USA Football Tabs Twin Cities-Area Youth Football Leader to Partake in National Forum

USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on youth and amateur levels, recently selected JIM HANSON of Blaine, Minn., to attend the 2010 NFL/USA Football Youth Football Summit in Canton, Ohio, this July. Hanson is the vice president of the Blaine Spring Lake Park Athletic Association. The football club is comprised of more than 800 youth players residing in Blaine and Spring Lake Park.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Hanson and youth football leaders from throughout the region attended USA Football’s Minnesota State Leadership Forum hosted by the University of Minnesota at the team’s football training facility on March 6. The Minnesota Vikings also contributed to the day as an event partner.

Hanson was selected at the state forum to represent Minnesota at the NFL/USA Football Youth Football Summit in Canton. USA Football’s Minnesota State Leadership Forum is one of dozens of meetings that the non-profit is holding across the country in 2010 to share best practices within the youth football community.

USA Football is the official youth football development partner of the Vikings as well as the NFL, its other 31 teams and the NFL Players Association.

USA Football’s 2010 State Leadership Forum schedule will reach hundreds of league commissioners nationwide to impact approximately 20,000 coaches and 500,000 youngsters.

"I’m looking forward to meeting with other state representatives and sharing and gathering information," said Hanson. "I’ll bring back information and ideas from other areas of the country that may help our area to expand."

"Since 2006, dedicated volunteers who power youth football leagues continue to enjoy sharing their knowledge and ideas at our state forums," USA Football Executive Director SCOTT HALLENBECK said. "We’re pleased to have Jim 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 the NFL Players Association."

The NFL/USA Football Youth Summit, funded by the NFL and NFL Players Association, assembles nearly 200 youth and high school coaches from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., along with grassroots football leaders, including former NFL players now coaching at the high school level.

Among the topics discussed at the NFL/USA Football Youth Summit in Canton, Ohio, this July:

Ø  Inspiring youngsters to reach their potential as people and athletes;

Ø  USA Football’s CDC-approved concussion awareness and management information;

Ø  The NFL’s ATLAS & ATHENA Anti-Steroid Education Program; and

Ø  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 Football

USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, 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.