Leadership and character first.

This is our feeder program for Hortonville High School. We will be running Hortonville High School schemes. 

There will be multiple, small team sizes to ensure quality playing time for all participants. 

The HFC and HASD code of conduct will apply.

January 1st at 12:00 AM every year!

Register early to ensure your preferred number is available. Be sure to register before mid-May to reserve your jersey personalization. 

Registration & Communication
Informal registration for selecting jersey numbers and setting the number of teams and league schedule at each level will begin January 1st each year at www.HortonvilleFootball.org through SportsEngine.

For 7th and 8th Grade, in late April or early May each year, HASD will require formal registration through the RSchool program so HASD can administer insurance, certifications, and health forms through HASD’s existing programs and procedures.

• Private school and homeschool players, within the district, are encouraged to participate and simply need to contact HASD to gain a login when it is time to complete the formal registration process through RSchool.
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• In-season team communication will utilize the HASD sponsored SportsYou application.

6th Grade

HASD does not offer school sponsored athletics at the 6th grade level. Tackle football will be organized by HFC and players and parents will continue to be responsible for registration ($175) fees, volunteer hours, and fundraising. 

7th & 8th Grade Football
HASD will sponsor all 7th and 8th grade football for players within the district. HFC and HASD will work collaboratively to conduct an exceptional football program for the district.

There will be no registration fee for 7th and 8th grade, though families will be asked to participate in fundraising and volunteer activities.

Families will be asked to participate in fundraising and volunteer activities.

Fundraising will consist of selling twelve (12) cards at $20 each through our partner BoosterShot.

More info on their programs are available here: https://goboostershot.com/ 

Volunteering will consist of a couple hours of volunteer service per participant.

While we believe volunteer participation and fundraising is important to culture building, we know for some families this creates hardship and we do not want anyone turned away. 

If there are hardships, please reach out and all reasonable accommodations will be made to ensure everyone has a successful season.

NO! We are a feeder program for high school dedicated to building a love of one another and football to ensure High School has as many participants as possible. 6th grade is developmental throughout GLIFC and our Board of Directors has mandated at least 25% playing time for all participants.

 We keep score and standings, but are focused on building better people first and foremost.

Winning  isn't one of our goals, it is a result of us accomplishing our goals.

Teams
Grades will be split into teams of approximately 30 or less players to ensure maximum participation. Teams will be split into as equal sizes as possible for number of players, weight of players, and skill level.

Teams will be composed of players from both Hortonville and Greenville to build comradery districtwide.

7th and 8th Grade teams will have a minimum of one trained and certified HASD paid head coach and three plus trained and certified assistant coaches.

All Coaches must have a passion for mentoring Hortonville youth!

A minimum of one trained and certified head coach and three plus trained and certified assistant coaches will be provided on each team.

Open paid positions (7th & 8th Grade) will be posted through the HASD employment website. Paid coaches are hired collaboratively between HASD and HFC staff. Volunteer coaches are recommended by HFC with final approval by HASD.

All 6th grade coaches must pass the HFC background check and agree to enforce and abide by the HFC code of conduct. All coaches must be USA Football, CPR, and First-Aid Certified.

All 7th and 8th grade coaches must pass the HASD background check and agree to enforce and abide by the HASD code of conduct. All coaches must be USA Football, CPR, and First-Aid Certified.

Coaches must attend Hortonville Football coaching clinics throughout the offseason.

We are committed to running the Hortonville High School system.

Our coaches attend monthly offseason coaching clinics with Varsity staff to go over our character first philosophy, playbooks, every day drills, practice plans, play calling training, and film watching techniques. 

Starting at 6th Grade, players will literally have access to and run some of the same drills and plays they see on Friday nights. 

Our rules dictate that everyone play at lease 25% of all 6th grade snaps. Some will play more, but 25% is the minimum.

6th grade has no league champions and no playoffs, just a game against a similarly situated opponent for the last game of the season. 

7th and 8th grade slowly transition to a little more competitive, but we are looking to develop players at all levels first and foremost. Wins are great, but not our focus. Everyone plays because players who play, RETURN!

Character, leadership, and sportsmanship must come first to build strong relationships. 

While we work to create an FVA middle school conference, we play in the Great Lakes Independent Football Conference (GLIFC) with many teams from Hortonville's Varsity Conference starting in 2024 (FVA)  such as Fond du Lac, Appleton North, Appleton East, Appleton West, Oshkosh West, and Oshkosh North.  More information about the GLIFC is available on their website www.GLIFC.com.

We follow USA Football guidelines for practice plans and coaching certification. We follow a graduated scale of rules so players progress from 6th to 8th grade safely and slowly while learning the rules and flow of a football game.

GLIFC rules generally follow WIAA at the 8th grade level and can be found on their website here: https://www.glifc.com/rules

Great question! 6th grade still uses TDJ. At 7th grade they will transition to TDY and in 8th grade offenses have the option to use either the TDY or the official size NFHS. 

If you are looking to purchase a ball for your 6th grade player to use at home and their hands are not overly small, we recommend the TDY to get 2-3 years out of the ball. If your player has small hands, build confidence with the TDJ size before upgrading to TDY. 

