Lake Zurich Flames Youth Football Season Heats Up

For most children and parents, the first sign of autumn is the beginning of the school year, but for those involved in Lake Zurich's Flames Youth Football program, it comes much earlier; equipment handout is mid-July and the first practices are held in early August, which helps make the dog days of summer go by a little more quickly.

Practices are held Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. for almost the entire month of August, in theory late enough in the day to avoid some of the  afternoon heat. However, this year, with one of the hottest summers on record, temperatures consistently hovered in the mid to upper 80s.

"I have to say that none of the kids complained about the weather," said Tyler Malewicki, assistant coach of one of the Featherweight teams, "they just came out here and did what they were supposed to do."

Lake Zurich is well-known as a sports-centric community, and its youth and high school programs are among the best-run in the state. The Chicagoland Youth Football League (TCYFL) ranked the Flames the number one program in the area in 2009.

While there will always be a debate as to whether baseball or football is more popular in Lake Zurich, both sports have their ardent boosters, many of whom cross over to the gridiron once the baseball season has concluded.

To check out a mob scene in action, go to the equipment handout at the fire station on old Rand Road in mid-July when all of the boys are fitted for their equipment and uniforms.

There are five different weight categories for Flames football: Bantam, Featherweight, Middleweight, Lightweight and Heavyweight. For each weight category there are three different conferences: Pac 10, Mac 10 and Big 10. Additionally, the various teams within each conference are assigned a color (blue, orange red or white). If this seems confusing, the bottom line is that there are a total of twenty-one teams spanning the five different weight categories. There is also the Sparks flag football program for six and seven-year-olds. So, on any given Saturday, there's a whole bunch of teams that are scheduled to play. If a team is playing at home, the games are either at Knox Park or Lake Zurich High School. If they're playing an away game, they can travel as far as Woodstock, or be as close by as Barrington.

"There's a lot of teams to keep track of, but it all works out," said Chris Dyer, vice president of the Flames board,  and former league representative of the Flames to the  TCYFL.

There also is a Flames cheerleading program starting in the first grade and continuing through middle school, with each squad determined by the age and the grade of the child. A four month, non-tryout program from August through November, practices are held two to three times a week, depending on the size of the squad. The squads perform at home games at Knox Park only.

On the Flames website (www.lzflames.org), the program is referred to not as a sport, but as a way of life. The program strives to "instill the life lessons that the game of football uniquely provides. These lessons include respect, sportsmanship, dedication, discipline and teamsmanship." Considering that the program got the nod from the CYFL last year as having the Chicagoland's best program, it's apparent that they're doing a good job.