Overview: The Naperville Saints are a not-for-profit youth football program for Naperville area kids ranging from 7-14.

Registration: 2023 season registration dates are as follows:

2/25-3/14: Returning Player Registration
3/15-4/30: Open Registration
5/1-5/15: Late Registration

More registration information including fees and credits can be found at https://www.napervillesaints.org/2023registration. We had 60% growth in 2022 and anticipate another year of strong demand, but we do not have unlimited spots for players. Our largest obstacles to taking more players and fielding more teams is having coaches - let us know if you want to coach your child's team!

Expectations: Players are expected to make all practices and games, and as such we do not recommend players participate in sports concurrently with football. Missing practices impairs player development, team success, reduced playing time and safety. There is a minimum game time requirement per player (league requirement) which is negated if a player misses practice that respective week.

Equipment: Players are responsible for their football equipment (helmet, shoulder pads, practice jersey, etc.). Visit our equipment page for more info: https://www.napervillesaints.org/equipment

Practices: The first week of practice will be held the first week of August (possibly last week of July), 4 per week. Once the school year starts there are three practices per week. Each practice is typically 90 minutes long. Practice schedules are decided by the coach but are typically on week nights in the early evening.

PLEASE NOTE: The first one to two weeks of practices will be used by the coaching staff to evaluate player placement and positions, and as a result attending the first practices is mandatory.

Games: Games start the weekend of August 26th and are held once per week on either Saturday or Sunday, we may have a Monday night game based on scheduling for certain age groups. It is a 9-week season. Super Bowl championships are held at Benedictine University the weekend of Nov. 10th for qualifying 9U-Varsity teams.

Naperville Saints home games are at Knoch Park and local high schools i.e. Naperville North High School and Naperville Central High School. Away games are local travel, see list of towns here.

Are there weight restrictions?

The Naperville Saints belong to the Bill George Youth Football League (BGYFL) who has implemented weight restrictions, by age. The weight restriction is a safety and even-competition measure. Those players above a certain weight in their age group are deemed "stripers" and are only allowed to play on the offensive and defensive line. The "striper" weights limits can be found on our website here. Once a player is listed as a striper with the league, they are a striper for the season.

Do we have to live in Naperville to play?

No, but please contact us if you live outside Naperville.

What is the age cutoff date?

Age cutoffs are governed by the Bill George Youth Football League. The birthday cutoff is August 1. If your player's birthday is before August 1st and they are considered "older" for their grade, they will need to play up to the next grade level. For example: If your 4th grader turns 10 before Aug 1st, you would have to play on the 5th grade team.

Note for 8th graders: The above age cutoff doesn't apply in the 8th grade as long as the player has not already turned 15. Our league states an August 1st date. Typically the only time that date is re-considered is for 8th graders as they want all 8th graders to be able to participate before moving on to high school.

Are there tryouts?

We want all kids to have the ability to play this great game, so we do not hold tryouts. We have kids of all skill levels and experience. We have an evaluation at the beginning of each season where kids are placed on teams with a similar skill set and play games against similar competition. There is an evaluation period where new and returning Saints players will be evaluated based on skill and ability for their respective age group, which will lead to assignment into like levels of competition.

Can my player play on the same team as his friends?

Players are assigned by head coaches to their respective team based on skill level and experience, not on preferences. Sometimes it works out where friends can join the same team, but it is not a criteria a coach will typically use to assign players to teams.

How are players assigned to teams?

Players are assigned by head coaches based on their age as of August 1st. Then, based on the initial player evaluation period, players are assigned to divisions within those age groups based on skill level and experience. Gold and Silver are the respective levels within each age group starting at 9U.