One such league is the Lower Loudoun Boys Football League in Northern Virginia. The 18-team independent league is run entirely by volunteers. Many residents who played football or cheered on a cheerleading squad in this league have grown up and come back to coach and volunteer their time. League president Gary Kidwell has been involved in the league since his kids played in it 22 years ago. Now he runs the league.
Lower Loudoun has seen some success in terms of players moving on to high levels of football, as well. The youth league's most successful product was running back Allen Pinkett, who played for Notre Dame (after turning down an offer from Penn State), and then was drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1986. Pinkett spent seven years in the NFL before a knee injury forced retirement. He is now a radio color analyst for Notre Dame football, where he earned a degree in business.
More recently, Jared Develli moved from the Loudoun youth program to Park View High School and is now in his freshman year as a kicker for Virginia Tech.
But this league isn't necessarily about producing stars. The stated goal is to "establish and maintain the environment necessary to perpetuate the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, reverence, self discipline, and the respect for others in the youth of the local communities through the sport of football."
This league is committed to excellence. Kidwell is particularly proud of the Bermuda grass the league put down on the game field. The $36,000 cost was brought in completely through fundraisers.
Fundraising for Lower Loudoun comes from two main sources. First, the concession stand makes around $30,000 each year at the 2,700-seat stadium it owns. The league used to rent time at the stadium but was able to put a bid out to buy the property several years back. After making a lot of improvements to the snack bar area, the league is now able to bring in a decent profit from concession sales, without having to pay a rental fee.
The other big fundraiser is a hoagie sandwich sale halfway through the season. Each team is required to bring in a certain number of sandwich orders. Each player needs to sell about 15 sandwiches (at a cost of $2.50 each) to meet team goals. After all orders are placed, the sandwiches are made and distributed by parents on a Saturday. The fundraiser brings in thousands of dollars each year.
Kidwell points out that all the money raised goes directly towards operating costs. "We put everything back into our kids," Kidwell said. "A non-profit program is not supposed to have money sitting in a bank."
The fundraisers' main function is to keep the registration costs down. Registration for the league is currently $75 per player with a $100 early registration charge for two or more kids. In return, players receive all of their equipment, insurance, and game jerseys.
Equipment costs run the league $3,800 to $4,400, depending on how much equipment is purchased new in a given year. Insurance runs $20-50 per player. And the game jerseys are $25 each.
"We provide everything for our kids but practice jerseys and shoes. What we give them costs more than what they pay to play," Kidwell says. "We don't turn kids away. We have a scholarship fund."
Kidwell stresses the key to success is the work of volunteers who coach the teams, run fundraisers, work the concession stand, maintain the field, and manage the league.
"If we don't raise money, the league will suffer. It takes a long time to make money for these three months of fun," Kidwell says. "That's why the team parents are so important. A lot of people have been in this league more than twenty years. Coaches stay even when the kids move on. What makes this league is the community. It's all the parents who have been involved."