Our boys often expressed interest in playing more games as many of them did in prior leagues together dating back to local rec. To that end, I am launching Charleston Gridiron to meaningfully improve upon the prior feedback & frustration from prior experiences.

To build the Gridiron brand awareness, I thought the Exhibition was the best way to do so as a live football event is far more tangible than a social media post or yard sign. The Gridiron Myrtle teams and commissioners have been incredibly supportive, and I believe their being here showcased what a mature Gridiron product looks like – organized, competitive, technical, swagged and fun.

The Myrtle Gridiron league is five-years in, and those teams have been together multiple seasons. That kind of consistency, cohesion and fun are the goals and culture I want to emulate in Charleston Gridiron.  

For competitive context, please note –

• Our older Victory group had an average age of 10.2 years old.

• They competed vs an experienced Myrtle team that averaged 11.5 yrs old…

• ... and they played a local tackle team which averaged 11.1 years old which has been playing together since August if not longer for their core players.

• The younger Victory group had an average age of 7.9 years old, by far the youngest group at the Exhibition.   

• Their closest competitors were average ages 8.5 and 8.7 years old – both of which are teams which have been practicing & playing since August.

Based on average age, experience and time spent together, our Victory groups performed very well.

All in, I see the exhibition as a success as this was the first event at such scale the Victory platform was able to execute. For those of you that did not know, this was the first time I have rented a major facility and compiled a tournament. If something was meaningfully awry, I appreciate your feedback on improving the experience.

To our younger group, I do want to address my “game time” decision to split our younger Victory team and its newcomers for the 315 game. While they were scheduled to play at 315 vs an 8.5 yr old, experienced rec team, that team had gone off reservation into a side scrimmage which I should not have allowed.

In the interest of staying on time, competitive age dynamics, and playing time for the boys, I decided to split the youngest group in to two allowing more playing time for all.

If there was a higher expectation for the level of play or the opponent for our youngest group I apologize for not meeting it but our younger crew played in a game coached by multiple former Division 1 football players and refereed by high school officials on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at one of the best football facilities in Mount Pleasant. I understand my decision may be viewed differently but wanted to share with you what happened.

The goal of the younger Victory group from the outset was to understand how to play the game of flag football and learn some basic football physical and tactical movements. I think through the five consecutive Sunday sessions much of that was accomplished. While the 315 game may have been a hiccup in the culmination of that process, my offer still stands for a complimentary Gridiron clinic session which would bring the total number of events for the younger crew to seven vs the originally advertised six sessions.

Again, your patience and understanding appreciated in building something that is truly different in local youth sports and the well-attended Sunday Exhibition is part of the growing process.

“What’s the difference between Victory and Gridiron?”

Victory is the operating entity necessary to secure operational status, insurance and acceptance into the national Gridiron franchise. While Gridiron is not a traditional franchise, the structure is very similar in that the local entity, Victory, operates the local Gridiron territory.

This is a small business venture for me. While Gridiron offers many support aspects, it does not financially subsidize Victory. Thus, Victory is on its own to build Gridiron locally and for the insurance, gear, marketing and other supports, Victory compensates Gridiron.

“What are the clinics?”

The Clinics are essentially an extension of the Victory fall academy. However, these will all be held at Beckham which affords significant space for football training and live scrimmages. The Programming is set for multiple stations for each age group run by me and two compensated coaches starting Sunday October 20.

“Why play at Oceanside?”

Why not play at Oceanside – they are a willing youth sports partner and their lighted turf field is a gem!

Field space for football is scarce. Access to the available space is scarcer. The process for securing the available space is bureaucratic and lengthy. Securing the space you want at the time you want is really difficult.

To date Oceanside is the only group that has actively engaged to further this youth sports venture. Local town recs have not been as accommodative and some view Victory’s programming, IE Gridiron leagues, as competitive in most instances, restricting Victory & Gridiron access to the tax-payer funded field spaces.

Thus, Oceanside has been a great partner in sharing the vision, they have the only legitimate turf field outside of Wando, and it is the home of the 2A State Champion Landsharks.

“Why Friday Nights?”

Because there is no more community unifying experience than Friday Night Lights!

While I know many youth sports decisions are a matter of convenience, facility openings for youth sports do not always align with convenience.

As Oceanside (and other CCSD facilities requested) must meet their school’s needs first, the only available days for the Gridiron league were Friday and Sunday.

I do foresee this being a bit more than youth football. With good numbers there is a lot Gridiron can pull off including tailgates, food trucks, post-game meet ups IE Home Team down the road from Oceanside. All in the name of community building, social fun AND youth sports development.

Moreover, I do not think Gridiron can meet its development and consistency goals with sessions only once a week, but I am willing to re-evaluate after the inaugural winter season.

Sunday sessions were chosen more deliberately based on the feedback that college football dominates Saturday plans and there is empty time for activities Sunday afternoons.  

The shared Victory & Gridiron goal here is to not have the time intensity and elevated cost associated with “club sports” while also offering a more competitive and enjoyable player & parent experience than regular youth leagues.

“How will the game schedule work?”

A lot of this will depend on numbers of players. More players = better league play.

Ideally, the first two sessions will install common platform of football knowledge across all age divisions. As this is a new venture, if each age group cannot support multiple teams for traditional league play, we are contemplating a pool approach where each night, formed teams on the day will play round robin or we will run athletic development on one side of the field while the other groups run games.

The obvious goal is to field three age groups with enough teams in each for traditional leagues with seven game day sessions. To realize that goal, we would like to have as many players as possible so please help spread the word, share with and invite friends.

Given some early indications on time, we will likely push the game start time on Friday’s closer to 6pm while letting players warm up from 5-6 as the fields are already booked. This hour “buffer” should accommodate Friday evening travel and get everyone closer to ending their night with Friday Night football and near a social & dining such as Home Team where we have started to contemplate post-game gatherings.

• ECONOMICS – One underlying dynamic with all youth sports is there is very high demand during a very narrow window of operating hours, essentially after school until dinner time. This small rush hour window limits the ability to supply youth sports demand with coaches, referees and field space. So please keep this in mind as the optimal time, place and date are very difficult to deliver given the structural dynamics.

• REFEREES – There is a shortage of referees and workers willing or unable to make the times work to referee which is why we employed SCISAA high school refs and will continue to do so until we can attract more staff willing to officiate.

o   We are engaged in active recruiting programs across college and employment boards and we are in discussions with high school athletic connections, law enforcement and the Army Reservists as well to find community members willing to get engaged.

o   Overall, the experienced SCISAA referees kept the trains running on time during the Exhibition and I think the game experience was far better than all prior flag leagues I have been in which have had no referees or young high schoolers. There is a meaningful operating cost difference between “official” refs and part-time youngsters so we factor that into league pricing.

o   One of the goals is to recruit more part-time young adults and parents to be mentored by the existing, experienced referees. I think the quality of game play and cadence is worth the price given the better gameday experience.

• COACHES – We need more coaches, former athletes. To date, local relationships are the best source. Parents whom may be reluctant to coach are welcome to join and we will do everything to get parents engaged and trained to coach.