Orange County Youth Football League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Orange County Youth Football League (O.C.Y.F.L.) is a non-profit organization located in Orange County, New York that allows youth age 6 through 14 to play competitive American football. It encompasses 15 towns with over 100 teams in Orange County and surrounding areas including Chester, Cornwall, Goshen, Highland Falls, Marlboro, Middletown, Minisink Valley, Monticello, Newburgh, New Windsor, Pine Bush, Valley Central, Wallkill, Warwick and Washingtonville^[1]. It is composed of 4 Divisions, divided by weight restrictions, and a "Mighty Mite" Flag Football division for 6 & 7 year olds. In each division, there is additionally a complete Cheerleading program for each team. There is a comprehensive annual schedule of play within each division for all teams, culminating in a divisional Championship game, often played in Michie Stadium or Shea Stadium at the historic United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

1 Mission
2 Origins
3 Current Leadership
4 External Links & Team Websites
5 References

[edit] Mission

The mission of the Orange County Youth Football League is to implant firmly in the youth of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, and a respect for authority, so that they may be well adjusted, stronger, and happier youth that may grow to be decent, healthy, and trustworthy citizens.

To achieve this objective, the League will provide a supervised program of competitive football games under the Rules and Regulations of the League. Directors, officers, and members shall bear in mind that stressing exceptional skills or winning games is secondary and that good sportsmanship and leadership extended to the youths is of primary importance.^[2]

[edit] Origins

Originally founded in the early 1980s by Wayne Hawkins, the Orange County Youth Football League had humble beginnings and was called simply "MMYFL", standing for Minisink, Middletown Youth Football League. At that time, the league was in its infancy and had only 4 teams; two from each town. The league continued to grow, eventually encompassing Goshen and Warwick within a few years and subsequently becoming known as "MMGWYFL." The league soonafter encountered expansive growth and was renamed the Orange County Youth Football League. To date, the league continues to grow and expand to encompass towns and areas even outside of Orange County, New York.