Best Fall Sports Leagues For Kids In Minnesota
Help your kids learn vital life-long skills like teamwork, sportsmanship and cooperation. Opportunities abound with fall programs at your local high school, park and recreation center and other youth athletic associations. Take a look at these high-quality options for after-school sports leagues. See other options in the CBS article "Best Fall Sports Leagues for Kids in Minnesota," published August 2012.
(credit: Minnesota State High School League)
High School Sports
Minnesota State High School League
2100 Freeway Blvd.
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
(763) 560-2262
www.mshsl.org
Fall sports in high school include girls' volleyball, swimming and diving, boys' football and girls' and boys' cross country and soccer. The Minnesota State High School League establishes the leagues, rules and tournaments. The League has been promoting amateur sports since 1916. It expanded its scope by adding speech and debate in 1929, including music in 1965 and establishing Girls Athletics in 1969. Non-public schools were invited to participate in 1974.
Minnesota Youth Soccer Association
11577 Encore Circle
Minnetonka, MN 55343
(952) 933-2384
www.mnyouthsoccer.org
See the website for a team in your area. There are around 140 teams that comprise the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association. It assigns teams to six districts: East, North, Northwest, South, Southwest and West. Competitive teams in North Dakota and Wisconsin-based clubs may also participate in MYSA league play. In addition, MYSA hosts a fall season-ending state tournament for boys and girls in the U11, U12, U13 and U14 level of play on October 11 and 12, 2014 in Rochester, Minn.
(credit: AP)
Minneapolis Football
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
2117 W. River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55411
(612) 230-6400
www.minneapolisparks.org
Register your youth ages eight to 14 for football at participating Recreation Centers. Teams play seven regular season games and the 12U and 14U divisions play for championships at the end of the season. All leagues concentrate on teaching the fundamentals of football, setting personal goals and working toward team goals. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board strives to provide safe play for every participant in a football-educated and fun atmosphere.
Related: Top 7 Greatest Things About Playing Youth Soccer
St Paul Football
St Paul Parks & Recreation
Municipal Athletics
1500 Rice St.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55117
(651) 558-2255
www.stpaul.gov
Saint Paul kids can choose flag or tackle football sponsored by St. Paul Parks and Recreation throughout the fall season. Kids ages seven to 13 can sign up for flag football at various locations throughout Saint Paul. Kids aged eight to 15 can sign up for Capital City Youth Football tackle football at Saint Paul's recreation centers.
(credit: Jupiter Images)
Metro East Football
Metro East Youth Football League
(651) 342-7194
www.meyfl.org
The Metro East Youth Football League is a youth developmental football league in the Eastern suburban area of St. Paul, Minn. Associations participating in the MEYFL are Mahtomedi, North St. Paul, Upper East Side, Oakdale, Woodbury, East Ridge and Cottage Grove. The MEYFL Board Of Directors meets at DeMori's in Oakdale on the last Monday of the month at 8:30 to 10 p.m.
Southwest Metro Football
Southwest Metro Football League
(612) 770-5331
www.swmlfootball.com
Kids grades four through eight can play on traveling football teams in the southwest suburbs of the Twin Cities metro area. Cities of Chanhassen, Chaska, Eden Prairie, Edina, Prior Lake and Shakopee formed the Southwest Metro Football League with a uniformly accepted format. While each community maintains its own sports programs, players can graduate to this league of play in an environment established to expose them to all aspects of the game.
Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.