Teams
Grades will be split into teams of approximately 30 or less players to ensure maximum participation. Teams will be split into as equal sizes as possible for number of players, weight of players, and skill level.

Teams will be composed of players from both Hortonville and Greenville to build comradery districtwide.

7th and 8th Grade teams will have a minimum of one trained and certified HASD paid head coach and three plus trained and certified assistant coaches.

For the 6th grade level, Coaches need to conduct some skills assessment to make sure team skill and levels are as equal as possible. We will be conducting these skill assessments at our equipment sizing and optional player clinics each spring in April and May at the High School field.

Equipment sizing will be before of after a couple of the first clinics in April so that orders are placed in time for gear to be here by equipment handout August 1st.

After 6th grade we try and keeps teams together as much as possible for chemistry sake with a few moves as personalities or skill levels dictate.

In late May Coaches and the HFC executive team will oversee team creation and parents and players will receive a SportsEngine invite to their email. Once those invites are accepted, players and parents can view the roster on the SE App, or on our website.

Equipment handout coincides with the start of High School Football. This is usually right around August 1st. We plan to do equipment & fundraiser handout, team meetings, and team pictures on August 1 and follow the High School start dates. August 2 will generally be the first practice and consist of acclimation time until USA football and WIAA guidelines are met and the teams can begin contact days.

Schedules will not be released from the Conference until June. As soon as the GLIFC announces the schedule, it will be posted online and on the team SE App.

GLIFC games generally are held at the High School stadiums and start the third Saturday of August with a scrimmage on the second Saturday of August.

Games
Games will be played against FVA level feeder program opponents. We are attempting to schedule the majority of the games at Wolf River Community Bank Stadium. When traveling away, student athletes will be bussed. Travel Release forms will be available in advance of games and must be provided to coaches at least one day prior to games allowing transportation home from games when students are not able to travel home with their team.

Saturday morning (Home) games will be held for the 2024 season.
o 6th Grade @ 9:00 AM
o 7th Grade @ 10:30 PM
o 8th Grade @ 12:00 PM

Away games generally start 1.5 hours later. 

6th grade ends up with 8 games and ends the middle of October. Seven of those games are regularly scheduled and the last game is a game against a similar level opponent so everyone leaves the season with a quality game.

7th and 8th grade has the same 8 games, but also the opportunity to play in the League Championship if in the top 4 after week 7. 

The first several practices consist of acclimation time until USA football and WIAA guidelines are met and only then teams can begin "full" contact. All practices after that will limit full contact to <30 min per day and follow USA Football guidelines.

Most, if not all, skills are best taught through repetition on air and then bags, not being banged around at full speed. 

We will have a parents’ meeting to go over this info once teams are set in May and will have a more in-depth Club meeting August 1 to go over expectations, as well as Club and Conference details.

Please keep an eye on our website for everything Hortonville Football, www.HortonvilleFootball.org, and if you are on social media, we have HFC accounts for 6th -8th grade as well as HHS accounts for High School level teams.

Practices 2024 and beyond.... 

Practices may be at the Hortonville Campus or Lions Park for location change as needed.

Practices will be conducted Monday through Thursdays. More information about practice times will be available prior to the start of the season.

In years past, coaches have set the schedule, but parent feedback regarding carpooling lead us to a program wide standard to make transportation easier.

To start, practices will be M-TH 5:30-7:30 PM. As the season progresses, adjustments may be made to accommodate schoolwork, darkness, and other scheduled.  

Practices will follow the High School playbook and practice plan, include team warm up, stretching, every day skill building drills, and then team will likely break off for grade level work.

Each practice will end with a quick discussion on character, leadership, and sportsmanship training.

Top of the line equipment will be provided, managed, and maintained through current HFC protocols and procedures.

Helmets will be professionally reconditioned as required by the helmet manufacturer. Helmets will be removed from service after 10 years.

Shoulder pads will be repaired annually as damaged and replaced, at a minimum, every 10 years.

Pants with integrated pads will be provided.

Player’s will need only provide socks and cleats of their choosing, and a WIAA approved mouthguard.

There are several programs we can utilize to help gain players cleats who may not be able to secure their own. Please reach out if this option might help you or your family.

Players will fundraise for personalized jerseys which they can keep at the completion of the season.

-Sell at least twelve (12) cards at $20 each.

Numbers are first come first served based on informal registration at www.HortonvilleFootball.org starting January 1st each year.

Those who register after June 1st will not be turned away, but may only receive an un-personalized jersey as orders for jerseys are due by June 1st.

As Quoted on November 25, 2001 by Jim Mora

There are playoff opportunities for the top 4 teams in 7th and 8th grade GLIFC. The semi-final round is played the same Saturday as the other similarly situated team games in mid-October with the final two teams in each grade facing off the following Saturday.

Should we be offered a spot, teams do compete in the playoffs and have won, but like stated earlier and often, we do not play football with an intense focus to win. We play with an intense focus to build higher quality young people and relationships.