We would like to congratulate Coaches Justin Rohm, Casey Hill, and J.D. Sayre on moving up to coach at Grove City High School. Coach Sayre has accepted the wide receivers coaching position with the Varsity Greyhounds. In 2018 he led his team to the semi-finals of the Mini OCC Junior Division. Coach Rohm and Coach Hill have both accepted assistant coaching positions on the Freshman Greyhounds coaching staff, in addition Coach Rohm will retain his role as Assistant Commissioner on the GCKA Football Advisory Board. In 2018 Coach Rohm, assisted by Coach Hill, led his team to win their 2nd straight Mini OCC Senior Division Championship. We on the advisory board would like to thank all three coaches for their years of volunteering with GCKA and wish them continued success at the next level.
Once a Knight, always a Knight!

 

Congratulations to our 2019 Head Coaches:

	D1	D2 Black	D2 Blue	D2 Gold	D2 Red
Mini Division		IF REQUIRED		Justin Endicott	Steve Ryan
Junior Division		Harold Goings	TBD	TBD	Nathan Blizzard
Senior Division	Kevin Gallagher	Shawn Conner	James Binford

 

 

NOTE - Our goal is to have 18 players on the Mini's and no more than 25 on each Junior or Senior team - we will create additional teams as necessary.

ALL INTERESTED COACHES- CLICK ON THE KNIGHT'S LOGO BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE 2019 APPLICATION.

Please fill out the application completely and email to [email protected] Interviews for all coaches, new and returning will begin on February 9th, 2019. You will be contacted directly to schedule a time and date. Any questions - please email [email protected] All interested applicants must go through the interview process in order to be considered for a 2019 coaching position, head or assistant, regardless of previous coaching experience or location.

Information on some 2019 changes:

Football Rules and Guidelines

Team Size:

1. In 2016 our objective was to create as many teams as we could. Lesson learned, we had some teams that barely finished the season with enough players. In 2017, we balanced the teams and finished 46-24 overall.

 

• More is not always better – but we must balance team size with Coaches and playing time.
• The Advisory Board has agreed to target team sizes for 2019, and will attempt to adhere to that goal.
• In 2019 the MINI OCC will be adding a D1 and D2 Senior Division to the 5/6th grade levels. This division will help create parity and equal competition throughout the league.
• SIBLING RULE - In 2019, the Advisory Board has voted to omit the sibling rule from football for siblings outside of the division. Those siblings/step-siblings playing in the same division will be placed on the same team only. Siblings playing in different divisions will not be guaranteed the same "color" unless they are drafted that way.

 

Returning Senior Division Players:

2019 Senior 5/6th Division Draft Rules

 

All players must attend at least one night of players evaluation.

1. All Senior Division players will be redrafted in 2019.
2. There will be no Senior Division "returning" players in 2019.
3. Players selected for D1 will be offered by Wednesday, July 17th.
   1. Those players who "turn down" a D1 offer will be placed into a supplemental draft managed by the Football Advisory Board.
4. D2 players and those supplemental drafted players will be notified prior to Sunday July 21st of their team.
5. Players not attending will be placed into the “Supplemental Draft”

 

1. Supplemental Draft – The draft managed by the football advisory board that will place players to team to ensure parity and equal competition. Players placed in the Supplemental Draft will be those who:

                                                              i.      Do not attend player evaluations, and are not a “Protected Player

                                                             ii.      Those players who turn down D1, even if that player is a “Protected Player”.

For example: Player X’s father was designated to coach on the Sr. Black Knights. Player X was offered a D1 position and refused the opportunity. Player X will be placed into the Supplemental Draft, and his father will have the option to coach on the team Player X is selected to play on.

“Protected Players”

1. Senior Division Coaches may still designate players as “Protected"
   1. Limited to 2 Coaches children or near relative.
   2. A team may declare 1 non-coaches’ child as "Protected".
   3. If a "Protected " player is offered a D1 position, the expectation is that the player accepts that position. Any "protected player" that has not turned down a D1 offer must be declared to the advisory board by 11:00PM Wednesday July 17th.

                                                         i.      If the player turns the D1 offer down, that player will be placed into the supplemental draft regardless of their status – “Protected” or not.

                                                       ii.      The Advisory Board will place that player and Coach on a team to ensure parity and equality and avoid "team stacking".

 

1.       Team stacking is defined as coaches of teams who create an unfair competitive advantage by placing seasoned players onto a single team with the sole intent and purpose of creating an unfair advantage to win.

 

a.       Coaches should not tell players “Don’t come to evals and I’ll draft you”

b.       Coaches should not tell players “Don’t try your best at evals – so that we can draft you”

If GCKA Youth Football is deemed as stacking a D2 team, we will be removed from the Mini OCC.

Returning Mini and Junior Division Players ONLY:

IN DIVISION ONLY, a player can return to their previous team if they so choose to do so. If a player determines not to return to their team, they must select that on their application and will be placed in the draft, with NO guarantee that the player will not be drafted back to their old team.

A player that was a "Protected Player" in the previous season, and is staying within the division is now classified as a "Returning Player".

Players may return to the team they were on the previous year, as long as the following criteria is met:

1.  

   • The player is remaining in the same division.
2. • The player has registered prior to the first scheduled evaluation period, and draft.
   • The player has selected on their registration form that they wish to return to their previous team.

 

Any player not meeting the above criteria, who is not a “Protected Player” is not guaranteed to return to their team and could be placed into the draft, or any future supplemental or blind drafts for selection to a team

 

 

Scenario
Q.	My player was a Kindergartner or a 1st Grader last year and wish to return to his from last year in the Mini Division. Can he?
A.	Yes, your player may request to return to their previous Mini team as Second Grader.
Q.	My player was a 3rd Grader last year and wish to return to his from last year in the Junior Division. Can he?
A.	Yes, your player may request to return to their previous Junior team as a Fourth Grader.
Q.	My player was a 2nd Grader last year in the Mini Division, can he stay on the same team he was on, at the Junior Division?
A.	No, unless your player is drafted to that team, a previous year Mini player cannot request a Junior team. The only way is, if that player is "protected player" or drafted to that team.
Q.	My player was a 4th Grader last year in the Junior Division, can he stay on the same team he was on, at the Senior Division?
A.	No, unless your player is drafted to that team, a previous year Junior player cannot request a Senior team. The only way is, if that player is "protected player" or drafted to that team.

 

Everyone asks "what are our fees used?" - $110 of the $150 is just on facility cost, referee fees, and insurance.

Here is a breakdown of the cost for one football at a very high level:

2019 Player Cost Breakdown
New Item	Cost		Reconditioned Cost	Cost
Schutt A3+	$150.00		Helmet	$25.00
TPU Ear Pads	$10.00		Ear Pads	$10.00
Helmet Decal	$5.00		Helmet Decal	$5.00
Shoulder Pads	$60.00		Shoulder Pads
Chinstraps	$20.00		Chinstraps	$20.00
Mouthpiece	$10.00		Mouthpiece	$10.00
Game Jersey	$40.00		Game Jersey
Game Pants	$20.00		Game Pants
Practice Jersey	$10.00		Practice Jersey
Practice Pants	$20.00		Practice Pants
Belt	$1.50		Belt
Insurance per Player	$10.00		Insurance per Player	$10.00
Facility Cost per Player	$70.00		Facility Cost per Player	$70.00
Referee Cost per Player	$35.00		Referee Cost per Player	$35.00
Other Items	$15.00		Other Items	$15.00
Total Cost	$476.50		Total Cost	$200.00
Fee per Player	$150.00		Fee per Player	$150.00
Net	-$326.50		Net	-$50.00

 

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