2009 IFAF Junior World Championship

[Muck]

This is the first I've heard of this...

USA Football

The 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship (JWC) will be played from June 27 to July 5 in Canton, Ohio. The inaugural tournament will kick off on Saturday, June 27, 2009 at Canton's historic Fawcett Stadium, home of the NFL's annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, adjacent to the Hall of Fame. Games between the world's eight best high school-aged (19 and under) national teams will also be played on Wednesday, July 1 and Saturday, July 4, before the Championship Game is contested on Sunday, July 5.

Ohio Commissioner Welcomes the World’s Best in Football Next Summer

Ohio.

It is the home state of eight U.S. presidents, the creators of the world's first airplane and the first man to orbit Earth.

It also will be home of an international football "first" in 2009 when high school-aged national teams from eight nations, representing four continents, arrive in Canton near the globally-recognized Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ohio High School Athletic Association Commissioner Daniel Ross, Ph.D., is among those eagerly awaiting the tournament, formally known as the 2009 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship. As the sport's national governing body on youth an amateur levels, USA Football will assemble Team USA. America's team will be composed of the country's most talented graduating high school seniors.

"This team gives youngsters a tremendous opportunity to participate and represent their country," said Ross, who has 30 years of experience as a school administrator in Ohio as a superintendent, principal, teacher, counselor, coach, and sports official. "Some people only get this opportunity in the Olympics. This gives good kids and top coaches an opportunity to come together as Americans to represent the United States against seven other countries and do it at the birthplace of football.

"It's likely that student-athletes or coaches from Ohio who may be part of Team USA have been to Canton, but many others across the country may not have," added Ross. "They'll have a chance to experience the Hall of Fame, see where Paul Brown coached, and play in marvelous facilities."

All 50 state high school athletic associations and the District of Columbia are invited to nominate at least 10 players to compose a talent pool from which Team USA's coaching staff will select its roster next spring.

Team USA qualifies for the tournament as its host nation. Joining the United States as an automatic qualifier is Canada. Due to the long-time strength of its junior national team program in international play, the Canadian team will hold the No. 1 seed with the USA positioned as the No. 2 seed.

The tournament's six open seats will be claimed by February 2009 from the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

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USA Football Names Chuck Kyle As Head Coach of Junior National Team



(Coach Kyle looks ready to kick some ass!)

USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, has named Chuck Kyle of Cleveland's St. Ignatius High School the head coach of the United States' first junior national team in football. USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck made the announcement at Saint Ignatius on Wednesday. (View photos from the event.)

Team USA will compete among a field of eight countries from four continents in the 2009 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship. The tournament, which will be held every four years in one of 52 IFAF-member countries, will take place June 27-July 5, 2009, in Canton, Ohio's Fawcett Stadium, adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Team USA will comprise top student-athletes entering their college freshman year in fall 2009.

"I may teach English, but I appreciate history," said Kyle, an English teacher who three times guided his St. Ignatius Wildcats to "National Championship" honors (USA Today 1989, '93; National Prep Poll 1993, '95). Under his leadership, St. Ignatius has earned nine of Ohio's past 20 Division I (large school) football state championships. "This is an historic, pioneering team, and I am excited to be a part of it. I'm proud to represent the United States," he said. "I've quickly learned how strong football is beyond our borders. We have a challenge ahead of us, and I look forward to getting our team ready to play in Canton next summer."

Kyle, 57, became his high school alma mater's head coach in 1983. He owns a 248-56-1 (.816) record and a state playoff mark of 49-11 (.817). St. Ignatius's nine Division I state titles under Kyle represent the most of any Ohio school since the employment of the state's playoff format in 1972. The Wildcats have advanced to Ohio's state playoffs in each of the past 20 seasons - the longest active streak in the football-rich state.

"Chuck Kyle personifies everything we were looking for in Team USA's head coach," said Hallenbeck. "Beyond his remarkable record and litany of accolades, he is a teacher in the classroom and on the field. For 25 years and running, his program melds class with excellence. Speaking as a football fan, it will be exciting to watch Coach and his staff lead our country's top high school-aged players against the world's best national teams."

Ohio State's Jim Tressel praised the choice.

"Chuck Kyle is one of the finest coaches at any level in our country," the Ohio State football coach said. "The players' experience with Coach Kyle will be very rewarding, and he will be a great ambassador in connecting with coaches and players from other nations.

