Welcome to Young Warriors Football!

Young Warriors Football is a tackle football program open to players from Bannockburn, Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, and Riverwoods who will be in 3rd-8th grade in the fall. The program focuses on teaching basics and fundamentals of football in a safe environment. Our teams compete against teams from other Chicagoland communities participating in the TCYFL (The Chicagoland Youth Football League).

Practices for the 2024 season start August 6th at Clavey Field behind Caruso Junior High School in Deerfield. All forms and registration must be completed and fees paid before a player is allowed to practice.

Games are played mostly on Sundays starting August 25th through October 20th. Teams qualifying for playoffs can play up to three more games through November 10th.

The Young Warriors Football Program is an all-volunteer-run program. We appreciate all the time and energy our coaches dedicate to our program. Please respect our commitment to providing positive experiences to the players.

Our Mission

The Young Warriors Football program is dedicated to teaching basic football skills to all players meeting medical and registration requirements.  We prepare players to compete at the highest level of performance while emphasizing sportsmanship and teamwork.

Deerfield & Highland Park High School Support

Young Warriors Football has the full support of the coaching staff from both Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools. High school coaches and players often attend Young Warriors practices and games.  Likewise, all Young Warriors players are encouraged to attend home high school football games.

Youth tackle football has a long and distinguished history in our communities. The Deerfield Young Warriors Football program is entering its 34th season and was originally formed through the joint efforts of community parents and then-Deerfield varsity head coach, Jamie Harrington.  The Highland Park Little Giants program ran from the 1970s to 2017.

Starting in 2018 players from Highland Park and Highwood have been welcome to play in the Young Warriors Football program, and more players have participated each year since.  Home games are played at both Adams Field at Deerfield High School and Wolters Field in Highland Park.  Our teams wear red jerseys at games played at Adams Field.  They wear blue jerseys at games played at Wolters Field.

All coaches are certified by USA Football and the Positive Coaching Alliance. Our head coaches are trained in first aid and CPR.

Team levels include Bantam, Featherweight, Middleweight, Lightweight, Junior Varsity (JV), and Varsity.  Player placement on teams is determined by age as of September 1, weight, and ability.

Team sizes range from 16-to-25 players.  Once a team reaches 25 players during registration, new players will be placed on a waiting list.  Once the total number reaches 32 players, the team will split into two teams of 16 players and wait-listed players will be added. 

Playing time is not guaranteed.  All teams compete in a competitive, travel league—The Chicagoland Youth Football League (TCYFL), which includes 44 different member communities. Since joining in 2021 Young Warriors Football teams from all levels have qualified for the league's playoffs.  In the 2023 season both of our featherweight teams advanced to the playoffs. Our 7 & 8 grade lightweight team in 2023  were division champions , #1 seed in the playoffs and finished as runners up in the league Super Bowl.

Registration open thru August 10th, 2024