USA Football Junior National Team Roster Announced
April 20, 2009By Steve Alic, USA Football
With less than 75 days remaining until the start of the inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship, Team USA is now starting to take shape one player at a time.
USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on youth and amateur levels, announced its 2009 Junior National Team, which will compete in the sport’s first junior world championship this summer. Thus far, 36 graduating high school seniors soon to enter one of 27 college football programs have been selected to play on America’s first national team in the sport comprised of players aged 19 and under. USA Football’s Junior National Team roster will ultimately consist of 45 student-athletes.
USA Football has built America’s first Junior National Team in the sport to compete in the eight-nation, four-continent international competition in Canton, Ohio, from June 27 to July 5. National football teams from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden have qualified to join the United States to pursue the sport’s first world championship on the international junior level.
Team USA is led by Chuck Kyle, head coach of Cleveland St. Ignatius High School, who has led his Wildcats to 10 of Ohio’s past 21 large-school state titles, including two USA TODAY “national championships.”
“This is a football team built firmly on talent and character,” said Kyle, whose team is assembled from players entering one of nine college conferences thus far, with the Big 10 having the most players on the squad with seven. “These young men have already earned their college scholarships – this team isn’t about individual honors or player rankings, it’s about winning a world championship and representing the United States with integrity. You can’t assign jersey numbers to ‘patriotism’ or ‘pride,’ but they’re part of our roster.”
Players selected for USA Football’s Junior National Team were nominated by high school and college coaches from around the country. Roster selections are ultimately determined by USA Football’s coaching staff, which collectively possesses 33 state titles and 155 high school head coaching seasons of experience.
With national football federations in existence worldwide for decades, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through global cooperation and competition. All IFAF Junior World Championship games will be played in Canton’s historic Fawcett Stadium, home of the NFL’s annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Action kicks off on Saturday, June 27 and continues on Wednesday, July 1 and Saturday, July 4, before the Championship Game on Sunday, July 5.
“Life is about challenges and we – as a team – have a great challenge ahead of us in Canton,” Kyle added. “I look forward to our first practice together on June 14 and preparing for our first game against France on June 27.”
All-day general admission IFAF Junior World Championship tickets are $10; reserved tickets to all 12 tournament games are $50 and are available online and via phone at 1-800-574-5874.
All-inclusive travel packages to Canton with tournament game tickets are available online or by calling 1-888-310-4255 (Continental U.S. and Canada).
