In a time when tackle football has seen participation numbers decline, there are programs that are going strong and even growing.

And I’m not talking about just in Texas, where football seems to be woven tightly into the culture.

Even in my little neck of the Western Maryland suburban woods, where we compete against healthy soccer programs and lacrosse clubs with family legacies for youth athletes, we are still able to pull a large and steadily growing number of youngsters who want to hit the gridiron with a bear on their backs each year.

Here’s why: We do good football.

5 secrets of healthy, growing football programs

1. Solid coaching. Giving your coaches necessary training and support helps them make good, developmentally appropriate choices for their players. It’s important to remember that volunteer coaches may not be football specialists, and keeping them informed, educated and full of resources ensures that they and their players have positive experiences on the field. Coaches who receive proper training and continuing education are more likely to come back in future years to help your program create a legacy of good football. 
2. Dedicated parents. Parents who are willing to volunteer, who donate time, money and items, and who spend their time sitting on the sidelines showing their support are integral to a thriving football program. If you create a welcoming environment for your parents, where their feedback is encouraged and appreciated, you’ve done half of the work. There will always be challenges to getting parents involved (work commitments, financial difficulties, other children, etc.), but by setting the expectation that the entire family is a part of the football program and providing opportunities for them to get involved, you will open the door to parents who may have been hesitant to participate previously. Make them feel like they are a part of your football community, and they won’t be so quick to leave.
3. Plenty of play time. With some leagues keeping 30 to 40 players per team, it sometimes means that half of those little bodies spend most of their time warming the bench. Children who sit the bench week after week are learning little and probably having even less fun. And when they aren’t having fun, mom and dad aren’t happy. And when mom and dad – especially mom! – aren’t happy, they don’t want to pay, so they go play soccer or fall baseball instead. I love that our football program has both a highly competitive division and a second, instructional division that fosters true learning. We have a minimum play rule for our program all the way through the varsity level to ensure that our players are able to get game time, because when we say we want our boys to love playing football, we mean it.
4. Commitment to safety. Everyone has heard about the safety concerns in football. Not enough people have heard what’s being done to address those issues and create a better, safer game for our boys. If you’re on this site, I’m pretty sure you know what I’m talking about, but the same can’t be said for parents, coaches and players in every youth football program. Those who are making the commitment to safer tackling techniques are probably the ones seeing more players sticking around.
5. Clear eyes, full hearts. Making it your program’s mission to ensure that each day, every one of your youth players is learning, growing and developing a deeper love of the game in a safe environment means you can’t lose. And no one likes losing, right?

Amanda Rodriguez is a humor and lifestyle blogger at DudeMom.com. In her free time, she enjoys losing weight easily, looking like a soap star the moment she rolls out of bed and riding around town on her unicorn. In addition to having a loose grip on reality, Amanda enjoys traveling to far off lands (or, not so far off lands) with her family and cheering herself hoarse on the sidelines of her sons’ games. The mom behind the blog is a former Teach for Americamiddle school language arts and social studies teacher turned stay-at-home-mom turned graduate student turned professional photographer, freelance writer, pro blogger, Zumba Fitness enthusiast and general director of awesomeness.