Grades 4 - 8

Mission Statement

The mission of SPWYF is to teach the sport of football to Sun Prairie area 4^th-8^th grade kids in a safe, supportive, team building and fun learning environment. We’re focused on building a family type culture in the west side Sun Prairie community where players, coaches, parents/guardians work together to be successful on and (more importantly) off the field.

Philosophy

SPWYF is committed to teaching safe and effective football fundamentals, while creating a culture built on hard work, dedication, commitment, and fun. Our program introduces players to the techniques, values, and structure of the Sun Prairie West High School football program with an emphasis on growth, not just winning. We also introduce young athletes to Varsity Coach Josh O’Connor’s 3 keys to success:

1.   Be Relentless – Focus & Effort

2.   Be Selfless – “We Over Me”

3.   Pursue Excellence – Be Your Best

Player Code of Conduct

By signing up and registering for the Sun Prairie West Youth Football program, you commit to the following:

1.   Be a Student Athlete

• The word “Student” comes first in the term “Student Athlete” so always put schoolwork before anything else football related.
• Any student athletes that are not putting forth effort in their studies could face disciplinary action on the field.

2.   Be a Team Player

• Put the team above personal achievements.
• Show up, give full effort, and support my teammates.

3.   Demonstrate Respect

• Being respectful to coaches, referees, teammates, opponents and spectators.
• Use appropriate language and behavior in person, at school, and online.
• Understanding that you represent the SPWYF program and your actions reflect on the image of the program good or bad. Make good choices!

4.   Lead On and Off the Field

• Maintain good conduct at school; behavior and academic effort could affect eligibility and playing time.
• Be a positive role model in all settings.

5.   Commit to Learning

• Stay coachable, ask questions and embrace mistakes as learning opportunities.
• Prepare to take on greater responsibility to learn the schemes and playbook of Sun Prairie West Football each season as we build toward high school.

SPWYF has a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of misconduct and/or bullying on or off the field, including behavior that occurs at school, online or any other setting for that matter. Bullying – whether physical, verbal, emotional or digital – goes against our values and result in immediate disciplinary action. Any kind of behavior that goes against the conduct listed above will be dealt with in the following steps:

1.   Coaching staff will decide the on-field repercussions depending on the severity of the misconduct. If the misconduct is deemed to be more severe by coaches, this step may be skipped to step 2.

2.   Reoccurring issues and/or severe misconduct will result in the program Director to get involved and work with coaching staff to determine disciplinary action. Steps 1 and 2 may be skipped based on the severity of the misconduct.

3.   SPWYF Board Members will be involved to determine disciplinary action based on the severity of misconduct and/or continual reoccurrence of misconduct.

Parent/Guardian Code of Conduct

Parents/guardians play a critical role in team culture and player development. As such, we ask all parents to commit to the following:

Expectations:

1.   Demonstrate Good Sportsmanship

• Always model respectful behavior toward referees, coaches, players, and other spectators.

2.   Support, Don’t Coach

• Let coaches do the coaching and refrain from shouting instructions or criticisms during practices and games.
• Please stay in the stands, bleachers or the assigned spectator area during games and practices.
• There will be no scouts attending games, or scholarships offered at the youth level and coaches will be doing their best with playing time for athlete’s.

3.   Promote Positivity

• Encourage your student athlete with constructive feedback and celebrate his/her effort and not just outcomes.

4.   Handle Conflicts Appropriately

• Wait 24 hours before addressing concerns with coaches and use respectful communication methods.

5.   Respect the Program

• Follow team rules, schedules and communication channels.
• Remember that coaches, board members or anyone else affiliated with SPWYF are all unpaid volunteers so please be respectful.

Any parent/guardian conduct that goes against these expectations may result in being asked to leave practices or games. All parent/guardian disciplinary actions will be reviewed by the SPWYF Board and may affect your student athlete’s participation in the program if deemed severe enough.

Consider Volunteering with SPWYF

If possible, find any kind of avenue to help SPWYF. It takes a lot of time, energy, money and people to run this program successfully. Get involved by becoming a board member, coach, team manager, scoreboard operator, on-field chains, concession stand helper, etc. Any and all help is appreciated and directly affects the success of the program which affects the experience for your student athletes. Interested in learning more? Reach out by emailing sunprairiewestyouthfootball@gmail.com.