By Ed Muniz-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
Spring Football! In a state like Texas, of course you’ll see Spring Football!
The Texas Youth Football Association and its over 16,000 participants may just make it the largest youth football organization in the country, certainly in Texas.
Founded in 1995, TYFA has grown each year and now has chapters in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Rio Grand Valley, El Paso, Killeen, West Texas and several smaller towns and communities near the Cities mentioned previously.
Brian Morgan heads the TYFA. He and his volunteer staff give up their time while still maintaining their own professions. It is quite an undertaking.
Concluding their Spring Season, the TYFA doesn’t do playoffs but hosts a season-ending Championship tournament from Flag to 13-Under teams, which has also grown every year.
The City of McAllen host the “The Battle at the Border” with nine football fields at McAllen Sports Park available and ready.
“This year we have 81 games with 48 teams from San Antonio, the Rio Grand Valley and Austin competing,” said Morgan.
“There’s a lot of logistical work that goes into it. We work hand in hand with the city of McAllen, the Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Parks and Recs in order to put this event on.”
Now in its tenth year, attendance and participation have increased each year. In 2022, over 5000 paying customers attended to cheer on their teams and sons and daughters, this year they have eclipse that heading into day three of the event.
Spring football got started about 12-years ago and initially TYFA was not involved. Teams within their organization were competing in it but were not happy with how it was being run or the set-up by another football organization.
The requests for TYFA to start a “Spring Season” by coaches and parents began to be heard at TYFA board meetings.
“We decided to dip our toe in it and started with 12 teams in San Antonio and it exploded and ballooned into what you see now and growing. We started with two bowls. One in San Antonio we called “The Lone Star Bowl” for third and fourth place finishers and this one in the Valley, “The Boarder Bowl” for the first and second place teams but as it grew quickly, we decided to merge it all into one and accepted more teams and do it better, along with exposing more kids to the spring football environment.”
The City of McAllen loves what TYFA has brought to them. As a revenue generating, economic input, TYFA teams over the year have brought from a low of $1 million to as much as $4.4 million into the city.
“McAllen wants to draw people in and be a tourist city, this is one of the events they want to keep on their calendar every year.”
With success comes other challenges. TYFA has had a great relationship with McAllen. They’ve worked well together. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. TYFA have recently received enquiries from other cities wanting to host this event.
No event is perfect, but Brian Morgan and staff and the City of McAllen have done an outstanding job in limiting any issues, while working on solutions quickly. It’s evident in the many positive feedback heard from coaches and parents.
TYFA enforces strict rules for its players and coaches including a dress code. Teams can and have been removed for repeated infractions, that doesn’t happen often, but there are other teams ready to be part of TYFA and all it offers, however, that too is not a given as TYFA has a criterion that teams must meet.
“I think we can improve our marketing to draw in those folks that don’t have participating kids. Draw in the average football fans and see the future of football, so we can do a little bit more on that front.
The Texas Youth Football Association is doing it right. Look for many more successes and the type of Challenges you welcome to soon be faced by a High-Quality Youth Organization. Is it any wonder that TYFA is continuing to grow?