All 50 state high school athletic associations and the District of Columbia are invited to nominate at least 10 players to compose a talent pool from which Team USA's coaching staff will select its roster in spring 2009. Coach Kyle will select Team USA's coaching staff prior to the kickoff of the 2008 high school football season.

Canada joins the United States as an automatic qualifier for the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship. The U.S. earns an automatic bid as the tournament's host. Canada earns a place in the field due to the long-time strength of its junior national team program in international play. The Canadian team will hold the No. 1 seed once all eight qualifiers are finalized and placed in the tournament bracket. The United States will be seeded No. 2.

The Canucks are the #1 seed?!?!


Ohio's Kyle to Lead Team USA

St. Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle to head the United States' first junior national football team.

CLEVELAND, Ohio --- Chuck Kyle of St. Ignatius High School is used to being at the controls of a football juggernaut.

Kyle has led the Cleveland school to nine Division I state titles in Ohio since 1988 and three mythical high school national titles, owning a career record of 248-56-1. Next June, Kyle could be heading another gridiron power.

The Buckeye State legend was named the head coach of the United States’ first junior national football team Wednesday, which will compete in the International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship June 27-July 5, 2009 in Canton, Ohio. The event will be held once every four years.

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St. Xavier’s Specht Joins Team USA Staff

If the talent on the coaching staff is at all indicative of the type of players the United States’ first junior national football team will attract, Team USA should be in good shape.

Head coach Chuck Kyle tabbed Steve Specht of St. Xavier in Cincinnati and Gary Swenson of Iowa’s West Des Moines Valley High School as his defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, this week.

Specht and Swenson own a collective 303-88 record as head coaches with 25 state playoff appearances and six state titles. Specht’s St. X program has become a nationally-recognized powerhouse and annually faces a schedule comprised of teams from all over the country.

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Cincy.com

St. Xavier football coach Steve Specht was speechless when the offer came.

Ohio coaching legend Chuck Kyle (Cleveland St. Ignatius) asked Specht to join the United States' first junior national staff, and Specht said Tuesday that he has agreed to be defensive coordinator for Team USA.

The team will compete in the inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship June 27 through July 5, 2009, at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.

"I was dumbfounded when Chuck asked me to help out," Specht said. "I was doing backflips. Chuck Kyle has forgotten more football than I know, and what an honor it will be to coach with him. I said, 'Shoot, I'll carry water if you want me to.' "

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DesMoines Register

Gary Swenson of West Des Moines Valley will serve as offensive coordinator for the United States' first junior national football team.

Team USA will be among eight countries from four continents in the 2009 International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship on June 27-July 5 in Canton, Ohio.

Swenson has a 252-85 record since his career began in 1976. He is entering his 14th season at Valley, where he won three of his four state titles.

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Anyone familiar with Coach Swenson?

It looks like his team (West DesMoines Valley) went 11-1 last year, losing in the seminals to the big school runners up (Ankeny).

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IFAF Announces Qualifying Format for 2009 Junior World Championship

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Executive Committee announced from meetings in Scandinavia that the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship (JWC) will be played from June 27 to July 5 in Canton, Ohio, next summer.

Having announced the event last month, IFAF confirmed that the inaugural tournament will kick off on Saturday, June 27, 2009 at Canton's historic Fawcett Stadium, home of the NFL's annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, adjacent to the Hall of Fame. Games between the world's eight best high school-aged (19 and under) national teams will also be played on Wednesday, July 1 and Saturday, July 4, before the Championship Game is contested on Sunday, July 5.

Joining the United States as an automatic qualifier is Canada. The U.S. earns an automatic bid as the tournament's host. Canada earns its place in the field due to the long-time strength of its junior national team program in international play. The Canadian team will hold the No. 1 seed once all eight qualifiers are finalized and placed in the tournament bracket, with the USA positioned as the No. 2 seed.

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Germany, Sweden, France Have Opportunity to Compete In Canton

SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2008 - Sevilla, Spain - Having lost the three previous European Junior Championship finals, Germany triumphed at the 2008 event in Spain after a closely fought 9-6 battle with Sweden.

Germany, Sweden and third place winner France now have the opportunity to compete at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship in Canton, Ohio, next summer. The European Federation of American Football (EFAF) will confirm which teams will represent the continent in the United States before September 15.

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