The Humble Area Football League was created in 1972 to provide a youth football and cheer program for the Humble, Atascocita, and surrounding areas. HAFL and its volunteers are committed to giving our local youth an opportunity to grow and develop as athletes and members of the community, and our winning tradition and commitment to excellence has seen 11 former HAFL youth go on to play in the NFL or MLB. Over the past 40 years, this league has continued to grow and now boasts a seasonal membership of over 700 children and a 100% volunteer Board of Directors. In addition to producing great athletes, these many years of experience have helped our league hone a solid set of By-Laws, rules, and processes to best serve our families and local youth.  In recent years, a few of our coaches have elected to leave our organization or were asked to leave and have established individual teams or organizations. Some things that will set these other groups apart from HAFL include; non-profit vs for-profit, minimum playing rules, method of drafting teams, game and practice field locations, cost, fundraising requirements, length of time in existence, dispute resolution process, committee oversight, degree of competiveness, opposing team sources, league affiliations, coach screening and selection, safety training, etc.

Here are some facts about HAFL to help you with your decision. We would recommend determining these same facts about any other organization you may be considering so that you can make an informed comparison and make the right decision for you and your young athlete.

• HAFL is a non-profit organization and a league in its own right. All other area youth football programs with the exception of Kingwood Football League are a set of teams that may reside within a larger alliance but are not a true “sports league” defined as an association of teams or clubs that compete chiefly among themselves. Kingwood Football League and HAFL are similar types of organizations and have been members in the same alliances over the years. For 2012, HAFL and KFL will not belong to the same alliance. Some of the primary differences between KFL and HAFL outside of member territory lines (the San Jacinto River generally) include KFL’s exclusion of players who are 11 or 12 and play middle school football, as well as KFL’s more limited participation in post season play.  HAFL welcomes athletes who also play middle school football, and we participate in many post-season events and tournaments for those players who qualify and/or desire to participate.

• HAFL Registration costs are used to cover the uniform, trophy, pictures, program book, and insurance. Facility costs, referees, field maintenance, paramedic services, etc are covered by donations from team sponsorships and other corporate sponsorships. Each year, we assess our annual player fees to ensure costs are kept to the minimum necessary to cover the required items and fees, without profit or gain by anyone associated with the league

• HAFL requires that every player start a position, regardless of skill or experience. It is the coach’s responsibility to teach each player the necessary skills for their position.

• HAFL conducts a new draft each season, allowing coaches to protect up to 4 players combined with a traditional one-by-one player selection based on tryouts held throughout the summer.

• All HAFL home games are held on our two well maintained football fields located at the Lindsay Lyons county park on Atascocita Road @ Ygnacio. Travel generally consists of a maximum of 1 game per season, with additional travel sometimes required for post season play. Practice locations are selected by the coaches but are in the Atascocita or Humble area.

• The HAFL Board of Directors includes one commissioner per division who can be consulted on any question, complaint or dispute with objectivity. Committees are formed to address each area of the program.

• The HAFL Board of Directors generally consists of 15 - 20 members who ensure a system of checks and balances for our program and facility management.

• HAFL is a competitive league…it should not be considered a “recreational league”. However, the competition factor is balanced with our focus on developing each player so that each holds a starting position. Our teams are sized to facilitate this practice. The bottom line is all of these local teams will say they are more competatvive then us, but they have never beaten us and refuse to play us in tournaments. 

• HAFL is a member of the Lone Star Youth Football Alliance. The size of our league ensures that we play most of our games within our own league. However, we will generally play 1-2 games versus a team from another league in our alliance. All Alliance members agree to the same set of rules and guidelines, which ensures that even when we travel, we can expect a certain level of familiarity in the experience.

• HAFL interviews each head coach every year, requires a new certification from the USA Football coach and safety training course each year, and also completes a background check on every coach. Assistant coaches are also required to be USA Football certified.