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Only 43 days remain until opening day for the Crossroads Youth Football League with player evaluations being held on Saturday and next Saturday to determine teams.

Late registration for Victoria players will be held on both days from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Premier Fitness.

Player evaluation is from 8:30-10 a.m. at the Memorial practice fields.

“All the kids make the team so it’s to try and spread the talent out amongst the teams,” said CYFL president David Hartman of why the league conducts evaluations. “You don’t want situations were teams are loaded against everyone. We have a situation where everyone is in the same pool and not in zones like in Little League.

“Kids can grow up on different sides of town, but they can be on the same team. I like the fact that they can get to know a lot of different people and become teammates. We want everything to be competitive and fair.”

The kickoff to the season is on Aug. 30 with three teams looking to defend their championships. Last season the Yoakum Dawgs White won the Pee-Wee division with a record of 9-2, while Cuero Gobblers White won the Junior division with the same record. Gonzales Apaches Black took the Senior division title by going 10-1.

Dates of interest are Aug. 10 for equipment pickup at the community center and Aug. 11 for the first day of practice.

“I’m very excited to see opening day,” Hartman said. “The fun begins when they start playing. A lot of work goes in to getting started. Once we get started we can all enjoy ourselves and have a good time.”

Hartman said he expects over 400 players from Victoria to play this season, and a total of over 1,100 will suit up with all the affiliates in the CYFL.

This season the CYFL is turning to U.S.A. football which is run by the National Football League for assistance in training its coaches. CYFL is making it mandatory for all head coaches and assistant coaches to be trained by the program to help get them ready to coach the kids.

“We’re really emphasizing all of our coaches to stress fundamentals,” Hartman said. “I think we’ve lacked that in the past some, but now we really want to focus on it.

“We want all of our coaches to complete the course to get more knowledge of the game. It’s important to teach the kids the right way. It’s also a safety issue and it can help to start them early.”

Wes Bloomquist is a sports writer at the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6509 or wbloomquist@vicad.com.