Youth Up and Adult Down
Why more Leagues are turning to youth, not adult

So you want to start a new flag football league?  What type of league should you run?  Should you offer contact or screen?  Should the style be 4-Man, 5-Man, 7-Man, 8-Man or 9-Man?  Contact or non-screen?  Should the league be for men, women or both?  To make your decision easier, consider the decisions being made by some of the long-time league owners and operators and national organizations; youth flag football is on the rise.  

Company’s such i9 Sports have turned their efforts completely to youth flag football and dropped their adult program all together.  And seemingly everyday, adult league owners/operators nationally choose to make the switch to youth. 

Take the USSSA who boasts the largest adult softball program in the US; it is now being out produced (profit wise) by their youth baseball program that was started just a few years ago.  And remember, their youth baseball program is not currently one of the top programs in the country.  I am not saying that youth flag football should be compared to youth baseball, however the comparison can be made with adult flag football as youth baseball is compared to adult softball.

In the past, offering adult flag leagues just made more sense due to the enormous popularity of Pop Warner/Little League football.  In all honesty, what kid, especially boys with competitive fathers would choose flag over football?  This would be more of a choice made by an over-protective mother looking to avoid injury.

How could you participate in the “my son did this” conversation on Monday mornings?  While others are “truth-stretching” about their sons’ dominating performance this past weekend in a tough, physical game of tackle football, you intervene with your post-weekend review of your kid the business in a flag football game against a team that had a girl or two on the roster.  It just doesn’t seem to fit the conversation.

(Pictures provided by the New Hampshire Youth Football League)

Conversely to day, more and more youth are playing flag football and more and more coaches are accepting the idea of playing flag football in the off season as a means to improve basic football techniques (if done properly).  Even Middle Schools and High Schools are now adopting or developing flag football programs for the football players and non-football players alike. 

But besides the obvious reasons as to why more league owners and organizations are going with youth over adult, the higher profit potential is definitely atop the list.  Add to this the fact that securing fields for youth flag football is much easier than trying to acquire fields for adult flag football, and you have two of the main reasons why so many are making the switch. 

As a youth league owner, in some cases you are practically given fields to use by the local youth football organization along with a pool of kids to begin with.  You’d be surprised at how many facilities would rather have an open date on the schedule generating no revenue, than to offer their fields to grown men playing flag.

Now regarding entry fee differences, Youth leagues often charge a per player fee ranging from $50 to $125 per kid (based on what is include) and with a 10 player roster, the team entry fee alone can easily double that of an adult team of 20 or more, not to mention the primary styles offered in youth (5v5 and 7v7) produce more teams because of roster size limitations. 

There are no cash prizes warranted, gaining outside support is easier and the overall experience is less stressful for the league directors and refs.  With youth you can also provide unique programs that offer the kids other football related products and/or services that you would have to twist an adults arm to participate in, which can easily increase your profit potential.

When dealing with youth leagues, parents expect more and are willing to pay more.  With adults, they expect more and want to pay less.  Now it is true that offering some adult styles such as 4-man and screen can be just as profitable as a youth league when compared in some areas, however pound for pound youth flag football today is proving to be the most rewarding style of flag for your time, energy and investment.