About US
Thank you for your interest in the American
Competitive Youth Football League, better known as the ACYFL.
The ACYFL was founded in 1999 with a charter to
reinvent the way youth football is ran. The ACYFL began with a mere 6 teams in
Mesa, AZ in 1999. Since that first year, the ACYFL has grown to well over 100
teams across Arizona (primarily in the Phoenix Metropolitan area) and beginning
in 2010, will have over 40 teams across Colorado (primarily in the Denver
Metropolitan area). The ACYFL has participants from 1st grade through 8th
grade and cheerleaders ranging from Kindergarten through 8th
grade.
The ACYFL is a non profit youth football league
with some very clear advantages over other leagues across the state and the
country. We are a non profit 501(c)(3) public foundation and are here to
provide the best experience we can in the field of youth football. We are all
volunteers, just like you and are always looking for additional people to get
involved and help us build out the best football program in the nation.
The ACYFL operates our non profit organization
as a company. We are made up of a leadership team that has experience in
starting, running and growing a business and this is a business and must be
treated like one. Our single umbrella system assures that each and every one of
our 100 plus teams across the state of Arizona and 40 plus teams across Colorado
receives the exact same decisions and attention. Our Motto, “no favors to
any one, is a favor to every one.”
Not only does the single umbrella system
remove the politics from youth sports
it also allows us the opportunity to create and extend partnerships with the
great companies and programs in our communities. The ACYFL maintains a great
relationship with the NFL, The Arizona Cardinals and USA Football. Our program
is a nationally recognized leader in our field and our Executive President,
Kevin Bushnell, sits on the
Advisory Board and
Ask the Experts Panels
for USA Football, the NFL's youth football arm and national governing body of
youth football in America.
The ACYFL has done extensive studies and has
proven that our grade based system
is the best system in youth football today.
Children should play with kids of like physical and mental maturity not with
children of like size. When your child goes to the play ground at school, your
child plays with kids his/her own age and maturity level not kids his/her own
size. Injuries do happen in youth football but the number and severity of
injuries in the ACYFL has dramatically decreased since implementing our grade
based system in 2006.
The ACYFL has no boundaries. Kids from anywhere
can play on any team. Although the majority of a teams players will come from
the area near its practice fields, the
teams are not hindered by unnecessary boundary
rules that exist in most other
youth football leagues. This allows our teams to accommodate kids from all over
and not restrict their ability to attract players from other areas. This also
removes yet another layer of the unnecessary political landscape that exists in
other youth football leagues today.
The ACYFL goes after and maintains relationships
with area high schools to ensure our kids have some of the best fields for both
practice and games. We work directly with the referees, not referee
associations. The referees in the ACYFL are often the same referees you
will see working the local high school games on Friday nights.
Becoming an Org Leader in
the ACYFL is not an easy process. We look for only the best community
leaders and football activists to become a leader in the ACYFL. Are you
that leader? If so, the ACYFL is the right place for you, your teams and your
players! Come see the difference you can make in the ACYFL!