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REGISTRATION PRIMER
RFL Registration for the Fall 2012 Season will
begin, on-line, on May 15, 2012 for Returning
Players and June 1 for New Players. The following is
a “survival guide” on how to properly register and
make sure your kid or kids will start the 2012 RFL
Experience in the best way possible.
First a couple of definitions. Just what the heck is
a “Returning Player”? Well, that would be any young
man or woman that played in the RFL during the 2011
0r 2010 Fall Season or MSFL players. While we love
our new Spring Flag Season players, you are going to
have to play a season in “Prime Time” (read Fall
Tackle or Flag) to be a “Returning Player”. The
reason for this and all of our other rules is not to
keep friends from playing together, not ruin your
car pools and not to be just plain mean. The reason
is we are expecting over 1400 kids to fill our
rosters and if we are to maintain order and a
competitive balance there have to be some rules.
Players, prior to 2012, were originally placed on
teams based on where they live. Players that live in
the areas served by the RFL Core Area (Wootton,
Richard Montgomery, Rockville High School,
Churchill, Magruder and Walter Johnson school
clusters) were assigned to teams based on designated
boundaries. New Players outside the Core Area are
either recruited to teams that have room or are
assigned to teams that have open roster spots. The
“Feeder System” is the culprit here. We need to do
everything possible to maintain the orderly flow of
players from Flag all the way to Intermediate
football. This means once a “Bear, always a Bear”.
Whatever team or organization your child started
with is the line of teams he will stay with. There
are two exceptions to this. If a “New Player” (not a
Returning Player) that lives within the designated
boundaries, was placed on a team, not his/her choice
or his/her designated boundary because the team
roster was full, that player may choose to return to
the team in the residence boundary the following
year, but only the following year if there is room.
The other exception is a documented problem between
a child and a coach. This one is dealt with on a
case by case basis. In either case the player must
be registered for the team last played for and then
a Waiver must be submitted to the League, signed and
approved by the league. Just because a coach says it
is okay does not mean it is okay. The Waiver forms
are available on the website (www.rfl.cc). So now we
know why “little Beauregard” cannot move from the
Panthers to the Raiders, even if he is offered a
huge signing bonus, the latest and greatest video
game deck, and a chauffeur driven “bigger than a bus
SUV”.
“New Players” are those that have not played in the
RFL Fall program prior to the season they are
registering for. Now pay attention because this is
new for 2012. These guys will be assigned to a team
based on a requested team selected during
registration or where they live if there is no
request (remember the RFL Core Area) or another team
if there is no roster space on their request or the
team in their residence area. Funny thing about
this, a team that has room has normally lost a lot
of players to age and weight which means all these
new “stars” will have a better opportunity at
breaking into the starting line-up to show their
stuff. So make sure you indicate your first choice
when you register if you are a New Player. This can
only be done at registration and cannot be changed
once the registration is submitted. Confirmation of
team assignment will be made by June 20 if you
register by June 15 or within 7 days if you register
after June 15.
This brings up a discussion on who has priority when
it comes to team roster spots. We are going to move
quickly so hang on. City of Rockville taxpaying
residents have first priority. While the RFL is an
independent 501c organization we do operate in
partnership with the City and have a formal
agreement between the RFL and the Mayor and Council
to provide services to each other. The RFL is a
bargain compared to other youth leagues because of
the support and advantages provided by the City.
Logically the tax payers (and voters) come first. So
if you played on any Panther team in any Division
last year and your street signs are Blue you are
going to have a spot on whatever Panther team you
qualify for based on age and weight. One catch here.
You have to exercise that right, as with all the
various priority levels by the dates stated in the
registration instructions (more on that later). Next
priority is anyone who played on a Panther team last
year is going to be a Panther this year (remember
“once a Bear always a Bear” above). That takes care
of Returning Players. New Players that live in the
RFL Core Area have next priority on the team the
boundaries say they belong on or the team selected
during registration (these boundaries will be placed
on the web site shortly, as they may change from
year to year). If there is not room on the requested
team or designated team, as stated above, they will
be placed on a team that needs bodies. Finally, if
there is room, New Players outside the RFL Core Area
will be assigned to teams on a request basis if
there is room and on a need basis if not. We have
never had to turn anybody away but that day could be
coming soon if our popularity continues on the 15%
to 20% growth rate we have experienced the last four
years.
Okay, everybody got it? Oops, one more fly in the
liniment. There is one more group of players that
make up the “Outside Teams”. These are organizations
unto themselves that request admission to the league
as a whole unit. These must be a majority of non
Rockville residents and be able to pass serious due
diligence by the Board of Directors. They also need
cash because they have to buy their own equipment,
uniforms, insurance and find practice space. They
still pay a significant fee per player to play in
the league. “Returning Players” cannot play on an
Outside Team unless they get waivers approved. New
Players cannot play on an Outside team if they live
in the RFL Core Area unless they go to school at a
school that financially sponsors an Outside Team.
