What football equipment does the organization provide?
The “HAMPTON TORNADOS” provides game jersey, use of game pants, one mouth guard, game socks and helmet decals.

What football equipment do I need to provide?
You will need to provide helmet, shoulder pads, pants pads, practice jersey, practice pants, and cleats. Groin protection (cup) is not required but is recommended.

When does football practice begin?
The first practice of the 2014 season is July 28th.  Football conditioning dates will be announced. 

How often do we practice?
During the pre-season we will practice five nights a week. Some coaches may choose to practice or scrimmage on Saturdays as well. Once the season begins we will practice three and sometimes four nights a week. The practice time is from 6pm to 7:30 or 8pm. Times may change upon the start of school.

How long are the practices?
Practice length is left up to the head coaches. However, practices will not exceed two hours.

What should my child wear/bring to practice?
First Week
During the first week of practice your child should wear shorts, t-shirt and cleats to practice. Please bring some water for your child to drink.

After the First Week
After the first week of practice your child should wear their practice uniform consisting of practice jersey, practice pants with pant pads, helmet, shoulder pads, cleats and mouth guard. They should continue to bring water or sports drink.

Where are the practices held?
Practices are expected to take place at the field near Lindsay Middle School, next to West Hampton Community Center. The address is 1638 Briarfield Road, Hampton, VA 23661.

Will my child’s team have a scrimmage?
Most Head Coaches will try to schedule pre-season scrimmages and they may be at other locations. Head Coaches will announce the day, time, and location of scrimmages as they are arranged. The information will also be published on the teams’ web site if given enough notice.

Does my child need to attend all of the practices?
We cannot overemphasize the importance of participating in practices. We stress individual player development and commitment to the team. Precious practice time is spent conditioning, learning & practicing individual skills, and learning & practicing team plays. All of these activities are critical to a player’s individual growth and the team as a whole. Head Coaches may establish policies regarding participation in practice. These policies will be announced by each Head Coach but unexcused absences will have consequences, including becoming ineligible to play in football games.

Do I need to attend practice with my child?
A responsible adult is required to be at the field with the participant at all times. The “HAMPTON TORNADOS” is not a baby-sitting service. It is important that parents or guardians attend practices. If for some reason, you cannot attend practice, please promptly pick up your child at the conclusion of practice. Our coaches and team moms volunteer an enormous amount of their time to teaching and training our football players. None of them are compensated for the contributions they make to the program. Please respect their personal time by picking up your player promptly at the end of practice. Unfortunately, some parents have not always done so. Accordingly, we have established the following policy to encourage parents to pick up their players on time:
If pick up is more than 10 minutes late, we will attempt to reach the person listed as the emergency contact on your application to pick up the child.

If pick up is more than 15 minutes late and we have not received a phone call from you or reached your emergency contact, we will assume that something has happened and you are not able to pick up your player. At this time, the President and the Operations Coordinator can choose to take responsibility of the child and see that proper arrangements are made for the child’s safety. In extreme cases we will contact the local police department to assist in locating you. If The “HAMPTON TORNADOS” have found it necessary or appropriate to contact the Police Department to assist in locating a responsible adult, a $25 fine will be imposed. The fine must be paid before the child will be allowed to participate in any more of the “HAMPTON TORNADOS” activities.

Three instances of picking up your child/player late may be grounds to drop your player from the program without any refund.

What teams will my child play?
The “HAMPTON TORNADOS” teams play football against teams sponsored by our parent organization, Peninsula Youth Football and Cheerleading Organization (PYFCO). The various teams are organized into leagues which are from some adjacent local communities.

How many games will my child play?
Teams generally play a ten game schedule followed by single elimination playoffs leading to the PYFCO “Super Bowl.”

When and where are my child’s games played?
All regular season games will be played on Saturdays but some Sundays/Weekdays may be required near playoff time or due to cancellations of previously scheduled games. Home games will be played at the field near Lindsey Middle School right next to West Hampton Community Center. The address is 1638 Briarfield Road, Hampton, VA 23661.

Home games usually start at 9:30am, 11:00am, 12:30pm, and 2:00pm, with the younger teams generally having the earlier start times. Away games are generally at the same times. Our web site and the Game Schedule (to be issued by PYFCO after the start of practice) provide maps to the other teams’ fields. Players must arrive in time to check-in with coaches and warm-up, which is scheduled an hour before the start of the game. It is important to know that some travel is involved and distances can be as much as 45 miles round trip. Our games may be played in Middlesex, Gloucester, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Newport News, Grafton or Poquoson. Before you register your child, make sure that you completely understand the travel requirements and the importance of your child's total participation in every event, home and away. The dates, times and locations of games are determined by PYFCO. Final game schedules will be available before the first regular season game. Additionally, the game schedules will also be available on our team web site.

How much does it cost?
Registration fees are $120 for each football player and each cheerleader. There is a discount for multiple players from one family but only for football player/football player or cheerleader/cheerleader. The discount doens't apply to cheerleader/football player. The reason for this is that the money paid for cheerleaders and football is separate within the organization. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Please note that before a player will be considered officially registered with our program, all fees must be paid in full. Partial payments will only be accepted up until August 13th and must be approved by the board members.

Is there fundraising?
There is a mandatory fundraiser. Please see the fundraising coordinator for more info. We no longer offer the option of participating in fundraisers to lower your registration cost as fundraising participation has fallen significantly over the last couple of years.

Where does the money go?
We are a non profit organization and the budget to operate is on essentially a break even basis. While we sponsor football and cheer programs, football is separately and independently budgeted. Our expenses every year include, among others: (1) replacing field equipment and upgrading equipment as necessary, (2) Insurance, (3) team and individual trophies, (4) team fees payable to PYFCO (our parent organization) that cover league insurance, referees, supplies and other costs, (5) team equipment (footballs, tees, etc.), and (7) general & administrative expenses to include food for concession. All of our board members, officers, coaches and team moms are volunteers and none of them are compensated for the hundreds of hours they devote to our program.

Can we get a refund?
If The “HAMPTON TORNADOS” are unable to field a team at a particular division, a full refund of registration fees will be given to everyone signed up for that team.

A prospective player on a waiting list will be entitled to a full refund of registration fees upon request at any time. Please contact the Treasurer to request a refund.

If a player drops before first day of practice, the refund is less $25 administration fee.
No refunds will be given if a player has participated in any practice.

Are there limits to the team roster size?
Our goal is to provide an opportunity for every community youth who wants to play football to do so. Unfortunately, our ability to accommodate players is not unlimited and we may not be able to accept every prospective player. The "HAMPTON TORNADOS” rules do not limit the number of players per team; additionally the availability of coaching staffs and field space both impact how many players we can serve. Nevertheless, we endeavor to serve as many players as we can. The “HAMPTON TORNADOS” basic rules try to establish a maximum of 25 players on a team. If we have at least 40 applicants for a particular team, we will attempt to establish a second team. Our ability to do so will depend on securing a coaching staff and practice fields, among other things.

Thank you for your cooperation!