HUDSON VALLEY ADMIRALS: About Us
The Hudson Valley Admirals are one of the local affiliates to United Youth Football and Cheer (UYFL). The Hudson Valley Admirals are a member of the Candlewood Valley League which has fourteen organizations and two divisions. The Admirals compete in the West Division against teams from Brewster, Carmel, Mahopac, E. Fishkill, Somers, Wappingers Falls and Yorktown. The Admirals rosters are open for youths from Arlington, Spackenkill, Pawling and Millbrook School Districts.
The Admirals home field is Red Wing Recreation Area in LaGrange; located on Route 82, just north of the intersection with Route 55. All practices and home games are held at this location.
The Hudson Valley Admirals teams and squads consist of children from 5 to 14 years of age playing football or cheer leading. Flag Football is for Kindergarteners, first and second graders, ages 5, 6 and 7; the 79ers (instructional tackle) are for second and third grades ages 7, 8 & 9. Then there are teams for every grade level, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. Cheerleading also is broken down by grade level.
The Admirals Coaching Staff is headed by John Biasotti, a current Poughkeepsie HS assistant coach and former Arlington HS head coach. John has worked closely with the present Arlington Coach, Dominick DeMatteo to develop a strong program by using the same formations, blocking schemes, play calling and skill development that Arlington High School teaches. John has implemented this program into the Admirals at all levels starting at the 79ers thru 8th grade teams.
What is the difference between the Hudson Valley Admirals and Pop Warner Football?
The biggest difference is the non weight restriction. The Admirals compete in the All-American Division of play which does not impose weight restrictions on players, all players play at their respective age/grade level. Pop Warner has weight limits on level of play. For example the Admirals have fourth graders that may have a wide range in weight, but all are on the fourth grade team. Pop Warner Jr. Pee Wee kids will have a maximum weight limit but 5th graders may play down if light enough and 3rd graders may have to play up if their weight is too heavy for the younger Mighty Mite level.
The Hudson Valley Admirals adopted this because over the years we found that many young children that were bigger were being penalized by their weight. Many children were either run into the ground during preseason to try and make weight for their respective level or forced to play up one or two levels and then get over matched physically and mentally by the older players. Historically, the Admirals found that these players ended up dropping out due to the bad experiences. Many dominate Pop Warner Teams are heavily rostered with older players playing down a level due to lighter weight. Also some teams seemed to struggle because they had younger heavier children playing up. The All American Division was created to eliminate these types of scenarios.
The Admirals season starts the first week of August and continues thru the end of November. Preseason practices are a mandatory 10 hours per week and regular season practices are limited to 6 hours per week. All teams play once a week either Saturdays or Sundays, approximately 4 home and 4 away games per team. Then playoffs or bowl games are played based on the regular season performance.
