i9 Sports

We have had amazing coaches in the past until this season that we refused to complete. We attended (the first) practice we were never told was optional and made the mistake of forgetting a mouth guard and pockets in our 6 year olds shorts. I immediately left (did not have my son practice) and returned within 10 minutes with a mouth guard — the coach had tape that he gave me to cover his pockets ONLY AFTER he pulled me aside, yelled at me because he sent an email detailing the rules. I have no problem with the rules, I made a mistake and fixed them right away. We forget that this is a recreational league teaching 1^st and 2^nd graders how to play on a team and have fun. I was the only parent pulled aside and yelled at although two others made mistakes. I will keep my comments to myself as to why I believe that happened to me and not the other two parents — we contacted the Director and told them we did not want to be on this coach’s team. Unfortunately they could not move 4 children to another team, so we had to not play at all — all over a coach who cannot communicate appropriately in person and speak like an adult. I should not be reprimanded because I made a mistake at a practice that by this leagues rules is optional (coach never advised this). This league lost 4 children who will never play for them again and gets to keep the coach that made it happen. It is hit or miss with this league — in the past I would always recommend them, now, I would stay far away.

Well organized flag football league. They have a decent website showing the schedule and stats. The biggest downside is that they have one or two teams stacked with the best players, which takes the fun out of things a little for the rest of the teams. But it’s kind of sad at the end of the games when the coach has to explain to the kids the reason they lost by so many points. I had my boy on a team in which all his teammates were first and 2^nd year players, and the first game they played lost 52 – 7. We were told by the coach that the other team has been together for a few years. Teams for Flag football played by 8 year olds should be more randomly selected, not load a couple teams with the best, only to discourage everyone else from wanting to come back the next season.

Our experience with i9 has been fantastic. This is the first league that my 7 year old son has been in, and he has had a great time. It’s also the first time that I have been a coach, and the support that I have received from the league has been outstanding. I like how we celebrate everything that the kids do. Winning is not the priority, but teaching the kids and helping them have fun is most important. Not many leagues operate this way, and I feel like this is a refreshing change, especially for younger kids. I am looking forward to participating in many more leagues to come!

well organized, focus is more on having fun and teaching kids the values of sportsmanship