Parents and Friends of Cedar Park Youth Football and Cheer,
My name is Brian Rucker, I am the newly elected President of the Board of Directors for
Cedar Park Youth Football Association (CPYFA). The New Year is upon us and
another successful year of CPYFA is in the books. As we turn the page on 2019, I’d like
to reflect briefly on the year that was and share with you some exciting changes that are
in store for our wonderful organization in 2020.
The Fall 2019 season was yet another success season in our organization’s history.
This year we celebrated 8 championship teams across our cheer and football
programs.
In Cheer, all four of our CPYFA competition cheer squads including, Tiny Spirit 6U, Mighty Spirit 8U Small Level 2, Mighty Spirit 8U Large and Mighty Spirit 12U, took home first place honors at the Central Texas AYF Cheer Competition held at Vista
Ridge High School in October. Both our 8U Large and 12U squads then advanced to the
Central Texas Regional Cheer Competition in Taylor Texas, where as before, both
teams took home first place honors! Needless to say, we are immensely proud of all of
our cheerleaders as well as the parents, coaches and dedicated board members who
make our cheer program the standard of Central Texas. I would be remiss if I didn’t
extend congratulations and thanks to our Cheer Director Lindsey Moon for her
leadership and tireless efforts throughout 2019.
In Football, CPYFA continued its legacy of excellence, boasting four championship
teams. Our 5th Grade Tackle team capped a perfect season with a dominating 32-6 win
over Pflugerville Academy to win the Central Texas Championship. Not to be outdone, our 4th Grade Tackle team finished their season with a win over South Austin to earn their own Central Texas Championship. Following a hard-fought season our 6th Grade Tackle team closed their regular season with a victory, securing yet another winning season for CPYFA Football. Special thanks to the players, coaches and parents of our CPYFA Tackle program. Many thanks and congratulations to our Tackle Football Director Mike Whittington for his leadership and many years of service to CPYFA.
Fall 2019 was a banner season for CPYFA Flag football. In total, 30 kids played flag football for CPYFA’s two 6U and one 8U team. Thanks in no small part to the patience and dedication of our coaches, our flag teams brought home a Championship in the 6U division and runner up in both the 6U and 8U division. We look forward to watching and celebrating with our youngest Timberwolves as they continue to develop and grow in our Football program. Special thanks to our Flag Football Director Curtis Jerrells for his dedicated leadership throughout the 2019 season.
The fall 2019 season marked an exciting new chapter for CPYFA with the introduction of
Flex Football as a new program offering. 43 young athletes and their families joined
CPYFA for our inaugural season forming two teams in the 3rd /4th grade division and a
third team in our 5th /6th grade division. Competing against teams from Westlake, Lake
Travis, South Austin and Smithson Valley, CPYFA’s newest teams continued the legacy
of excellence bringing home a championship in the 3rd /4th grade division behind a perfect 9-0 season. Many thanks to the parents and coaches for their patience and support as we worked through the growing pains of a new program.
On the heels of our first successful Flex season, I am excited to announce that CPYFA
will offer Flex football as a spring and fall program beginning with the Spring 2020
season. The expansion of our football offering into the spring offers CPYFA athletes and
coaches a chance to focus on football fundamentals and game speed reps within the
Cedar Park system. The decision to offer Flex as a spring sport comes with the
understanding that while many of our fall football athletes move on to baseball, soccer
and other sports in the spring, many others who wish to continue playing football are
faced with the decision to move to conventional 5 on 5 flag or a 7 on 7 flag/tackle hybrid.
I believe that the fast-paced 9 on 9 game format of Flex and smaller team size (15-player roster) will allow our young athletes at every position to continue to develop their
skills – especially their hands and footwork – with the same high-quality coaching and
focus on safety that parents and players have come to expect from CPYFA and our
Central Texas AYF opponents. If your child will be playing football in the Spring I ask
and encourage you to stay with CPYFA and give Flex Football a chance.
Registration for Spring 2020 Flex football is now open! Learn more about Flex at
cpyfa.com/flex-football and register today!
As a closing thought on the season, I think it is important to recognize the tremendous
effort that went into making 2019 a success on the field and behind the scenes. As an
organization CPYFA rose to new heights under the leadership of our outgoing President
Bryan Bealieu and his outgoing executive team, Sarah Nemec (Vice President), Chris
Cheatham (Secretary) and Nina Mortensen (Treasurer). This group led by example,
donating hundreds – if not thousands – of hours collectively to the betterment of CPYFA
administratively and operationally. Many players and families will never know how
closely connected these four volunteers were to every tackle, every touchdown, every
cartwheel and every smile this season. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the parents,
players, cheerleaders and coaches of CPYFA, I want to extend a heartfelt Thank You to
Bryan, Sarah, Chris and Nina for their years of dedication.
Onward to 2020!