NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The NFL celebrates youth football by designating August as USA Football Month. As a celebration of the month, the Tennessee Titans annually host and acknowledge youth football teams by inviting the organizations to scrimmage as halftime entertainment at LP Field.
This season the Titans not only invited a youth football team, but also two area flag teams. Alongside the youth football club Bellevue Steelers, the Franklin Family YMCA Browns and Titans became the first flag clubs to ever participate in the event. In addition to playing on the game field, the youth players also stood alongside their favorite Titans players during the National Anthem.
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This year during all the wonderful in-game experiences, the youth battled a torrential downpour, but the rain did not stop the youth clubs from having a great time. They welcomed the rain and even seemed to have a greater time because of it.
"Our boys and their parents are thrilled that the Titans organization is supportive of the Franklin Family YMCA Flag Football Program and giving us the opportunity to showcase the talented athletes that play in the league," said Brian Smith, head coach of the Franklin YMCA Browns. "This is something that our kids will remember for the rest of their lives."
The youth football club participating in this year's halftime scrimmage is a member of USA Football's Heads Up Football program, a national initiative to help make the sport of football better and safer. A coach from the Bellevue Steelers also participated in the Titans annual Player Safety Coaches Clinic this past July. The clinic was held to certify coaches and provide them the ability to teach concussion recognition and proper equipment fitting to other coaches and parents involved in their respective programs.
The Franklin Family YMCA Browns and Titans are a part of NFL Flag, a program providing players the benefit of being physically active through non-contact and continuous action, while learning the fundamentals of football, lessons in teamwork and sportsmanship. Due to flag football's continued growing popularity, the Titans felt it necessary to include the program in the celebration.
The NFL will continue celebrating USA Football Month across the country throughout August. All 32 teams will run in-game Heads Up Football PSA's and display USA Football signage and on the field stencils. Additionally, all NFL players will have USA Football stickers on their helmets during the month.
For more information about NFL Flag please click here. (http://www.nflflag.com/)
For more information about USA Football please click here. (http://usafootball.com/)
