USA Football Selects Crawfordsville, Ind. Native for Youth Football Summit
USA Football recently selected Robert Nantais of Crawfordsville, Ind., to attend the 2011 NFL/USA Football Youth Football Summit from July 20-21 in Canton, Ohio. Nantais is a board member for the Southmont Youth Football League, comprised of approximately 250 youth football players and cheerleaders living in Crawfordsville, Ladoga, New Market, New Ross and Waveland.
Nantais and youth football leaders from throughout the region attended USA Football's Indiana State Leadership Forum at the Indianapolis Colts Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis on March 19.
Nantais was selected at the event to represent the area at the youth football summit in Canton. USA Football's Indiana State Forum is among dozens of meetings that the non-profit holds across the country to share best practices within the youth football community.
USA Football is the official youth football development partner of the Colts and the NFL.
USA Football's 2011 State Leadership Forum schedule will reach hundreds of youth football league commissioners nationwide to impact approximately 20,000 coaches and 500,000 players.
"I am most looking forward to meeting new people and being able to see the Hall of Fame," Nantais said. "I like to learn new things so I think this will be a great opportunity to learn as much as possible and get new ideas that might help our program grow and be even more successful then it is now."
"The dedicated volunteers who power youth football unite and share their knowledge and ideas at our state forums," USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck said. "We're pleased to have Robert contribute to this discussion on a national level at this summer's youth football summit in Canton, thanks to the support of the NFL and its players."
The NFL/USA Football Youth Summit, funded by the NFL and its players, assembles nearly 200 youth and high school football coaches from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., along with youth football league commissioners. Among the summit's participants are former NFL players who now coach high school football.
Among the topics to be discussed at the NFL/USA Football Youth Summit in Canton, Ohio:
• Inspiring youngsters to reach their potential as people and football players
• USA Football's CDC-approved concussion awareness and management information
• Role-playing demonstrations regarding coach-player-parent relationships.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have made a major commitment to invest in football's future with the establishment of the NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) and other programs.
Established in 1998 by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the NFL YFF seeks to use football as a catalyst to promote positive youth development, support youth and high school football needs nationwide and also ensure the health of grassroots football in future generations. Through the YFF's youth football initiatives and support programs, youngsters are provided with opportunities to learn the game of football, get physically fit and stay involved in productive after-school activities with adult mentors.
About USA FootballUSA Football, the sport's national governing body, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and provides more than $1 million annually in equipment grants and youth league volunteer background check subsidies. Endowed by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football (www.usafootball.com) is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