That should cover how players end up on teams. If
you are still confused then you will never grasp a
multi-formation, bunch attack, spread passing
offense and soccer or bowling may be an option. Just
kidding, it is a bit cumbersome but once again we do
what we do to continue to make this a unique and
terrific experience for you and your kid. Email me,
president@rfl.cc with a number and good time to call
and I will answer all of your questions or better
yet, talk to your coach if you are a Returning
Player.
That’s RFL 101 Part One. RFL 101 Part Two will deal
with this year’s specific registration procedure.
Get your playbooks out and write this down. All
football registration is done on-line through Thriva
which is linked to our web site (www.rfl.cc). The
only exceptions are scholarship players that
register in person and are then entered into the
on-line system. Here comes the really important
stuff:
Returning Player Registration will begin at 7:30 AM
on May 15, 2012.
New Player Registration will begin at 7:30 AM on
June 1, 2012.
Scholarship Players Must Register at Rockville City
Hall or if you are not a City Resident email
vicepresident@rfl.cc .
So now we know when to do it, here is how to do it:
Go to www.rfl.cc and select the Age and Weight Page.
Determine which Division your player will qualify
for. This is the general Division category not the
NAVY and ARMY Divisions. That will be taken care of
once the teams are formed. Make sure you read
carefully as the wrong Division choice may result in
getting shut out of a particular team. It is
sometimes tough to predict growth spurts and summer
weight loss but be realistic. If Bobby Big Eater is
tipping the scales at 100+ pounds he just ain’t an
Ankle Biter. We need to stop here a minute and
answer the “Can I have an exception” question. The
RFL does not consider exceptions based on age and
weight unless the request is initiated by a letter
from a physician stating the specific medical
condition why a child will be at risk if he plays in
the age and weight division he qualifies for. In the
past ten years there has been one exception approved
and that involved a courageous young man that wore
braces on both legs, the result of cerebral palsy.
He was a 73 pound thirteen year old that certainly
could not safely play Intermediate football.
Once you have determined the proper Division go back
to the Home page, find and click on the Registration
Link. It will be very large and obvious. This will
take you to Registration Central. Make sure you have
a credit card or check ready and read all the
announcements and instructions before starting the
process. The first thing you have to do is access
your account if you are a Returning Player (tackle
or flag). If you are a New Player you have to create
an account. If you have one child that has played or
cheered before and are registering another child
that hasn't you should use your existing account to
add new participants. This will be very useful in
the future because it will identify you as a
Returning Player. It will also allow you to register
for future RFL seasons without having to fill out
all the information again. Now you have to chose a
Team and Division. NOW PAY ATTENTION THIS IS
CRITICAL! If you are a Returning Player make sure
you chose the team with the same name as the team
you played on last year. There maybe a couple of
exceptions to this in the case of teams that are not
part of the “Feeder System” There will be
instructions for these players before you get to
this point so make sure you read the notices. Make
sure you select the proper Division associated with
the team names (i.e.; if you played on the Raider
Ankle Biter team last year and have to move up due
to age, weight or experience then you would select
Raider Pony or Raider Pee Wee depending on weight.
Remember we said this is CRITICAL. If you register
for any team name other than the group you played
for last year you will be removed from the wrong
team name roster and bumped to the end of the line
and will be charged the $25 processing fee again
when you re-register. If there is no room on the
team you are supposed to be on by the time we verify
and make the changes you will be placed on a team at
random that has roster room. If you insist on trying
to change teams you must go through the Waiver
process described in Part 1. If you wait to register
and the team you are supposed to be on is full you
will have to register as a New Player and be treated
the same as a New Player.
If you are a New Player, you must register as 2012
____ Signup in the proper Division (i.e.; 2012 Pee
Wee Football Signup). You will not be able to
request a team or coach during the registration
process. New Players will be assigned after June 1
in the order they registered (date and time). New
Players that register as Returning Players will be
removed. The registration fee minus the $25.00
processing fee will be refunded.
One more thing. Last year several people, less than
5 out of 1300, were not able to register from office
workstations due to heavy firewalls. Everything went
fine until the credit card processing part. All of
these folks were eventually able to register from
home computers or public access computers at the
library or rec centers.
One word about refunds. If you decide you would
rather play shuffleboard or cricket after you
register make sure you decide that before July 15.
Prior to July 15 we will refund all of your
registration fee except a $25.00 processing fee that
is charged by our software vendor and the credit
card processing folks. Your refund will be issued to
the credit card you paid for the registration with
or if you used eCheck you will receive the refund in
the mail within four weeks.
After July 15 there are no refunds as we have bought
your insurance, ordered equipment, jerseys and
pants, and maybe even had to turned somebody away
who wanted to be on the roster you were placed on.
Hopefully we have covered all the necessary
procedures to make Registration as user friendly and
smooth as possible. If there is anything you are not
sure about please email president@rfl.cc and we will
try to answer your questions. We are constantly
trying to improve upon the process. If you have
suggestions or problems that are procedural in
nature we would really like to hear them. Once again
email president@rfl.cc.
Okay class, we are done! Your final exam will be the
successful registration for the RFL Fall Season. If
you fail, your computer might blow up and you may
have to consider spending your Fall Weekends fishing
or watching Rachel Ray cook a Thirty Minute Meal.
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