The season is upon us...

The season is just a week or two away (depending on the local league)

Who are the favorites this year and who will suprise us?

It will be interesting to see what happens in Turlock and Los Banos this year since the amount of teams in each of those towns has doubled.

I agree the Turlock situation will be one to watch. There are plenty of kids in Turlcok for 4 teams but to do it all in one year may present problems, espicially for the new teams.

As far as Los Banos goes I have heard the new team may not play this year, not sure if that is true. Either way just a few years ago there were 4 teams there so with the new team it will still only be 3. Should be just fine.

The TVYFL has a added severa new teams (Turlock, Keyes, Los Banos) and Hilmar has returned from Cen-Cal. I think Hilmar was tired of getting beat down in the tougher league. Not sure some of those new teams can survive unless the TVYFL board props them up to get thru the season.

Cen Cal never replaced Hilmar and will roll with an odd number of teams

NYFL as always has added some supsect teams. The Central Valley Trojans (formerly Riveroak Redskins), a few new teams that I have never seen.

Not sure what is going on with the Delta League.

The MLYAC (foothills) is still small and seems to be heading down hill, seems they need to make changes or more teams will be leaving for valley leagues.

The new DYSA league (2nd year) has added some quality teams and looks to be on solid ground.

It seems that the TVYFL is doing what they can to expand. Now with three divisions. I'm not sure if that is a good thing. More teams means more kids get to play, but it also hurts the financial health of the teams and crowds the schedules of the available playing fields.

Turlock will be interesting. The existing teams (49ers and Vikings) have always been very competitive in a tough league (Cen-Cal), however some of the quality players and coaches have moved over to the new Titans in the TVYFL. The Titans will have two teams, however they are still seeking enough coaches for both teams.

What will be really interesting, however, is not the competitiveness of the four teams, but rather the scheduling of the only proper field in Turlock. The Vikings played at Delhi High School (a nice facility) through last year. However, it is my understanding that they will now play at the newly renovated Turlock High stadium. The 49ers have always played at Turlock High and the Titans have announced that their home games will be at Turlock High. That makes 22 teams (Turlock High 3 levels, Pitman High 3 levels, 49ers 4 levels, Vikings 4 levels, Titans Blue 4 levels, Titans Black 4 levels) using a single field. Scheduling is not a problem for the two high schools, but 4 youth teams vying for Saturday playing time might be tough. Especially given the fact that the Turlock school district has put restrictions on the renovated stadium that limits hours of use and amplified noise. I would not want to be the guy making that schedule. I'm sure it will all work out, but it might be a contentious process.

One thing that I can say about Turlock, though, is that it does a good job supporting it's youth activities (which is why it would have been better to build a second stadium rather than renovate the first one. but that's a whole different discussion). I have no doubt that all four of the youth football teams in Turlock will be well supported.

One stadium with 2 high schools and 4 youth teams. Someone should have talked to the folks in Modesto, sounds like Turlock is heading for the same mess that Modesto has with 2 fields 7 HS and countless youth teams.

Any body have any early scrimmages this year?

Yeah, the Turlock School District did not plan well when they built Pitman High. Or rather, they cowered to the NIMBYs in the neighborhood. There was a donor (Pepsi, I think) that was willing to donate the stadium, but people complained that there would be too much noise. So, the offer was refused. The REALLY sad thing is that no homes had yet been built adjacent to Pitman when the stadium would have gone in.


I think many school districts should take note of what Manteca has done. I haven't seen Lathrop yet, but Sierra and Weston Ranch both have adequate facilities.


I know Cen-Cal and TVYFL have official round robins, but I think that is the limit to their pre-season scrimmages.

There is an unofficial scrimmage this Saturday at Buhach Colony HS. Sounds like there may be some TVYFL teams facing off against CEn-Cel. Last year this was a well run scrimamge and both leagues had teams that could compete. Should be interesting with the TVYFL's new rules regarding unlimited weights. I think this may hurt their varsity squads.

Turlock 49ers or Turlock Vikings vs. Turlock Titans would be interesting to see.

I would be carefull hosting TVYFL teams if I were Buhach. TVYFL seems intent on world domination. I'm sure they'll start teams in Atwater and Merced soon.

