New York Giants Official Website

USA Football and Giants unite local youth football leaders
By Nicole Lukosius

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FEBRUARY 26, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - It may be the off-season right now, but for 31 youth football administrators, America¡¯s favorite sport was the hot topic of conversation on Saturday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

USA Football, the sport¡¯s national governing body on youth and amateur levels, partnered with the New York Giants to hold the second-annual Tri-State Youth Football Leadership Forum. The attendees consisted of league presidents and board members and came from leagues large and small across the New York City area and Northern New Jersey.

¡°We have to be responsible parents at games ¡­ and at the same time make sure the kids are having a good time,¡± said New York City Pop Warner President Lloyd Rodriguez on why he participated in the state forum. ¡°We have kids from all walks of life who come together. If we can make sure that we do this right for them as adults, we can be sure that they intermingle and have a good time.¡±

This was the second state forum Rodriguez has attended at the Giants¡¯ facility, both of which were led by USA Football Northeast Regional Manager Ed Passino. A former player at SUNY Brockport, Passino gathered the youth football leaders to discuss the ins and outs of today¡¯s game at the grassroots level.

On hand to help deliver a presentation at the full-day meeting was Joe Vito, head football coach at Roosevelt High School on Long Island. The coaching veteran has spent 16 seasons at Roosevelt ¨C from 1992-1994 and 1996-present ¨C and was the coach for New York¡¯s high school-aged players in the New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic in the summer of 2008.

Vito spoke about how to create and develop meaningful, positive relationships with the local school district and high school coaching staff by sharing his own experiences and suggestions with the group. He is also recognized off the football field for his work throughout the community, which earned him a standing ovation from the forum¡¯s delegates.

¡°The president from South Jersey Pop Warner brought up that a lot of high school coaches tell the kids to forget what they learned in [youth football],¡± Rodriguez said. ¡°When he said that, I thought it was true because I get the same thing.

¡°Joe told us how he felt; he thought that wasn¡¯t true and that there were [youth football] coaches who knew their stuff ¡­ He was saying things I know I have to go through with younger kids. It¡¯s great to know that coaches like him are out there.¡±

Along with Vito¡¯s presentation on the symbiotic relationships between youth leagues and high school programs, items discussed at Saturday¡¯s forum included ways to increase league player registration; coaching and officiating education and training resources; a National Playing Standard and pre- and post-season events.

USA Football is also committed to assist leagues with idea sharing, a youth football-specific rulebook, fundraising guidance, equipment grants, financial assistance for league volunteer background checks and more.

These topics and others are central to USA Football¡¯s State Leadership Forums, and there are 38 scheduled to take place around the country in 2009. More than 800 youth football commissioners are personally invited to these events annually by USA Football regional managers, each of whom is experienced as a current or former coach, player or football administrator.