are outside of the age and weight limits with the opportunity to play youth football with their middle-school peers.

The MUYFA program caters to the larger youth, over 130 pounds, in the 10 to 14 age group. Players have the opportunity to play positions that are more consistent with their size and speed. It is not uncommon in this league to have a line, tackle to tackle that averages 1000 pounds! The lighter players, weighing 140-160 pounds, fit in nicely because they are normally the receivers, corners, safeties, running back, and quarterbacks. A number of the bigger guys play skill positions as well. Football is a game of different personalities, shapes and sizes that are molded together into a unit...a team. The big guy has to learn to deal with the smaller fast players and the smaller players need to learn to deal with the big guys. This league aims to help players learn the game in a more realistic "football environment" and ease their transition into high school football.

The Mid-Atlantic Unlimited Youth Football Association (MUYFA) based in Maryland. Its founder, Bill Casagrande, could not play youth football before high school and decided to do something about it in 1995. Unlimited weight football for middle schools is growing rapidly across the country and many programs are looking to Bill's program as a model.
This fall, the MUYFA will be fielding 26 teams from Baltimore County, Baltimore, City, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Easton, Salisbury, Prince George County, Rockville, and Montgomery County and five teams from Northern Virginia.

The league will have east and western Conferences. There will be a ten game regular season with pre-and postseason play. The western conference will consist of the five teams from the Northern Virginia Unlimited Youth Football Organization and four teams from Maryland, probably from Prince Georges and Montgomery counties.

The philosophy of the league is, "Building academics...attitude and athletics, in that order, using the tool of football." One of the most important aspects of this program is to make kids feel good about them selves and feel like they fit in. Many of these youth feel "out of place" to begin with. Imagine you are aged 10 to 14, weighing 130 over pounds and you are told, "I'm sorry, son...but you're too big to play football...wait till high school." That kid just received an emotional slap in the face. I have literally seen tears well up in the eyes of youngsters after they are told they cannot play football because of a pound restriction.

The MUYFA goal is to firmly implant in these youth the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, and courage, so that they may be well adjusted, strong, and happy, and may grow to be good, clean, healthy, and trustworthy citizens. Attaining exceptional athletic skill or winning football games is secondary; molding future citizens is of prime importance. The MUYFA program is more than football. It is about providing another opportunity to teach positive values and life skills to these young men: how to be a part of a team; how to win and lose gracefully; respect for teammates, officials, and opponents; self-control; discipline; and to build positive self-esteem.
Let The Big Guys Play!

For more information visit the WWW.MUYFOOTBALL.ORG web site: or call Bill Casagrande. Call 410-529-2080 for info.

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