If the TVYFL plans to dominate the world they are going to have to get Sharks with laser beams or just a better quality of football. I guess the questions that always comes up in reagards to the TVYFL is where does all of that money go? It is a good question that no one wants to answer.

I understood, it was a feable attempt at humor. The problem with the TVYFL running everything is not everyone wants a 10 play rule where you can only play offense or defesne in the same quarter. Others dont want their 9 yr old son to go against kids twice their size.

Delta & Cen-Cal continue to have the best competition and seem to be run the best leagues in the area. Im not sure how new teams keep popping up and the economy gets worse. Sometime soon more than a few teams are going to fold up and go away.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'm sure the gate fees help fund the programs, but with so many teams and a low number of players on each team, it also reduces the number of parents and friends that come to watch. Plus, there is a shortage of decent facilities to play at. It's great that more kids get to play, but the financials have to be tough.

Well today the Oakdale Stampede (Cen-Cal) will face the Ceres Cowboys (Delta) for some fun pad on pad play. I know our boys are excited to hit someone other than themselves and should be a good preseason look (though early and short) at some of our positives and negatives. Of course we also have the Round Robin this Saturday which will be mroe of the same.

Well the Cen-Cal Round Robin has come and went and what a great weekend of football. I must say I am thoroughly impressed all the way through the Oakdale Stampede levels. I am going to predict a good year for the boys in yellow and red.

I also saw great things from the hard hitting Ceres Seahawks out there. They will definately be a contender.

And as always from what I saw of film on Buhach Thunder they'll be in the hunt this year as well, and too hard to best for many teams.

I would never over look any opponent but here in Stampede land we like our Thunder and Viking match ups. I have to say I was a bit concerned by what I saw on the upper levels from the Turlock Vikings. I don't know if this is issues with fielding that many teams or the new team in town but I didn't see the normal pop and score from the teams of the past. I hope it was just Round Robin tempo and I hope they are up for the season.

OakdaleMustangs

The new TYVFL Turlock Titan team includes a former long time Viking coach that is very well thought of by many and they recruited heavily from the Vikings. I haven't seen any teams play yet, so I don't know what they effect is, but there are a few new teams in the area that could effect existing teams. There are also new TYVFL teams in Keyes and Los Banos. And I wouldn't be surprised to see some in Atwater and Merced next year.

The new Turlock Titan team did do some damage to the Vikings, that much was clear. I have heard that the Titans beloved coach (who by the way has been very successful) is already on thin ice with the TVYFL board. He is a bit loud and I dont think the TVYFL will tolerate him for long (so I have been told) If he goes they will have a hard time holding that team together. He is abrassive but he wins and a lot of people went there just to play for him.

As far as the Cen-Cal round robins I thought I saw a lot of teams who can compete. Hard to tell but it appears at JV it is anybody's to win but at Varsity all roads lead to Buhach. That team has lost only a few games over the past 5 or 6 years and they look better than ever. If someone beats them I will be surprised.

In the TVYFL the jury is out on the unlimited weight limits and the effects it will have on the league and player safety. It will be interesting to watch and hear parents and coaches reactions over the next few months.

The season starts for real on Saturday for both leagues...

Any one know where to go to get TVYFL scores or even standings? TVYFL website doesn't seem to have them. I can't even find them on individual team websites.

I couldnt tell you why but TVYFL scores are always hard to find. I saw that Big Valley swept Calvary. Beyond that nothing. Unless you know a coach I dont think they post them right away. Last year the league website was updated periodically with standing but rarely the scores. Delta is ahrd to find as well, mostly because the websites are out of date but they will run them in the Modesto Bee. Cen-Cal can be seen by logging onto their message board.

football nut wrote:

The new Turlock Titan team did do some damage to the Vikings, that much was clear. I have heard that the Titans beloved coach (who by the way has been very successful) is already on thin ice with the TVYFL board. He is a bit loud and I dont think the TVYFL will tolerate him for long (so I have been told) If he goes they will have a hard time holding that team together. He is abrassive but he wins and a lot of people went there just to play for him.......

Seems there may be something to this.

Any thoughts from any TVYFL people about the changes in weight restrictions this year after our first 5 games?

