All Football Players and Parents,
Welcome to the Darien Junior Football League’s 2023 season. We are looking forward to another fun, exciting and safe year. The DJFL is a non-profit organization run by volunteers. We are part of the Fairfield County Football League (FCFL). The tackle football league consists of teams from Fairfield, New Canaan, Norwalk, Ridgefield, Stamford, Westport and Wilton. Our flag football program consists of players only from Darien.
All Darien junior tackle football grades (grades 4-8) are travel teams in the Fairfield County Football League. As such, a significant time commitment is required; there are usually three practices per week and one game each weekend. Parents should factor this time commitment into their decision to enroll their son or daughter into tackle football. Although we encourage our young athletes to play other fall sports, for safety reasons we ask you to recognize the significant time commitment tackle football requires. Football is a team sport that requires reinforcement of fundamental skills and player responsibilities. Therefore, playing time will be commensurate with practice time.
The DJFL and the Fairfield County Football League are excited to announce a new approach to 3rd/4th grade football - Modified Travel Flag (MTF) Football. In Modified Travel Flag Football, players will wear full equipment and are taught basic and advanced football skills. Players are taught proper blocking techniques, ball handling, and other football skills. Tackling is not allowed and like in traditional flag football, flags are used to down ball carriers. This approach will allow new players to focus on developing proper football skills and techniques and slowly develop a safe understanding of the game of football as they move through DJFL. 3rd-grade Modified Travel Flag will be offered as opposed to traditional tackle football. This will not affect our traditional flag offering in 3rd grade. Third graders can choose either Modified Travel Flag or traditional flag but not both. Fourth graders can choose either Modified Travel Flag or traditional tackle football but not both. As Modified Travel Flag is a travel program, DJFL will play other towns in the FCFL. Please send any inquiries to [email protected].
The time commitment for Flag Football (grades 1-3) is less than tackle football; participants should expect to practice once a week, but practice time will vary depending on the coach. Flag football is a house league and games are played Saturday mornings at Hindley School with only Darien children. Building on the success from last season, the flag program will continue to be separated into three divisions - 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. Third-grade players have the option of playing either 3rd-grade flag or 3rd grade modified travel flag football, but they cannot participate in both programs.