Oconee Parks and Recreation Forms Select Football League

The Oconee County Parks and Recreation Department is announcing* an exciting new element to the youth football program. After several years of parent and coach input, pilot programs and direct coordination with the middle and high school football coaches at Oconee and North Oconee, OCPRD is announcing the formation of a more competitive Select Football League. The OCPRD Select Football League is designed to be a select school-based feeder league to the middle and high school programs.

Try outs for the select 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 age groups will be conducted May 21 and 22.  More information about registration, equipment issue and tryout locations listed in the OCPRD Summer Brochure that will be published April 9th and will be available for viewing on the OCPRD website linked through www.oconeecounty.com. OCHS/OCMS and NOHS/MBMS coaches along with the team coaches will select the teams based on skill levels that try out. (Note: the age control date for both Select and Recreation teams will now be May 31) Teams will begin practice July 16th and will play typical high school rules with only a few local rules applied for younger age groups. Unlike the recreational league, there will not be any minimum playing requirements and an additional uniform fee will apply. A limited number of scholarships will be available. Teams will play area county teams on Tuesday night and some Saturdays that UGA is not playing at home.

One of the great benefits to parents of the 11-12 Select teams is that these age groups will practice immediately after school. 7-8 and 9-10 Select teams will continue practicing in the evenings during the week. All practices and hosted games will be at school facilities, utilizing the Joint Use Agreement with Oconee County Schools for use of athletic facilities. Select teams will take on the Warrior and Titan names; replicating school colors in their uniforms and supporting the Warrior and Titan clubs through parent purchases of readily available spirit wear.

Select team play is not a prerequisite to playing at the middle or high school level and any participant not selected for select teams will still have the option to participate in OCPRD recreation leagues. Many past participants of the OCPRD recreation league are former or current collegiate players and include: Tony Taylor (UGA), (LSU), Blake Sailors (UGA) and the class of 2012 to include Logan Reach (Lenoir -Rhyne), Ugonna Akoh (Presbyterian) and many others. OCPRD traditional recreation age appropriate teams will be developed from all registered Oconee County recreation players and is not school specific. In addition, some recreation teams will play other surrounding area recreation programs to round out their schedules.

All OCPRD youth football programs are administered by former college football players and high school coaches that are also Certified Youth Sport Administrators.    OCPRD is excited about this new opportunity for youth football in Oconee County and looks forward to seeing you on the gridiron!
For additional information on Oconee County Parks and Recreation Department programs and activities follow the links from www.oconeecounty.com. Contact Trevor Ross at tross@oconee.ga.us or by phone at 706-769-3965 for additional details on the Oconee Select Football league.

* A news release from the OCPRD.