I haven't seen a big deal at the younger ages but at JV I've seen a few monsters.

Whats the tradeoff between reducing the likelihood of any injury to a big kid playing up versus the likelihood of a big kid injuring much smaller players?

I know some leagues restrict weights only for ball carriers. Is this a better solution?

TVYFL is postings standings ( no scores, just standings ) now that conference only play has begun.

I havent seen any TVYFL games this year but I have done some research. The only medical study I found was from the Mayo clinic and it baiscally said there was no significant risk of injury from the bigger kids playing in their age group. The study was a few years old but the data looked pretty solid.

From coaching I have seen some kids moved to Varsity at age 12 becasue of weight and some of those kids are monsters on Varstiy. I would think they would destoy the smaller kids on JV but maybe I'm wrong. That would be the exception and most of the bigger kids are over weight and are soft.

I guess it comes down to common sense. If a kid is big and able to compete at higher level I would argue he/she is better off for their development. Unforunetly a lot of coaches are looking at wins and losses rather than what is best for the kids.

I don't know the TVYFL rules, but if Freshman sport are gone from Modesto schools next year as most expect, the whole age/weight thing could take on a whole new dynamic.

Cant Freshman play JV at the high school? I do agree if all schools in our area drop freshman football but i wouldnt add a level to any league to take the pressure off of the Modesto City Schools and their inability to manage their budget.

Right now the DYFL and NYFL allow some freshmen but those are usually kids who are tiny or ineligiable at their high school.

They could play JV, but then your talking about less playtime and more chance for injurys .

The bottom line is the kids really need freshman football!

I have to say I've come around and like the unrestricted weight rule in the TVYFL. Attitude and personality of the players are far more likely to cause serious injury than weight. You'll get a monster here and there that can dominate the game but in the long run I think it's good for the kids to learn before high school football how to try to handle a bigger opponent.

football nut wrote:

I understood, it was a feable attempt at humor. The problem with the TVYFL running everything is not everyone wants a 10 play rule where you can only play offense or defesne in the same quarter. Others dont want their 9 yr old son to go against kids twice their size.

Delta & Cen-Cal continue to have the best competition and seem to be run the best leagues in the area. Im not sure how new teams keep popping up and the economy gets worse. Sometime soon more than a few teams are going to fold up and go away.

The thing about the 10 play rule is it requires coaches to coach EVERY player on their roster. If coaches try to hide players on the bench until the game is decided it will catch up with them eventually. If kids show up for practice and give full effort they deserve to play.

That being said there are teams who carry full rosters but on game day have 5-8 kids "inactive". One team in particular seems to be light on players when they play higher level opponents, telling kids they are not ready to play on certain weeks is a common practice. Not a very "angelic" tactic but one which is known to happen.

The unlimited weight issue was not really an issue. Sure, there were a handfull of big kids that stood out but for the most part the best coached teams remained the most successfull and no major injuries resulted from a weight/size factor.

football nut wrote:

The problem with the TVYFL running everything is not everyone wants a 10 play rule where you can only play offense or defesne in the same quarter. Others dont want their 9 yr old son to go against kids twice their size.

Delta & Cen-Cal continue to have the best competition and seem to be run the best leagues in the area.

The TVYFL does NOT require that a player only play offense or defense in a quarter. That rule only applies in the all star game.

There is no evidence that the cen-cal has better competition than the tvyfl.
This year Hilmar came back to the tvyfl and did no better than they did in the cen-cal.

The Titans joined the tvyfl full of cen-cal players and coaches and all but one jv squad struggled .

In 2009 tvyfl teams scrimmaged cen-cal teams and did very well.

In 2007 Central Saints beat the Modesto Broncos in post season play.

The tvyfl has had 3 former teams go on to play in cif state bowl games and 2 winners of that game. Cen-cal 0

I’m not saying anything negative about the cen-cal teams they are VERY good, just not sure why some assume that cen-cal teams are superior. The tvyfl has three divisions split up by most competitive to least competitive.Maybe some people judge the entire league based on the least competitve div.

Because of weight limit, age, and freshman rules, it's apples and oranges.

Age and freshman rules are the same. At the time weight limits were also the same.